Hines Boyd
Contributor
Monticello has a new church. It’s the OPEN HEARTS United Methodist Church. It meets at 9 a.m. every Sunday in the Presbyterian Fellowship Hall at 290 E. Dogwood St. It is a congregational mission of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Tallahassee. But, first, here’s a bit of background surrounding the origin of this new church.
For most of us, how we practice our faith is a very personal choice. Rarely do two people choose to believe exactly the same things or practice their faith in precisely the same way. The best worship experiences, though, have traditionally come in groups – churches large and small, frequently organized in multiple denominations with differing theological beliefs. But nearly always they serve the same God; they just don’t hear Him saying the same thing to them, even when reading from the same Bible.
Because churches are organized by humans, disagreements are to be expected. A natural result of these disagreements is that church groups, and even church denominations, frequently split to form new groups that more closely fit the comfort level and perceived spiritual needs of group members. For example, in the 1800s a colossal schism in U.S. churches occurred over the issue of slavery. More recently, several Protestant denominations, including Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists, have experienced schism. These schisms often have multiple causes – theological differences, the unfortunate forces of today’s politically-inspired culture wars or simply internal human power struggles.
Recently, a schism affecting the United Methodist denomination reached Monticello. A prior agreement within the denomination allowed any United Methodist church to vote to leave the denomination and to take its property with the newly separated group. The vote in the Monticello church was to separate, leaving a minority group of longtime local United Methodists who wanted to continue as United Methodists with no place to go.
So, this group of socially close-knit, committed believers set out on a search for a place to worship in a setting consistent with their long-held beliefs and spiritual comfort level. They also had to find an administrative structure that could support a new church group.
The answers came quickly – from two churches.
The Monticello First Presbyterian Church said, “You are welcome to meet and worship in our fellowship hall.”
And Trinity United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, one of the first two Methodist churches in Florida, said, “We will help you with whatever you need!”
A “Leadership Team” of 10 people put together a plan for a new church they would call OPEN HEARTS UMC. Knowing that there were some things that would be difficult to do by themselves, they met with the leaders at Trinity UMC about possibly becoming a mission of that historic church. The group laid out a weekly service that was intentionally informal and easy to execute with little help from professional staff, yet that was worshipful and connectional. They wanted a service that was casual but, as one member said, also “makes you feel like you’ve been to church.”
On May 21, 2023, about 35 members of the estranged Monticello group met to form OPEN HEARTS UMC (OHUMC). It was the first of their ongoing weekly services at the First Presbyterian Fellowship Hall. OHUMC officially became a mission of Trinity UMC on July 23, 2023, when 44 membership transfer letters were accepted into Trinity UMC at a Monticello service led by Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Matthew Williams, accompanied by a large following from Trinity.
Since midyear 2023, Sunday morning average attendance has steadily grown, including a recent contingent from Madison. The worship services are simple but effective. The messages usually come from visiting ministers (many of them very experienced retired ministers at Trinity) or former OHUMC Sunday School teachers. There’s plenty of familiar inspirational music, both traditional and contemporary. Lots of planned social interaction before, during and after the service helps maintain group connectivity.
Though the youngest member is 13, most OPEN HEARTS members are over fifty. They are mostly longtime active church-goers with a discipleship mindset. They are welcoming, non-judgmental and patiently tolerant of differing views. Many of them are exceptional group nurturers and very committed to local mission work. They know that their small group can’t do everything. So, their programs are designed to support the interests and strengths of this membership base. A very active Nurture Team focuses on caring for and connecting members of the congregation both inside and outside of church activities. Because OPEN HEARTS is not saddled with expensive staff salaries or burdensome facilities maintenance costs, a large share of the group’s tithes and offerings is available for local mission work. The Mission Team is very active.
The United Methodist slogan is: Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors. OPEN HEARTS members take that charge very seriously. OPEN HEARTS welcomes anyone looking for a caring, giving, inclusive community of Christians to join them at 9 a.m. on any Sunday at the Presbyterian Fellowship Hall, 290 E. Dogwood Street, in downtown Monticello behind First Bank.