A Reconciling Congregation on Lyndale Avenue
On a stretch of Lyndale Avenue South in Minneapolis that has served as a gathering place for neighbors since 1854, Richfield United Methodist Church opens its Sanctuary and its doors wide every Sunday morning at 9:30 am. The congregation lives into a single sentence mission: to build a world in which all may live in faith, justice, and joy. Visitors are met with that mission in word and practice. People of every age, nation, race, gender, and walk of life are welcomed at the Lord's Table, into leadership, and into the work of the church. A Reconciling Statement, adopted unanimously by the Administrative Board on September 18, 2007, declares that all persons are of sacred worth regardless of race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, physical or mental capacity, education, or economic or marital status, and the church is a member of the Reconciling Ministries Network.
The church operates on the campus at 5835 Lyndale Avenue S. in Minneapolis, just south of Richfield's borders. Worship is offered in the Sanctuary at 9:30 am on Sundays, with three additional ways to join: a livestream on YouTube, an audio stream reachable by any touch-tone phone through a toll-free number, and downloadable worship bulletins for those who prefer to read along at home. Office hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, and the phone line rings through the church at 612-861-6086. Email reaches the church at rumc@richfieldumc.org.
The Sanctuary, the Music, and the Sacraments
The Sanctuary holds a simultaneously classic and contemporary look with high ceilings, exposed beams, and brickwork. Stained glass lights the walls without taking over the room, and a restored pipe organ sits on a raised chancel. At the rear of the Sanctuary, a space called The Nook offers rocking chairs and a quieter place to sit, and a screen displays lyrics and spoken liturgy throughout the service so worshipers can follow along without a bulletin. Coffee is welcome in the pews.
Music is treated as a true gift from God and changes shape through the month. The schedule rotates: first Sundays feature organ and choral music, second and third Sundays offer a blended musical style, and fourth Sundays bring the Living Waters Band. The 34-rank Reuter Opus 1881 organ, with 1,982 pipes, is played by organist Sonja Gustafson. The Living Waters Band, led by Victor Zupanc, draws on classic and modern hymns alongside secular songs that unveil the sacred in the secular. The Chancel Choir, an SATB ensemble conducted by Dr. Josh Neuenschwander, welcomes new singers (Thursday night rehearsals, September through May). A Chancel Bell Choir, the Sunday School Choir, the Groth Music Scholars, and a regular rotation of guest musicians round out the sound, with recent concerts hosted at the church by the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus, the Richfield Symphonic Band, the Apollo Club, the Metropolitan Men's Choir, and the Southside Singers.
Worship elements usually include prayer, candle lighting, a Time with Children, and a sermon. Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month using open communion by intinction. The bread, usually from a Hawaiian loaf, is dipped into a cup of 100 percent grape juice so that people of all ages and any relationship with alcohol may receive without hesitation. A gluten-free option is available. Online worshipers are invited to gather the elements at home.
Sermons come in 4 to 6 week thematically-linked series. Rev. Nate Melcher crafts them with humor and depth, drawing on his M.Div from Luther Seminary, an MFA in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University - Mankato, and a BA in Film Studies from the University of Minnesota, as well as years of improv performance and teaching. Guest preachers include laity, ministry professionals, and other clergy. Sermon archives are timestamped on YouTube and collected in Sermon Packs, with a separate podcast feed on SoundCloud. Series run by recent year include Windows, Festival, Callings, Faithful, Conflux, Methods, and Activate. The book studies that go deeper into each series sit on the same bookshelves used by the Bible study groups.
A few signature Sundays each year invite a touch of play: Team Colors Sunday for the Super Bowl, Church Hat Sunday the day after the Kentucky Derby, Pentecost in red, Rainbow Sunday in bright colors, Homecoming Sunday in school colors, and Sweater Sunday on the Christmas Pageant. Milestones & Miracles is celebrated on the last Sunday of each quarter so members can lift up birthdays, anniversaries, new jobs, retirements, and other joys.
Children, Youth, and Family Ministries
Kids are welcomed as they are. In worship, children may come to the chancel for a Time with Children, a message just for them with parents and guardians encouraged to join. After that moment, K-5 students may remain for worship or head to Sunday School on the second and fourth Sundays. Toddler Sunday School gathers on first Sundays with a Bible storybook, play time, and a snack. Children First Sundays happen quarterly when children and adults lead worship side by side, with children carrying the liturgy and prayers, reading scripture, and serving Holy Communion, and the Children's Choir singing special music.
