• Who We Are
  • History of St. Paul's UMC
    • Architectural History
    • Congregational History
  • Joining St. Paul's
  • St. Paul's Foundation
• Stories of Faith
• Where to Find Us
• Staff
• Upcoming at St. Paul's
• New to St. Paul's?
• St. Paul's Newsletters
• Contact Us
• Weddings

Congregational History

St. Paul's Methodist church was founded in 1840, and the first minister was the circuit-riding Rev. J. Hodges, sent by the Rock River Conference in 1840. Rev. George R. Carroll wrote:

"Mr. Hodges preached his first sermon in Cedar Rapids, as nearly as I can ascertain, in the fall of 1840, the place of meeting probably being at Mrs. John Listebarger's cabin on the west side of the river. This is supposed to be the very first public religious service ever held in Cedar Rapids."

• 1929 Review of the History of St. Paul's to date
• Celebration program from 1929
• Reminiscences from 1929 of earlier times