German Methodist Church at NE Stanton and Rodney, 1909 – 1940
Exterior and interior window of the former German Methodist Church – Photographs taken in 1999
German immigrants that came directly from Germany built this church in 1909. Some Germans from Russia did attend this church (as evidenced in the quote below) but it was not directly affiliated with the German-Russian churches.
“When my family relatives came down from Bruderheim, Alberta, Canada (East of Edmonton) in early 1920's they came from a Moravian church and found the Methodist closest in doctrine to the Moravians, rather than the Congregation or any other. In 1925, a Moravian minister came down (to Portland) from Bruderheim looking to start that denomination here, but was not successful. [1] ”
German Methodist Church cornerstone – Photograph taken in 1999
An excerpt from My Mother’s People by Emma Schwabenland Haynes explains why many Germans from Russia may not have associated with this church in the early days:
“The Volga Germans found it difficult to attend the German Reformed Church downtown because of its distance from Albina, and they never felt at home in the near-by German Methodist Church. At least it seemed to them that when they came to the services dressed in such Russian clothes as boots and sheepskin lined overcoats for the men, and three cornered shawl and long dark skirts for the women, the more prosperous and better educated people from Germany were far from cordial [2] .”
The last minister at this church was Reverend Frank Schuman who died in 1941, shortly after this church was closed.
The church is now named the St. Paul Church of God in Christ.
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