Three Names, One Neighborhood at 84th and South
Aldersgate United Methodist Church sits on the northwest corner of 84th and South Streets in southeast Lincoln, Nebraska, a corner it has occupied since Easter Sunday 1970. The story actually starts in 1898, when the Normal Methodist Episcopal Church was organized and took its name from Lincoln Normal University near 56th and South Streets. Following the 1939 union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the Methodist Protestant Church, the congregation became Bryan Memorial Methodist Church and relocated to 6140 South Street on February 22, 1959. The current name, Aldersgate United Methodist Church, came with the 1970 move. By 1995, steady growth had crowded the original sanctuary at special events, and a new worship space was built and dedicated in 1996. The congregation marked 115 years in the summer of 2013.
Today, the corner is easy to spot. Visitors approach a barrier-free building with no stairs, surrounded by nearly two acres of public gardens that have drawn newspaper coverage and a national sustainability award. The phrase the congregation returns to again and again is simple: at Aldersgate, you are family.
A Sanctuary Shaped Like a Tent
The 1996 Worship Center is the church's defining architectural feature. Its shape, furnishings, and color scheme are drawn directly from the biblical description of the tabernacle in Exodus 25 and 26, where Moses is instructed to build a portable sanctuary for a people on the move. The footprint of the room is tent-shaped. Curtains serve as the sides, and the tan border of the carpets and the stone tiles along the outer walls are meant to recall desert sands. Three stained glass windows, donated by TierOne Bank, fill the room with the blues, purples, reds, and golds of the original tabernacle. Two more TierOne windows decorate the original worship area, now the Fellowship Hall, an octagonal space that anchors the courtyards.
Inside the Worship Center, almost everything is movable. Seating and furnishings can be rearranged, and the room is used for services, concerts, recitals, and large gatherings. A temporary wall cuts into the northeast corner to create a Youth Room, with a Prayer Corner on the sanctuary side. Hanging and placed decorations, called Arrayments, change with the seasons and worship themes. Lyrics and visual aids are projected on two large screens on either side of the room, and the pastor speaks from the center.
Sunday Mornings, From Coffee to Communion
Sunday at Aldersgate begins at 9:30 AM with a hospitality hour in the Fellowship Hall, where coffee, tea, juice, water, and cookies are served. Children's Sunday School for kindergarten through fifth grade meets in Room 2 at 9:45 AM during the school year. Youth Sunday School for middle and high school students gathers in Room 1. An Adult Bible Study group also meets at 9:45 AM in the sanctuary, working through the television series The Chosen and discussing what it portrays about the life of Jesus.
The main worship service follows at 11:00 AM, in person and on YouTube. Communion is typically observed on the first Sunday of the month, with the process explained during the service and open to anyone who wishes to participate. People are greeted on arrival and offered a connection card for follow-up information, but visitors are not singled out. Offering plates are passed for those who wish to support the ministries; participation is voluntary.
Clothing is described by the congregation itself as anything from a Sunday best to jeans and shirts. The pastor, Matthew Borland, greets worshippers as they leave and is available during the week for calls and meetings. Children are welcome in the sanctuary, and a kids' table in the back is stocked with coloring sheets and puzzles. A staffed nursery is also available.
A Thursday Service at Legacy Estates
For those who cannot make it on Sunday, a smaller service is held at 12:30 PM on Thursdays at Legacy Estates, in the lower level theater. It is a short trip from the main campus and is in person only, with no livestream. The Thursday gathering gives members who live in Legacy Estates or who travel during Sundays another chance to worship with the congregation.
Aldersgate Gardens: A Public Park on Church Land
The most visible part of Aldersgate is not inside the building. Across the 1.9 acres of green space that surround it, the church has built one of the more unusual neighborhood parks in Lincoln. The transformation began in 2016, when a description of the property noted dead and diseased trees and a lawn choked with dandelions and crabgrass. Working with Luann Finke of Finke Gardens and Nursery as landscape architect, the congregation began replacing turf with native and drought-tolerant plantings. By the spring of 2023, more than 125 trees, nearly 800 shrubs, and more than 1,800 perennials had been planted, and lawn had been reduced from 83,000 square feet to about 23,000, a reduction of nearly three-quarters.
