Belmont United Methodist Church (Belmont UMC) is located in the Hillsboro Village neighborhood of Nashville, a commercial center that grew around a streetcar line terminus in the early 1900s. The church building is across the street from the border of the Belmont Hillsboro Historic District, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The growth of the neighborhood, and the Belmont UMC congregation, from the 1900s onward is reflected in the changes to their buildings over time. Initially designed as a one-room wood chapel, the church building expanded in four phases from 1916 through the 1950s to accommodate a growing congregation. In 1916, a new sandstone, four-columned, church building designed by architect L.L. Gamble (known today as Thomasson Hall) was constructed. A new sanctuary designed by architect George D. Waller in the Greek Revival style was constructed in 1929 and featured prominent Jacoby Art Glass stained-glass windows. By the 1950s, a new wing was added to house the weekday school, classrooms, and offices.

Today, Belmont UMC strives to be a welcoming space for all through advocacy around social justice issues, participation in the Reconciling Ministries Network, and crossing language barriers both at their church building and through outreach. Belmont UMC membership includes the Golden Triangle Fellowship, a congregation of refugees from Myanmar, Thailand, and Southeast Asia who started worshipping in the building in 2003 and continue to hold services in Karen and Thai languages each Sunday. Additionally, for 50 years, Belmont UMC has provided one of the longest running English as a Second Language (ESL) programs in Nashville. More recently in 2021, Belmont UMC began a partnership with Iglesia Metodista Unida Ebenezer, a majority Latine, Spanish-speaking church. Belmont UMC now offers adult ESL classes at Ebenezer with childcare provided, holds a reading readiness camp for children in the summer, and organizes legal assistance for families facing potential deportation.

A National Fund grant of $162,688 with $162,688 in matching funds raised by the congregation will allow Belmont UMC to complete structural stabilization, envelope repairs, and window restoration.

Photo by Mike DuBose