Two Services, One Church Family
First United Methodist Church of Alexandria sits on Jackson Street in the heart of the city's Garden District, where it has gathered for worship since 1968. Its ministry in central Louisiana, however, goes back to 1847. The congregation's tagline, "Creating healing, welcoming spaces where strangers become family and our community becomes a masterpiece of God's grace," shapes everything from Sunday morning to the Wednesday night table.
Sunday worship happens twice. At 8:30 AM, the Grace Life service fills the Fellowship Hall with a live Praise Band leading contemporary music in a casual, comfortable setting, with Holy Communion observed every week. At 11 AM, the Traditional service moves into the Sanctuary, where the Chancel Choir and Worship Leader lead congregational hymn singing from the pews, with Holy Communion on the first Sunday of each month. The Traditional service is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook each week, with a 10 AM start time on fifth Sundays. Sermon audio is also available on Spotify through a dedicated channel.
Wednesday Nights at the Gathering
During the school year, Wednesday evenings are built around food and fellowship. The Gathering begins with a fresh-cooked meal served from 5 to 5:45 PM, priced at $6 for adults, $3 for children, and $18 for the whole family, with menus posted in advance. After the meal, the church opens several programs at 6 PM:
- Wesley 2.0, a scripture-based discussion that walks through the sermons of John Wesley with what the congregation describes as an "AI twist" on the Wesleyan way.
- Art Journaling in The Studio with Rev. Jean Sanders.
- Central Louisiana Mahjong open play, which also meets Fridays at 1 PM.
- Choir rehearsals: the Chancel Choir at 6 PM and the Christmas Cantata Choir at 7 PM.
During the summer, the rhythm shifts to Grill and Chill, a relaxed gathering held every other Tuesday with a shared meal fresh off the grill and open swim with a lifeguard on duty.
Children, Youth, and Young Adults
Family ministry at FUMCA is built around four age groups, all of which run during the morning hours so families can worship and learn together. The Nursery, located in the Preschool wing, is staffed for infants and toddlers from birth through age 2 every Sunday from 8:30 AM to noon and Wednesdays from 6 to 7 PM following the Gathering meal. Children's ministry, for ages 3 through 10, centers on Godly Play, a Montessori-based approach to biblical storytelling, held in the Johnson Center from 10 to 10:45 AM. The program is built on the conviction that children are not the church's leaders of tomorrow but God's children today.
Youth ministry, for grades 6 through 12, gathers in two weekly touchpoints: Sunday School from 10 to 10:45 AM, and a Sunday evening Youth Gathering from 5:30 to 7 PM that opens with a shared meal before moving into activities, personal check-ins, and faith conversation. Confirmation is offered each year to sixth graders through a series of classes that culminate in students affirming the vows made on their behalf at baptism. Every summer the youth group embarks on an out-of-state mission trip, with fundraising and a post-trip thank-you dinner built into the rhythm of the year.
Young adults between 18 and 24, including college and trade school students, find a built-in support network at FUMCA. The Family Ministry team sends care packages twice a year to young adults living away from home, and hosts an annual gathering over Winter Break that brings them back together with peers, families, and the ministry team.
Music as Ministry
Music carries more than its weight at FUMCA. The Chancel Choir sings at the 11 AM Traditional service every Sunday, and the Grace Life Band leads the 8:30 AM contemporary service. Healing Voices, a separate women's community choir, brings music to the sick, the dying, and their loved ones, learning both classic hymns and new pieces written specifically for women's voices. Each December the Chancel Choir nearly doubles in size as members of the congregation and professional vocalists join forces for the Christmas Cantata, accompanied by a chamber orchestra. Rehearsals for the cantata begin in September.
Elizabeth Nix, Director of Worship and Music, oversees all of it. She holds a Master of Music in Theory and Composition from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance, and has been playing in churches for more than twenty-five years.
Art as a Spiritual Practice
FUMCA's commitment to the arts goes deeper than most congregations. Rev. Jean Sanders, a retired elder who now serves as Artist and Pastor in Residence, leads Tuesday morning Studio Art Classes for adults, working in watercolor, acrylic, drawing media, gelli printing, collage, and mixed media, with seasonal projects such as Advent and Christmas angels. Each month the church hosts an Urban Sketching outing, an international movement that combines on-location sketching with watercolor, and Rev. Jean also leads weekly Centering Prayer, seasonal art-and-prayer retreats, and the occasional pop-up art party such as collage making or stitch meditation. The congregation's statement that "healing, welcoming spaces" are central to its mission runs through every one of these offerings.
