Richfield United Methodist Church has served the community for more than 150 years and we are proud to be a cornerstone in the development of our community. RUMC was one of the first United Methodist Churches to be established in what would later become Minnesota. We hope that you will come join us as we continue to celebrate God’s work in our community, and help us truly be "A Church for all Times!"

Did You Know…

·        When established in 1854, the original name of Richfield United Methodist Church (RUMC) was “Harmony Mission.”

·        Minnesota was a territory, buffalo grazed west of Lake Minnetonka, and St. Paul was still often called “Pig’s Eye” when Harmony Mission was first established.

·        Harmony Mission (and RUMC) grew from the result of a letter Almira Dunsmoor wrote to the Methodist Society asking for a circuit rider to come to a meeting at her home to organize a Methodist “Class” or membership group.

·        Early circuit riders, unable to get to every church on a frequent basis, identified “exhorters,” or Class members, who would make good preachers and who could preach in their absence.

·        The pastor’s salary (which often wasn’t paid in full) was supplemented by holding periodic parties, called “poundings,” at which gifts of chickens, cords of firewood, jars of preserves and even hay for the horses were presented to the underpaid pastor.

·        At the time of the Civil War, Harmony Mission had two church schools and a library of 150 books; some of the nearly 50 scholars walked up to four miles to get to church school.

·        Harmony Mission’s name was changed almost every year from Harmony to Harmonica to Richland and back to Harmony. In 1858, the church adopted its present name when the area where the church was situated became known as “Richfield.”

·        The city of Minneapolis continued its move southward by annexing parcels of land. In 1920 with Minneapolis’ final annexation, Richfield Church “moved” from Richfield to Minneapolis.

·        The first meeting sites of Harmony Mission were the Dunsmoor parlor and Henry Townsend’s granary, weather permitting.

·        In 1869, members of the Richfield Methodist Episcopal congregation volunteered their labor to build their first church building, the “little white church,” which was dedicated that September. The total cost of the church and furnishings was estimated to be $1,700 and $1,000 for the church parsonage, which was built in 1871. This debt was liquidated within six years.

·        It is believed that Richfield’s first church was painted brown. As the wet paint was applied it was sprinkled with sand to serve as a fire retardant and to discourage carving by the jack knives carried by every boy and man in that day.

·        The ladies of Richfield’s first church “were instrumental in raising nearly one-sixth of the funds necessary for the building.”

·        September 19, 1869; from the editorial page of the Minneapolis Daily Tribune: “We take occasion this morning to remind our readers of the church dedication in Richfield of the Methodist Union Church, the exercises to begin at 2-1/2 P.M. A pleasant ride about six miles out on the Shakopee Road, past and near the Richfield Mills. We understand this is a very fine country church and reflects great credit on the community surrounding and the enterprise of the people of Richfield.”

·        A rivalry developed between the Baptists and the Methodists: when the Baptists got a chandelier, the Methodists got a bigger one.

·        Eighty-seven years later when a new church was built, the pews from the old church were refinished and placed in the balcony. However the varnish was defective and one hot summer Sunday when the congregation rose to sing, a loud ripping sound was heard as the congregants tried to stand.

·        The women of Richfield Church were instrumental in keeping the church alive. In 1906, the church was closed, however the Ladies Aid continued to meet and collect new members whenever possible. It was then that Mrs. Melinda McCabe decided to take matters into her own hands, hitched up the horses and rode out to raise the money to keep the church going.

·        The first known evidence of social concerns occurred in 1883 when four saloons at Minnehaha were closed due to the efforts of the Richfield Church.

·        Richfield Methodist Church has been a tangible presence on the corner of 59^th and Lyndale for 135 years. The first little country church was dedicated September 19, 1869 and was used continuously for worship for 87 years. It was followed by our present sanctuary, which was first used for worship on December 16, 1956.

·        To celebrate Richfield Church’s 75^th Anniversary the first job was to refinish the sticky pews and clean and paint the entire church. Stained glass memorial windows were installed (now located in the church’s chapel) and the memorial to the Pioneers, a lighted picture window of “Christ at the Heart’s Door,” was placed facing Lyndale Avenue and became a well-known landmark in the community.

·        The memorial Pioneers window of Christ at the Heart’s Door is now back in almost the same place where it was originally located, overlooking Lyndale Avenue.

·        World War II brought an increased interest in church and Richfield Church began operating a Sunday School bus and started the first church-operated week-day nursery school in the area.

·        Through community outreach RUMC organized blood banks; sponsored immigrant families and a Boy Scout Troop; participated in Habitat for Humanity; provided volunteers for organizations such as Walker Home, Methodist Hospital, and VEAP; operates a day-care center; sent work groups to state, national and international locations; provided animals and vehicles for pastors in rural areas; and supported missionaries in Argentina, India, Philippines, and Africa.

·        The first bell to call members to worship was a bell from a Congregational church that had been used in Prescott, WI.

·        A second bell was purchased in 1919 and hung in the little white church until 1957, when the building was torn down. It now sits on the church campus in approximately the same site where it hung from the bell tower in the little white church.

·        RUMC is an open, inviting community with a great Sunday School, active Youth ministry, a wonderful music program, along with spellbinding, thought-provoking sermons. Why don’t you stop by for a Sunday morning visit? We expect visitors!