The gardens are organized into named areas with their own plant catalogs: the Eastern Front, Meditation Garden, North Driveway, North Side, Parking Lot, Playground and Courtyard, Pollinator Garden, Prairie Parkway, Rain Garden, South Side, and West Side. A rain garden captures most of the runoff from the church roof, creating a shallow pool that draws foxes, raccoons, opossums, rabbits, squirrels, birds, and pollinators. A Chronolog time-lapse camera documents changes in the garden, and a Critter Cam and a monthly Critter of the Month feature give visitors a closer look at the wildlife that has moved in. A new Lawn Experimentation Program is testing lawn substitutes that need little or no watering and infrequent mowing while feeding bees and butterflies.
The work has brought outside recognition. In February 2020, Interfaith Power and Light named Aldersgate a national winner of its 2019 Cool Congregations Challenge in the Sacred Grounds category, citing the conversion of lawn into an arboretum and the nature-based playground. The gardens are a Landscape Steward Affiliate Site of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, a certified Nebraska Pollinator Habitat, a charter member of the Children and Nature Network, and a participant in the First Plymouth Faith to Forest project. The Lincoln Journal Star, the Omaha World-Herald, and KLKN-TV have all featured the gardens.
A Nature-Based Playground
Inside the gardens sits a playground designed to invite children into the natural world. The fenced play area includes toddler swings, a two-level fort, a 6 by 10 foot sand pit, and a large section of an ash log that serves as a climbing structure. Outside the fence, a seven-foot hill slide adds a second way down. Near the rain garden, a shallow pool of water that draws wildlife is a regular stop. The playground was built in 2019 in part with a gift from Linda Schafer, and three Boy Scout Eagle projects have added landscaping, the parking lot plantings, the shrubs and perennials along 84th Street, and the entrance signs on South Street and Pinedale Avenue. Improvements on the wish list include a new swing set for older children, outdoor fitness equipment, a little free library, and possibly a frisbee golf course with natural-material targets.
Earth Stewards and the Sustainability Lecture Series
The environmental work is organized through the Earth Stewards, an informal group that meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 PM by Zoom. Members discuss current events, plan webinars, and write about stewardship in the Around Aldersphere newsletter. Outside experts are invited when a topic calls for it. The group's work led to a Winter 2025 Lecture Series held in the sanctuary on climate and energy, with speakers from Lincoln Electric System and the City of Lincoln covering the 2025 energy efficiency incentives, the Lincoln Climate Action Plan, and the LES path to net-zero electricity by 2040. A fourth lecture by Aldersgate member Steve Schafer reported on the results of the church's lawn experiments. Each session was livestreamed and is available on the church's YouTube channel.
Inside the building, an Energy Improvement Project in 2018 and 2019 replaced aging heating and cooling systems with high-efficiency heat pumps and added continuous insulation to the original concrete block walls. An energy audit by Lincoln Electric System estimated savings of several hundred dollars a year on electricity, and a follow-up Energy Improvement Project is laid out in the One- and Five-Year Capital Facilities Plan maintained by the Board of Trustees.
United Women in Faith and the Stitcheroos
Aldersgate has an active United Women in Faith unit, formerly United Methodist Women, that meets at the church on the second Monday of most months at 1:30 PM, sometimes by Zoom in winter weather, with attendance between fifteen and twenty. Monthly programs include a social action issue, recent books, spiritual readings, and refreshments. Special events include a tour of a local service organization, a luncheon for the women of the church and their guests, and a Women in Mission Sunday that fills both worship services. The unit has been recognized at the district level for its programming and its support of local, national, and international mission goals.
Many of the same women are part of the Stitcheroos, a crafting group that meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 1:30 PM in Room 4. The Stitcheroos sew child-sized quilts and lap robes, then gather to tie them together. Knitting and crocheting projects are welcome during the same meetings. Every finished quilt and lap robe is donated to a local facility in need. No sewing experience is required, just the willingness to tie a knot.
Book Clubs, Bowling, Breakfast, and the Grand Generation
Two book clubs serve different schedules. The afternoon book club meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 1:30 PM in Room 4, and the evening book club meets on the third Tuesday at 7 PM in Room 4. Each season the clubs read selections from the One Book, One Lincoln program. The men's breakfast gathers on the third Saturday of each month at 9 AM in Room 4 for an egg casserole from Hy-Vee and a short talk that invites discussion. The Grand Generation, a seniors' group, meets for lunch on outings such as Stauffer's Cafe and Pie Shoppe. Young adults and young parents bowl on occasional Tuesday evenings at Parkview Lanes. A new offering, Taco 'Bout Jesus, is a Fresh Expression gathering at Super Taco Restaurant on 56th and Holdrege that mixes food, fellowship, and faith conversation. Music is central to the congregation as well; the Aldersgate Choir sings at the 11 AM Sunday service and welcomes new members, and the church offers a Yamaha Clavinova, a Rodgers 905 organ, and a baby grand piano for recitals, concerts, and solo performances.
