Franklin United Methodist Community history

On August 2, 1840, only three years after Michigan became a state and when the village had grown to 100 people, a small group of seven people established a Methodist Protestant Church in Franklin.

The first Methodist class meeting was organized in Franklin in 1853.

That summer (1858) there was much conversation about building a church, and that autumn Pitts C Lanning was appointed to be the pastor of the reviving congregation.

In February, 1860, the Trustees of the church met in a home by kerosene lantern and made the bold decision to build a church.

The church was completed that fall, but was not dedicated until 1863, when it was called “The Church of Franklin.” To raise money to care for the building, the ladies of the church sold chicken dinners.

In October, 1867, a storm blew down the super-structure of the North Main Street Church.

The present triangular lot at 5th Avenue and Church Street was acquired by the decree of Chancery Court in April, 1869.

In April of 1872 the Franklin United Methodist Church had its beginnings with a pastor, nine women, and four men.

In 1877 they changed the legal name to The Methodist Protestant Church.

In 1903 the memorial stained glass windows were installed and dedicated to the glory of God.

These tubular bells were donated by the Charles Martindale family in honor of their two children who died on July 20, 1907 when the S.S. Columbia collided with the freighter S.S. Livingston.

The vision for Hollywood United Methodist Church as “a sanctuary of hope” began back in 1909 when the first congregants started to organize.

In 1918 Franklin Methodist Protestant Church appealed to the pastor of Central Methodist Episcopal Church in Pontiac for help, and as a result, his associate, Rev.

Dunlavy in the 1920’s began to hold “minstrel shows” that included duets, jigs, and accordion music.

On March 16, 1930, the congregation’s faith and perseverance were finally rewarded.

Over the next 10 years, more settlers gradually arrived, and Methodist circuit riders held camp meetings in the area in 1931 in the barn of Elijah Bullock, one of the first two settlers.

At that time, the church formally became a Methodist Episcopal Church, well before the reuniting of those two Methodist denominations in 1939.

Situated within the tower at the Hollywood Campus is our historic Martindale Carillon, dedicated on December 8, 1945.

In 1949 a corporation was formed to begin planning for a retirement home for the South Indiana Annual Conference.

In 1950 the people of Franklin and the town's Grace Methodist Church purchased a 40-acre tract of land and offered it to the Conference in return for locating the home there.

Doctor Sumner Martin became the first Superintendent as the new Center opened in 1956.

In 1964, the annex to the south provided more space for church school along with remodeled kitchen and social hall.

In 1972, remodeling and redecorating of the sanctuary included the addition of new pews.

A historic postcard describes the church building as “…one of the most famous churches on the Pacific coast,” with an atmosphere of “…reverence in symbolic beauty and compelling stillness.” In December 1981 the church was declared Historic-Cultural Monument #248 by the City of Los Angeles.

In the early morning hours of July 28, 1988, fire destroyed the Hughes Hardware building and caused damages of more than $70,000 to the adjacent educational building and basement of our church.

Under the leadership of Jerry A. Smith, a building committee developed a plan, the congregation pledged monies for the projected $1,343,000 cost, and members held groundbreaking ceremonies on June 30, 1996 for the new Christian Life Center.

On November 16, 1997, the Franklin First United Methodist congregation consecrated the new building.

On February 9, 2007, 107 acres of land on Mack Hatcher was purchased for the future home of Franklin First UMC.

In September 2013 Hollywood UMC was gifted the property at the corner of Cahuenga and Whipple in Toluca Lake which housed the former Toluca Lake UMC congregation.

Renamed Harmony Toluca Lake – a campus of Hollywood UMC, worship services began in February 2015 at our second church site.

In the fall of 2016 the 60 year old windows of the sanctuary were repaired and storm windows were installed.