An Art Cart in The Nook holds bags of crayons, paper, and craft supplies for the wiggles. A reserved Nursing Room near the Library offers privacy for nursing mothers, and families are invited to nurse wherever they like. Children receive a Bible when they are baptized, at age three, and again in third grade. All ages are welcome at Holy Communion.
Youth ministry is led by Becca Whitaker, Children, Youth, and Family Ministries Coordinator. The youth group for 7th through 12th graders meets on first Wednesdays from 6:15 pm to 7:30 pm in the Grace Room (September through May) with a pizza dinner and check-in, then a time of faith formation, community building, games, crafts, and activities. Confirmation for 7th through 9th graders has historically met on the second and fourth Sundays from 10:45 am to 11:45 am in the Grace Room, exploring Christianity 101, United Methodism, reading the Bible for today's world, and putting faith into action, with each confirmand receiving a new Bible and working with a mentor from the congregation. Special events include Dungeons & Dragons nights, gaming nights, mission trips, field trips, lock-ins, and service projects. Teens with technology skills are welcomed onto the worship tech crew, running slides, sound, and cameras for the livestream and phone broadcast.
Summer brings Vacation Bible Camp, Movie Nights, family gatherings, and service projects. Recommended at-home resources include Amplify Media, Cokesbury's Deep Blue Adventure Videos, Illustrated Ministry, Crayola coloring pages, the UMC's tips for addressing racism with children, and the Faith5 family practice (share, read, talk, pray, bless).
Caring for Children Early Learning Center
For 40 years and going, Richfield UMC has owned and operated Caring for Children Early Learning Center on the same campus. CFC is a nonprofit licensed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, with seven classrooms licensed for up to 78 children, serving infants at six weeks through Pre-Kindergartners at five years. Hours run Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 5:30 pm, 51 weeks per year, with about nine days closed for holidays and staff development. The building is secured with code entry, and the Brightwheel mobile app keeps families connected with photos, real-time activity updates, paperless billing, and a digital check-in and check-out system.
Curriculum uses The Creative Curriculum and blends art, literacy, music, math, science, social studies, and technology. A full-time on-site chef prepares nutritious meals in the church's commercial kitchen, with a weekly menu sent to families. Supplemental programming includes Note-Able Music classes and Soccer Shots, a children's soccer program focused on character development. Children's Church for Preschool and Pre-K students is led by Rev. Nate Melcher and Becca Whitaker with songs, repeat-after-me prayers, and picture-book Bible stories. CFC accepts children regardless of race, sex, religion, or national origin. Director Kathy Newbauer has led the program since January 2021, with Julie Mathisen as Assistant Director. The center is currently hiring qualified teachers. Phone: 612-866-1632.
Outreach and Justice in the Neighborhood
Outreach at Richfield UMC runs as a coordinated effort rather than a wish list. The Church & Society Team organizes donation drives, relief kit assembly, postcard and phone advocacy, and partnerships with vetted nonprofit organizations. The church has celebrated 170 years by looking outward, producing a video story with the Minnesota Annual Conference about surpassing a goal of 170 items across multiple drives.
The current drive gathers personal hygiene items for VEAP Food Shelf, with a most-needed list including toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, body wash, menstrual products, laundry detergent, hand soap, dish soap, dish scrubbies, household spray cleaners, and shaving cream. Donations can be brought on Sunday mornings, Tuesday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, or Wednesdays from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm, or made online to let VEAP stretch the giving further.
Recent outreach has included nearly $15,000 and 1,000 pounds of funding and food donations in 2024 for local food shelves, statewide food pantry efforts, mental health services, and fair housing advocacy. Refugee relief drives have built welcome kits for new Minnesota neighbors in partnership with the Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services, both for refugees from Ukraine and sub-Saharan African nations. Forty welcome kits were assembled for new residents of The Metro (formerly the Metro Inn), a building managed by Agate Housing and Services, a project featured in the Minnesota Star Tribune. More than 200 personal hygiene kits have been packed for UMCOR disaster recovery. Ongoing projects include pill bottle recycling through Matthew 25, eyeglasses recycling, monthly Meals on Wheels delivery in partnership with other local faith communities, and postcard campaigns supporting fair housing access, including 40 letters in 2023 (legislation passed) and 80 letters in 2025.