Family Ministries and the Faith and Family Day
Family Ministries brings children of all ages and their families together for outings and fellowship. Past gatherings have included a Family Ministries Fall Event at a nearby farm with pumpkin carving, a hayrack ride, a barbecue, and a fire pit with s'mores and campfire songs; a Faith and Family Day at Haymarket Park with the Saltdogs, including a non-denominational worship service behind the third base dugout; and a kick-off afternoon in the Sunshine Room with pizza, cookie decorating, and games. The work of organizing these events is led by Colleen Nielsen, who coordinates RSVP and tickets.
Food, Clothing, and the Local Outreach Offering
The church's outreach ministries are organized around simple, recurring acts of giving. A Pantry Shopping Cart in the Fellowship Hall collects non-perishables that are delivered each week to the Eastridge Presbyterian Food Pantry. A red wagon in the sanctuary holds donations for the Food Bank of Lincoln, the congregation's monthly outreach mission. Cash and checks for Loaves and Fishes, a ministry that serves the homeless and food insecure at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in downtown Lincoln, are collected through the offering plate. Plastic shopping bags are sent to Christ United Methodist Church, where they are woven into mats. Each month, the Local Outreach Offering supports a different cause; one recent collection supported Willie's Underwear Project, which provides clothing to children in the health offices of Lincoln Public Schools. The congregation also participates in NeighborLNK, an Aging Partners program that connects volunteers with homebound seniors and persons with disabilities.
Music and Musical Possibilities at Aldersgate
The building is designed to host musical performances. The sanctuary seats more than 100 with flexible seating and good acoustics. The Fellowship Hall seats 50 at cafe-style tables around a kitchen, with a digital display and sound that can be connected to the sanctuary. The building is fully accessible from the parking lot to the front door with no steps, and an exterior courtyard seats 20 for outdoor events. Off-street parking accommodates 80 vehicles. The church has a Yamaha Clavinova (Model CLP-785), a Rodgers 905 Classic Electric Organ, and a baby grand piano. A state-of-the-art audio, visual, and livestreaming system with portable and wired microphones is available for recitals, concerts, and other events. The church makes the space available for recitals and concerts, with performance stipends for choir and solo or small group performances at Sunday services. Funding for stipends comes from the Mary Alice Parks and Merle Summers endowments. Renters and performers contact the church office to arrange use of the space.
Giving, Endowment, and Legacy Gifts
Aldersgate accepts contributions in many forms. Cash and checks can be placed in the Sunday offering, brought to the office, or mailed. Online giving is available through a secure Vanco payment platform, where donors can set up recurring or one-time gifts by ACH, credit, or debit. The church also accepts appreciated stock, qualified charitable distributions from IRAs, memorial gifts, gifts to two endowment funds managed by the Nebraska United Methodist Foundation, and legacy gifts through wills and trusts. A TruEarth partnership generates a 20% donation on purchases of laundry strips made through a special link. A scrip program lets members buy gift cards at a discount from local retailers, with the difference going to the congregation.
Visiting, Parking, and Accessibility
The church is at 8320 South Street, with parking on the east side of the building. Guest spaces are in front of the building, along with accessible spaces. The building has no stairs, and accessible restrooms are available. The gardens and playground are open to the public every day, with no admission fee and no locked gates. Restrooms inside the church are available when the building is open. Large groups planning to use the grounds should call ahead.
Pastoral Leadership
Pastor Matthew Borland grew up in Lincoln, attended Lincoln East High School, earned an associate's degree from Southeast Community College and a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and graduated from Saint Paul School of Theology in 2025. He also serves United Methodist churches in Denton and Pleasant Dale. Music Director Julie Clopper-Smith brings passion to the music at Aldersgate. Digital Media Specialist Nancy Taylor manages photography, videography, livestreaming, and social media. Administrative Assistant Stacey Lienemann fields calls, prepares the weekly bulletin, sends the newsletter, and keeps the office running. Church office hours are 9 AM to 3 PM, Monday through Friday. The congregation's Facebook page, Instagram feed, YouTube channel, and Spotify podcast, Aldersgate on the Go, are kept current with recordings, news, and event updates.