Hanscom Park United Methodist Church is located at 4444 Frances Street in the

Hanscom Park Hanscom Park is a historic neighborhood in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Its namesake public park is one of the oldest parks in Omaha, donated to the City in 1872. U.S. President Gerald R. Ford was born in a house in the Hanscom Park neighborhood. Its ...

neighborhood of

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. Established in 1886, the congregation has long been a leader in Nebraska Conference of the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

, and hosted at least one annual regional meeting. In 1953, the congregation's pastor gained national attention for forming a psychiatric support group for Methodist ministers.

History

Hanscom Park Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1886 by H. H. Millard. Built in what was considered to be an upscale community, the church sat in the middle of a field. By 1904 the congregation boasted a membership of 352. Early pastors that succeeded H. H. Millard were George M. Brown, J. P. Murray, F. M. Sisson, and Clyde C. Cissel. Around the turn of the century the Hanscom Park congregation became concerned with the "lawlessness and destitute behavior" of workers from the nearby

Union Stockyards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...

South Omaha South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth, due to the rapid development of the Union S ...

. They organized dances to compete with the "loose establishments" in

Sheelytown Sheelytown was a historic ethnic neighborhood in South Omaha, Nebraska, USA with populations of Irish, Polish and other first generation immigrants. Located north of the Union Stockyards, it was bounded by Edward Creighton Boulevard on the north, ...

, a tenement located to the east. These gatherings routinely caused a stir among local residents, but were continuously held for many years. In 1899 the North Nebraska Conference annual meeting was held at Hanscom Park. Omaha Hanscom Park UMC

In 1953, Hanscom Park pastor Reverend Ben Wallace helped found the Ministers' Clinic of Nebraska, a discussion group for mostly Methodist ministers to talk about their anxieties and understandings in relationship to those of professional

psychiatrists A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

. The group received national news coverage, including an article in ''Time'' magazine.

Currently

In 2006

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

s blanketed a number of Omaha neighborhoods with pamphlets. In response, Hanscom Park U.M.C. held a

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

-style meeting to discuss the matter. The executive director of the regional

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

in Omaha spoke to local citizens during the meeting. In 2007 the church hosted a special dinner for Nebraskans for Peace. The evening included a presentation by Frank Cordaro of the Phil Berrigan Catholic Worker House in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

.(2007
"Rice and Beans Potluck Dinner".
Nebraskans for Peace. Retrieved 7/11/07.

References

{{reflist

External links

Hanscom Park United Methodist Church
website. History of South Omaha, Nebraska History of Methodism Churches in Omaha, Nebraska United Methodist churches in Nebraska

History

Currently

See also

References

External links