A Place for Compassion, Curiosity, Connection, and Commitment
On a tree-lined stretch of West Buckingham Road in Garland, Texas, a congregation that began with a few folding chairs and a pastor's garage has spent more than fifty years growing into a 400-seat sanctuary, a busy food pantry, and a circle of ministries that reach into the surrounding neighborhoods. Buckingham United Methodist Church describes itself as a place where diversity of background, age, ethnicity, and life experience is not just welcomed but expected, and where the work of following Christ shows up in weekly groceries for hungry neighbors, hand-sewn pillows for hospital patients, and prayer shawls knitted by candlelight.
From a Pastor's Garage to a 400-Seat Sanctuary
The first worship services at Buckingham took place in the garage of its founding pastor, and the church has marked its presence in Garland since 1971. As the congregation grew, it added new spaces for Christian formation, mission work, and fellowship. In 1992, the church completed a contemporary-style sanctuary that seats four hundred people and is known in the area for combining intimacy with rich acoustics. The building regularly hosts Garland-area choir performances and other music recitals, making the room something of a community resource as well as a worship space.
Two Sunday Services, One Livestreamed
Worship at Buckingham centers on two Sunday morning services, at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM, with the later service also carried on Facebook Live for those worshiping from home. Archived video of past services is available on the church's YouTube channel. Between those services, at 9:45 AM, the Sunday school hour brings together children and adults in classrooms on the west side of the building. Children's Sunday School gathers kindergartners through fifth graders for Bible stories and engaging activities, while adults meet in the Education Wing for their own time of study. The hour is also when the Chancel Choir rehearses, filling the building with preparation for the music that will return at 11:00.
A Sanctuary Built for Song
Music is a defining piece of Buckingham's worship life. Brian McKinney has directed the music ministry for thirty years and leads the Chancel Choir, which provides music for weekly worship year-round and gathers for a fall retreat to prepare for the Christmas Cantata. The choir is open to anyone who would like to join. The sanctuary's signature instrument is a pipe organ built in 1992 by the Bedient Pipe Organ Company. It is a two-manual, eleven-rank tracker organ with 668 individual pipes, enclosed in a white oak case with sugar pine, mahogany, rosewood, ebony, western red cedar, and poplar accents. Gene Bedient, one of the few American builders trained in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European tradition, designed the instrument with mechanical tracker action, giving the organist direct contact with each pipe. Pianist and organist Laurie Wilson brings the instrument to life each Sunday.
Children, Youth, and Confirmation
Young people have been at the center of Buckingham's ministry since its earliest days. Kindergarten through fifth graders take part in Children's Sunday School at 9:45 AM and in a Children's Chapel Time during the 11:00 AM worship service. Middle and high schoolers, sixth through twelfth grade, attend worship with the congregation and then gather for regular fellowship and growth activities throughout the year, including confirmation class and meaningful service projects. The church also partners with the youth program at First Sachse to broaden those connections.
A Circle of Care
For members and friends navigating difficult seasons, Buckingham offers a quiet network of care ministries. A prayer group remains in active prayer for those in need and gathers in person every other week to pray for people in the congregation and beyond, while a CareNote Ministry sends handwritten cards of encouragement. The Prayer Shawls ministry knits, crochets, sews, weaves, and quilts shawls, blankets, and wraps, each one made with prayer and given as a tangible reminder of God's healing embrace. A Caregivers' Support Group meets monthly as a Christian fellowship for anyone who identifies as providing physical or spiritual care for a loved one. When the time comes to plan a memorial or funeral, the pastor and staff walk alongside families with care and compassion, and the church offers niches for those who choose inurnment at Buckingham.
Neighbors in Garland and Beyond
The church's outreach extends well beyond its walls. The Fishes and Loaves Food Pantry opens every Thursday from 10:00 AM to noon (except holidays) to provide essential groceries to Garland residents experiencing food insecurity, with volunteers greeting each visitor with a warm welcome and a word of compassion. Through the Sew a Seed Ministry, Buckingham members sew soft decorative pillows for patients recovering from surgery at Methodist Richardson Medical Center, creating as many as two thousand Spirit-filled pillows in a typical year. Six times a year, the Carter BloodCare donation bus parks in the church's west-end lot from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM for blood and platelet drives. The congregation also partners with teachers and administrators at B.H. Freeman and Golden Meadows Elementary, donating school supplies, helping with meals at teacher gatherings, and serving as reading partners to young students.
Coming for a Visit
A first-time guest at Buckingham will find a congregation that takes its United Methodist heritage seriously while staying open to anyone who walks through the door. The church's motto, A Place for Compassion, Curiosity, Connection and Commitment, sums up the tone, and members emphasize that jeans, shorts, suits, and ties all fit right in. Sunday morning begins with worship at 8:30 AM, Sunday school and choir rehearsal at 9:45 AM, and a second worship service at 11:00 AM. The food pantry welcomes neighbors on Thursday mornings. Giving is supported through online donations and by check mailed to the church office. Whatever the reason for walking through the door, the welcome at Buckingham is the same one that has been offered since 1971: come just as you are.