Special offerings support Native American Ministries Sunday, Peace with Justice Sunday, UMCOR Sunday, UMC Student Sunday, and World Communion Sunday, as well as partners including Agate Housing and Services, Avivo, the Ayn Dah Yung Center, Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, Every Meal (formerly The Sheridan Story), Growing Hope Globally, Heifer Project International, the Immigration Law & Justice Network, LYNC, Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services, Minnesota FoodShare, Twin Cities Food Justice, VEAP, and offerings shared with other United Methodist Churches that have gone to Red Bird Mission, Simpson Food Pantry, Holy Grounds community meals at Centenary UMC in Mankato, and others. The church has hosted Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative's Families Moving Forward program, supported a youth mission trip to Detroit through Motown Mission, and assembled 24 flood cleaning bucket kits for UMCOR.
On the campus, the church regularly opens its doors to the neighborhood: Penn Fest, concerts, guest speaker forums, craft fairs, coffee cart day, Summer Movie Nights, holistic wellness programs, Girl Scout troop meetings, Trunk-or-Treat, and an Easter Egg Hunt. Fun-O-Rama nights invite neighbors for game nights (Game-O-Rama), classic rock listening parties on vinyl and video (Spin-O-Rama), and drop-in craft days (Craft-O-Rama).
Adults: Bible Study, Book Study, Pub Theology, and Pastoral Care
Several ongoing groups gather adults throughout the week. The Women's Bible Study meets online on Tuesdays at 9:30 am, reading and responding to various books of the Bible and checking in for mutual support. The Men's Bible Study meets hybrid (in-person and online) on Wednesdays at 9:00 am, reading and responding to the next worship scripture with Bible study videos. The Night Owl Bible Study, led by Pastor Nate, meets online on Thursdays at 9:00 pm for those whose days run late. The Men's Support Group meets online on Saturdays at 8:30 am. Women Who Read gathers online on first Mondays at 1:30 pm to discuss a new book each month.
Pub Theology gathers on first Sundays at 7:00 pm at Pizza Lucé (800 W 66th St, Richfield) with no gatherings in July and August. The drop-in format works for ages 21 and up, members and neighbors alike, to discuss faith, God, the Bible, and life over a tasty beverage. No debate, all wondering. Recent discussion topics have ranged from the earliest Bible story a person remembers to what hospitality looks like, what it means to mentor, and what gets people together. Pastor Nate organizes the gathering.
Time for LIFE (Learning, Inspiration, Fellowship for Everyone) meets on second Tuesdays at 1:00 pm, often hybrid with guest speakers and sometimes dessert. Pastoral Care Teams, made up of trained church members, reach out to those in need of connection; volunteers and those seeking care are welcome to email to be part of it. Seasonal classes, workshops, and Bible studies appear in The Heartline newsletter, and a biannual Worship Leader Class trains people to write prayers, speak publicly, and serve as worship liturgists.
Book studies have included Everything Good About God Is True by Bruce Reyes-Chow (with Pastor Nate's original 21-video series), The Gospel of Mark by Amy-Jill Levine, Three Simple Rules by Bishop Reuben Job, Do I Stay Christian? by Brian McLaren, Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer, Falling Upward by Richard Rohr, Forgiveness by Adam Hamilton, Heaven and Earth by Bishop Will Willimon, How (Not) to Read the Bible by Dan Kimball, and What's the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian? by Martin Thielen. Books that have inspired recent sermon series include Enough, Entering the Passion, Footnotes, Half Truths, The Heart That Grew Three Sizes, Light of the World, The Redemption of Scrooge, Restored, Short Stories by Jesus, Three Simple Rules, and Unafraid.
