About Wesley
Early History
The First Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1881. Within two years the congregation had grown sufficiently to warrant the purchase of land and constructed a church at K (Van Ness) and Merced Streets. By 1887 this church had grown to be the largest church in the San Joaquin Valley. Fire destroyed the records. In 1904, the congregation relocated to M and Tuolumne but fire also destroyed that church in 1919. It was rebuilt in 1922, and continued in use until the 1970 merger with Wesley.
Wesley United Methodist Church
In early 1965, five couples met with the Fresno District Superintendent to establish a new Methodist congregation in the college community of north Fresno. Services began in the college Religious Center on Shaw Avenue, south of Fresno State College in July 1965. In 1968 the first two buildings, John Wesley Hall and Education West were constructed on the west half of the present site. The University Presbyterian Church shared the site and facilities for a number of years and were responsible for the construction of the Fireside Room and office complex, and the first Education East building. In July of 1970, First Methodist Church in downtown Fresno abandoned its historical site and merged with Wesley.
A Reconciling Congregation
In 1984, after many months of study, Wesley voted to become a "Reconciling Congregation," welcoming lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons into the life and ministry of our congregation. Wesley in Fresno was the second United Methodist Church in the nation to declare itself Reconciling -- the first, whose vote was taken only hours before Wesley, was Washington Square UMC in New York City. After more than twenty years of Reconciling, LGBTQI persons are involved in every ministry of Wesley, and we have several ministries focused around LGBTQI persons.
El Dorado Park Neighborhood
The neighborhood immediately south of the Wesley campus has recently come to be known as "El Dorado Park". In the 1970's this neighborhood of mostly apartments was home to many poor southeast Asian refugees, mostly Hmong. A ministry to serve these neighbors, Stone Soup, grew out of Wesley, and became an independent non-profit. Many Wesley members still volunteer with Stone Soup. Over the last decade, the demographic of the neighborhood has become much more ethnically mixed, with the largest concentration of poverty in Fresno. Wesley members try to be good neighbors in a variety of ways: community organizing efforts (to work together with neighborhood leaders to improve quality of life), health fairs, a Summer Hunger Ministry (sack breakfasts), and Base Camp (a weekly community meal on Thursdays). Currently, Wesley, Stone Soup, CSU-Fresno and the City of Fresno have partnered with many stakeholders from El Dorado Park to envision the redevelopment of the neighborhood.
Our Core Values
In 2006, members of Wesley worked together to discern our "core values," those values that represent who we currently are as a community. These values shape and guide our ministry together. They are:
- Inclusiveness
- Spiritual Growth
- Social Justice
