In 1900, Hennepin Avenue UMC, through the Methodist City Missionary and Church Extension Society, paid off the debt on our behalf. 

They felt it was too far to commute to their Methodist church at 13th Ave and 10th St (2 miles away!), so they asked their pastor to start a Sunday School and Sunday afternoon preaching series in the back of a nearby drugstore. Later that year, the church was formally organized with 13 charter members and purchased two lots at the corner of Park Ave and 34th St. for $3000.

As we celebrate Latino heritage, we celebrate a spirit of perseverance that is deeply aligned with the gospel. We honor the contributions of those who have come to this nation seeking refuge and opportunity. And we are reminded specifically that our calling as Christians is to see the face and presence of our savior especially in refugees regardless of status. For more than 2000 years we have affirmed that a child and refugee is precisely how God chose to reveal himself to us.