The Tom Peyton Memorial Arts Festival
Since 1967, FUMCA has hosted Central Louisiana's oldest juried art competition, the Tom Peyton Memorial Arts Festival. Held annually, the festival combines a juried exhibition of regional and student art with workshops and special programming, all free and open to the public. The church also partners with other art community leaders for special tours, Urban Sketching meetups, and classes with local art educators, and hosts public concerts throughout the year, including Jazz on Jackson and the Be Kind Garden District Concert Series.
Men, Women, and Sunday School for Everyone
Adult discipleship at FUMCA happens in two parallel communities. United Women in Faith describes its work as being "driven by God's love and united in sisterhood" to improve the lives of women, children, and youth. The UMMEN (United Methodist Men) ministry focuses on strengthening men's ministry and equipping leaders to shine as "beacons in faith communities worldwide."
Three Sunday School classes meet between the morning services at 10 AM. Grace Space is a mixed-age adult class built around supportive conversation, scripture study, and book studies from writers such as Adam Hamilton, Max Lucado, John Ortberg, and Matt Rawle. The Becomers gathers adults from varied backgrounds for shared conversation about work, family, health, and retirement, rooted in Scripture and often incorporating book and video studies. The Seekers, one of the congregation's longest-running groups, draws primarily retirees but welcomes anyone, with nine rotating teachers and guest speakers throughout the year from the Food Bank, Hope House, the Salvation Army, and other local charities; the class also rings bells for the Salvation Army each December and hosts crawfish boils and Super Bowl parties along the way.
Out in the Community
FUMCA's reach extends well beyond its walls. The church kitchen is at the heart of a feeding ministry that supplies hundreds of emergency meals to local outreach partners while also serving the Wednesday Gathering and Sunday community meals. Every Tuesday, the Alexandria Farmer's Market sets up on the FUMCA campus, drawing hundreds of visitors for fresh produce, natural products, and handicrafts. Other recurring offerings include seasonal family festivals, family photo opportunities, and a drive-through Live Nativity that brings the Christmas story to life through costumed, non-speaking characters from a cast of all ages.
The annual Pumpkin Patch, now in its third decade as a fundraiser for the church preschool, draws families from across the region for five days of pumpkins and fall photos in the lot across from the church. Trunk or Treat on the Sunday of Pumpkin Patch week has become its own neighborhood tradition.
A long-standing friendship with Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim takes shape through Young at Heart, a monthly social that alternates between the two campuses and occasionally includes field trips together.
First United Methodist Preschool
First United Methodist Preschool and its daycare program have been a mission of the church for seventy years, making it one of the oldest continually operating church preschools in the region. The Pumpkin Patch is its biggest annual fundraiser, with proceeds going directly to support preschool education. Catherine Lytle serves as Preschool Director and works to coordinate events between the church and the preschool.
A History Stretching Back to 1847
The congregation traces its roots to the early 1800s, when Methodism first took hold in Alexandria under the leadership of Rev. John Harmon. The first church building was constructed in 1847, likely on Front Street along the levee. Much of that earliest history was lost on May 13, 1864, when Union troops burned Alexandria following the Battle of Mansfield, taking a subsequent church structure on Third Street between Lee and Washington Streets with them, along with most of the written records.
A new chapter began with a building constructed in 1877 and rebuilt in 1888. In 1907 a two-story brick church went up on Jackson Street, and in 1910 West End Methodist Church merged into First Church, bringing combined membership to roughly 500 under Rev. H. R. Singleton. A three-story brick education building was added in 1927 during the tenure of Rev. Cleanth Brooks, Sr. In 1968, the congregation moved down the street to its present campus, building a new sanctuary, chapel, fellowship hall, and education facilities. Subsequent additions include a youth and family center and expanded parking across the street. Rev. Kennon Pickett now serves as Senior Pastor, overseeing the spiritual, worship, and missional life of a congregation that, in 2026, celebrates 179 years of ministry in central Louisiana.
Joining from Far Away
Out-of-town young adults are remembered twice a year through care packages sent by the Family Ministry team, and the annual Winter Break gathering brings college and trade school students back to FUMCA with their peers, families, and ministry leaders.
Vacation Bible School
Each July, FUMCA hosts a free Vacation Bible School open to children entering Pre-K through fifth grade. Held on Friday evenings during the month, the program combines music, crafts, games, snacks, science, and Bible stories in an evening format designed for busy families.