OUR HISTORY
On September 13, 2015, Tyler Street UMC and Oak Cliff UMC, having a combined total of 231 years of service to Oak Cliff, were united as one church in a Celebration Unidos in the historic Tyler Street sanctuary. The church(es) then combined their ministries of worship, education, missions support, community service and outreach from the Tyler Street location.
DETAILED HISTORY...
November 27, 1911: The North Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church – South, appointed Reverend J. Leonard Rea to serve as minister of a proposed parish to be known as Tyler Street Methodist Episcopal Church. The Tyler Street congregation was organized in the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Forrester, 511 West Tenth Street on January 29, 1912.
In 1919 a new building site at the corner of Tenth and Polk Streets was purchased for $5,000. In 1921 the congregation moved into the sub-story of its new structure and chose to retain its “Tyler Street” name.
In 1919 a new building site at the corner of Tenth and Polk Streets was purchased for $5,000. In 1921 the congregation moved into the sub-story of its new structure and chose to retain its “Tyler Street” name.
1923: The church was debt free, had a healthy building fund and resumed construction of the upper levels of the sanctuary.
1926: The first of the church’s beautiful stained-glass windows was donated. Similar gifts followed, and the windows and dome of the sanctuary beautifully illustrate the gospel message to all who enter.
Tyler Street saw some of her darkest hours during the Great Depression when served notice to pay her indebtedness or face foreclosure. On Good Friday, 1932, the building was padlocked, and Tyler Street members celebrated Easter Sunday at the Rosewin Theatre on West Jefferson. The church shared facilities with Calvary Baptist until they obtained the use of the Sunset High School auditorium where services were held for nine months. Through the commitment and determination of the membership, and with the financial assistance of the North Texas Conference; the church renegotiated a contract with the lending institution, and the church was reopened in the fall of 1933. In seven years the indebtedness was retired, and the building was dedicated on December 29, 1940.
1926: The first of the church’s beautiful stained-glass windows was donated. Similar gifts followed, and the windows and dome of the sanctuary beautifully illustrate the gospel message to all who enter.
Tyler Street saw some of her darkest hours during the Great Depression when served notice to pay her indebtedness or face foreclosure. On Good Friday, 1932, the building was padlocked, and Tyler Street members celebrated Easter Sunday at the Rosewin Theatre on West Jefferson. The church shared facilities with Calvary Baptist until they obtained the use of the Sunset High School auditorium where services were held for nine months. Through the commitment and determination of the membership, and with the financial assistance of the North Texas Conference; the church renegotiated a contract with the lending institution, and the church was reopened in the fall of 1933. In seven years the indebtedness was retired, and the building was dedicated on December 29, 1940.
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