Amplify Media, Library, and Devotionals
Members have free access to Amplify Media, a streaming platform with thousands of videos and audiobooks for daily devotional, reflection, Bible studies, worship, and inspiration. The roster of theologians and teachers includes Bishop Tom Berlin, Rachel Billups, Rachel Held Evans, Adam Hamilton, F Willis Johnson, Sue Nilson Kibbey, Craig Koester, Amy-Jill Levine, Karoline Lewis, Brian McLaren, Matt Skinner, Phyllis Tickle, Barbara Brown Taylor, JJ Warren, Bishop Will Willimon, and N.T. Wright. Curricula include A Disciple's Path, The Generosity Challenge, The Great Courses, Light of the World, Making Sense of the Bible, Three Simple Rules, Unafraid, and youth and kid content like Animate, Celebrate Wonder, Cokesbury's Deep Blue, and Sparkhouse's Holy Moly and Whirl. Members create an account with the church access code HTMZFL on the church's Amplify Media page and can watch from a browser, the mobile app, or a Roku-enabled TV.
The church library is open Sunday mornings and holds more than 1,500 curated titles in fiction, nonfiction, history, children's, theology, ethics, comparative religion, LGBTQIA+ justice, Bible study, social justice, and health and wellness, browseable through TinyCat and LibraryThing. A Free Little Library on Lyndale Avenue holds books for neighbors around the clock, and print copies of the Minneapolis edition of The Handbook to the Streets by St. Stephen's Human Services are often available there. The Upper Room daily devotional and member-written devotionals are read together.
Reconciling, Inclusive, and on Dakota Land
Richfield UMC is a Reconciling Congregation through the Reconciling Ministries Network. Following the United Methodist General Conference in 2024, which ended a 52-year ban on ordaining clergy who are openly LGBTQIA+ and clergy officiating same-sex weddings, the church celebrates what it calls a new day of inclusion and hope. The church's liturgy and prayers intentionally draw on writing by women, people of color, and persons of the LGBTQIA+ community, lamenting that copyright and licensing limits the most expansive language and imagery possible while honoring those agreements.
Worship space is designed to be as accessible as possible. Hearing assistance devices, large-print bulletins and hymnals, an in-Sanctuary screen with lyrics and spoken liturgy, a ramp alongside the eight stairs to the Sanctuary, two pews with wheelchair cutouts, online closed captioning on the YouTube livestream, and worship by phone for those who cannot easily come in person or get online.
The church gathers on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of the Dakota People. A Land Acknowledgment, adopted unanimously by the Administrative Board on March 23, 2021 and first used in worship on April 18, 2021 (Native American Ministries Sunday), names the Cessation 289 Treaty of 1851, acknowledges that the church formed in 1854 as one of the first institutions established by white settlers in the area, and committed to active partnership with Native American communities, affirmation of tribal sovereignty, and rejection of the invisibility and erasure of Indigenous Peoples. The acknowledgment was shaped by the work of Pat Eder of the Richfield Historical Society, Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs of the Minnesota Council of Churches, Rev. Dawn Houser, and Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy, and draws on models from the Guthrie Theater, the Minnesota Annual Conference, the Minnesota Council of Churches, the Native Governance Center, the On Being radio show, Pearl Jam, the University of Minnesota Duluth Campus, and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Institute for Advanced Study. The full statement is used in worship on fifth Sundays, near Indigenous Peoples' Day in October, and on Native American Ministries Sunday each year.
Leadership, Governance, and the UMC Connection
Richfield UMC is a local congregation of the Prairie Winds District of the Minnesota Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. The Bishop of the Minnesota Annual Conference is Bishop Lanette Plambeck. The Conference Superintendent is Rev. Michelle Hargrave. The polity and structure of the UMC is set by the UM Book of Discipline, curated by the General Conference, which meets every quadrennium.
Rev. Nate Melcher (he/him) is the appointed pastor, ordained as an elder and appointed to Richfield UMC since 2019. He previously served as Associate Pastor of Hennepin Avenue UMC from 2014 to 2019 and has been on United Methodist staff for 20 years. He serves on the Board of Ordained Ministry for the Minnesota Annual Conference, and his preaching has been featured in Sojourners Magazine's online justice sermon resources. He teaches Pub Theology, Prayer Writing, Wednesday Bible Study, and Everything Good About God Is True. Before ministry, he worked in student life and as college English faculty, produced shows in the Minnesota Fringe Festival, performed in comedy festivals, coached improv teams, and teaches improv to faith leaders. He enjoys ukulele, biking, cooking, baking, movies, writing, reading, road trips, camping, video games, officiating weddings, daily Wordle, and cheering on the Minnesota Lynx and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kay Bergeland serves as Parish Nurse. Becca Whitaker coordinates Children, Youth, and Family Ministries. Sonja Gustafson is Organist and Accompanist, Victor Zupanc directs the Living Waters Band, and Dr. Josh Neuenschwander directs the Chancel Choir. Pat Noonan is Facilities Coordinator and Linda Schmidt is Programs and Communications Coordinator. Kathy Newbauer directs the Caring for Children Early Learning Center, with Julie Mathisen as Assistant Director. Pastor Nate also welcomes retired clergy and clergy spouses to find a spiritual home here, with active involvement in Bible study, BWCA trips, Children/Youth/Family ministries, community events, elected leader teams, hospitality, library curation, mission trips, music ensembles, pastoral care, small groups, social justice outreach, teaching, worship leadership, the worship tech crew, and United Women of Faith.
The congregation is organized with Elected Leader Teams (Board of Trustees, Staff-Parish Relations Committee, Finance Team, Nominating Team, plus the chair of Children's Council, the United Women of Faith president, the chair of the Church and Society Team, Annual Conference lay delegates, and at-large members) that come together as the Administrative Board. Additional teams and taskforces include the Church and Society Team, Event Taskforce, Funerals and Memorials Team, Groth Scholarship Selection Team, Hospitality Team, Memorials Committee, Reconciling Team, Regathering Taskforce, Richfield UMC Foundation, and United Women of Faith (formerly United Methodist Women).
Membership and the Five Vows
Membership classes are typically held twice a year, in spring and fall, with each class followed by a time of joining the church during Sunday worship. The path is built around five vows that members affirm: prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. The United Methodist Church has seven membership vows in total, with the first five the same as the vows taken at baptism and the last two specifically about joining The UMC and this congregation.
Giving, Weddings, Funerals, and Scholarships
The church offers several ways to give: online through a secure Vanco portal (a Minnesota-based company), during worship by placing a gift or an I Give Online card in the offering plate, by mail to the Business Office, by electronic funds transfer arranged through the office, and through stock gifts, qualified charitable contributions, and legacy designations. The Richfield UMC Foundation, which manages dedicated funds for scholarships, the arts, and social justice outreach, is one of the largest investors in the Dakota-Minnesota Methodist Foundation, whose portfolio is managed by Wespath Benefits and Investments, a nonprofit that has served the United Methodist Church for over 110 years.
Weddings are hosted at the church by arrangement with Pastor Nate. Funerals and memorial services are supported with planning resources and officiating, with bulletins archived for those who wish to revisit them. Baptisms are scheduled through Pastor Nate.
The Chester E. and Marion D. Groth Scholarship Fund, established under the Richfield UMC Foundation, awards annual post-secondary tuition scholarships to qualifying graduating high school seniors from Minnesota pursuing degrees in Music Education, Music Performance, or Music Therapy. Applications are accepted online each year, finalists are invited to a Sunday audition, and recipients often return as Groth Music Scholars to share their gifts in summer worship.
In the News and in the Neighborhood
Richfield UMC and its members appear regularly in local and national coverage. Recent stories include a Minnesota Star Tribune feature on Pub Theology, a Minnesota Annual Conference video on outdoor worship at the Lake Harriet Bandshell, an MPR Weekend Edition Sunday piece on how Minneapolis clergy were preaching after the Annunciation shooting, a Star Tribune Readers Write letter by Rev. Melcher, and a Sahan Journal video on the church's support for Agate Housing and Services as the Metro Inn motel reopened as deeply affordable housing. Members DeAnna Wichman (the elusive Easter egg) and Steve Klosinski (the self-playing Otto Accordion) have appeared in the Star Tribune, and choir director Victor Zupanc was featured in a Star Tribune piece on Minnesota's trailblazing Alzheimer's choir, Love Never Forgets.
The church stands with Minneapolis during moments of crisis, including clergy participation in the 100-plus sit-in at Target headquarters demanding action in response to ICE activity, a community gathering co-hosted with the Windom Community Council after the Annunciation shooting, and ongoing crisis response, mutual aid, and immigration support through vetted nonprofit partners. The church provides mutual aid resources, rapid response hotlines, and know-your-rights information in English and Spanish, with a downloadable mini guide also in Hmong and Somali, alongside the always-available reminder that all people are children of God, all people are loved, and kindness to self matters.