On the corner of East Jefferson and North Dubuque in downtown Iowa City stands a sandstone church that has anchored a Methodist presence for nearly two centuries. First United Methodist Church of Iowa City invites everyone, no exceptions, to two Sunday morning services, a full slate of choirs and ensembles, children and youth programs, and a network of mission work that reaches into Johnson County and beyond. Its lead pastor frames the calling with John Wesley's vision: the world is the parish.
Two Sunday Services, Two Styles on East Jefferson
The church gathers twice each Sunday morning. At 8:30 AM the Praise Band leads a more informal service. At 10:30 AM the Chancel Choir and organ lead a traditional service with congregational hymns. Both services share a common theme and biblical message, and both reflect the congregation's values of inclusive community, spiritual formation, social witness for justice and peace, and proclaiming messages of hope.
The 10:30 AM service is broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube, so members who are traveling or at home can follow the same readings and sermon. A video sermon archive keeps past services available online. Pastors invite visitors to stop by before or after any service to introduce themselves.
Music at the Center of Worship
Music is one of the congregation's signatures. The Chancel Choir, a four-part adult ensemble that traces its roots to the founding of the church, sings at the 10:30 AM service and rehearses Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. Its repertoire ranges from sixteenth-century compositions to contemporary praise. Jubilation Ringers, the adult handbell choir, rehearses Mondays from 5:30 to 7:00 PM and plays monthly in worship and for special occasions. Grace Notes, a women's choir open to all ages and abilities, rehearses Wednesdays from 6:15 to 7:00 PM and sings several times throughout the year. The Praise Band rehearses Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 PM and leads the 8:30 AM service.
Director of Worship Arts Phil Carver holds a bachelor of music degree from Cornell College and a master of music degree from the University of Northern Iowa, and has served the Iowa Conference and General Conference in music leadership for more than twenty years. Director of Music Elena Cressy is a conductor and choral educator completing her Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy at the University of Iowa. Organist Dr. Minji Kwon, a Korean-born musician, holds a doctoral degree from the University of Iowa and has performed internationally in Seoul, London, Prague, Mexico City, New York, and beyond, with solo piano recordings of Croatian composer Dora Pejačević.
For those interested in running the presentation slides, the soundboard, or the cameras that feed the livestream, rotating audio-visual teams welcome new hands and let people specialize in what they like. Orientation and training are provided.
Children, Youth, and College Students
Children's ministry is for children in sixth grade and younger. Children's Sunday School meets Sundays from 9:15 to 10:15 AM, gathering first in room 205 of the education building before splitting into classes by age. The children's ministry team builds community among families and friends of the church and aims to create a safe place for children and their parents to explore their relationship with God. Participation is open to all children and their families, regardless of membership.
During the 10:30 AM service, children are invited up front for Young Disciple's time, a special story built around that day's scripture lesson. Children are always welcome in worship, regardless of any noise they may or may not make.
Youth ministry serves students in grades six through twelve. Youth Group meets on the second and fourth Sundays of the month from 4:00 to 5:30 PM in the Youth Room. The schedule has it twice each month, with time in community, conversation about faith and the wider world, fun, and service. Confirmation is offered to eighth and ninth graders as a year-long journey of classes, trips, special events, and small classroom work. The youth program also includes weekend spiritual retreats and week-long mission trips with required pre-trip meetings.
The Wesley Foundation, the congregation's campus ministry, walks alongside University of Iowa students. It is a year-round ministry, including a summer rhythm of consistent connection and deeper conversation in preparation for the fall semester. Wesley Foundation activities complement Sunday morning worship.
The Little Angels Learning Center, an early childhood program connected to the church, offers care and education to young children and their families. The center is led by Director Taylor Moore.
Adults Growing in Faith
Adults out of high school have many options for fellowship and study. Adult Sunday School meets at 9:15 AM on Sunday mornings. Christianity in Time and Space meets in the back of Fellowship Hall and follows the Revised Common Lectionary, rotating leaders each week. The Legends History Class meets Sundays at 9:15 AM in room 9 and again Tuesdays at 3:00 PM over Zoom, focusing on Christian history and its connections to life today.
Discussion groups gather around books and films. Exploring Theology meets on Zoom on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 PM, with in-depth conversation based on a book or video series related to the Bible and contemporary social issues. Films for Faith and Fellowship meets on the second Sunday of each month from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, with rotating hosts who choose the film and provide treats.
A college-aged Bible Study meets on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM at 120 North Dubuque, gathering around the scripture for the week.
Small group ministries offer companionship and creative outlets. The Movie Group meets over Zoom to discuss a chosen film. A Knitting and Crocheting Group gathers to make prayer shawls and individual projects. The Crafting Crowd welcomes creative projects. GriefShare offers support to those who have lost loved ones. A Walking Group meets on Saturday mornings. The Woodworking Guild meets once a month to share projects. Two ping pong groups gather on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 6:00 PM and on Saturdays at 9:00 AM. The Uke Band meets Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:30 PM.
Coordinator of Spiritual Formation Sharon Treloar, an ordained United Methodist with an MDIV from the University of Dubuque and a master's from Perkins School of Theology at SMU, helps shape these offerings. Pastor Heecheon Jeon also welcomes a word from anyone interested in adult ministry.
New Member Classes are offered quarterly for anyone interested in joining the church. The class covers the United Methodist Church, the membership vows, and ways to engage more deeply in the congregation's ministries.
Young Adults in Their Twenties and Thirties
Young Adults ministry gathers graduate students and young professionals in their twenties and thirties. After-Church Lunch happens on the first Sunday of each month right after the 10:30 AM service, with the group heading out to a local restaurant or sharing a meal at the church. The group gathers in the gathering place at the back of the Sanctuary. A mission trip, often during spring break or the second half of May, takes the group to their college or abroad, and other mission projects run throughout the year.
Mission and Outreach Across the Region
The congregation lives out its call through a wide network of local, regional, and international outreach. The Outreach Coordinator Wayne Steen, a longtime member and former Church Council Chairperson, leads this work with the Family Ministry Team.
Within Johnson County, the congregation supports the CROP Hunger Walk, sponsored by Church World Service, with a team each year. The Free Lunch group prepares and serves a free meal at the Wesley Center from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Table of Grace provides a free meal to those without housing and people experiencing food insecurity on the fourth Sunday of each month from 3:00 to 5:00 PM at the United Methodist Student Center. Project Holiday supports the Salvation Army's gift drive for children in the Iowa City area, and Winter Outerwear collects and distributes school-appropriate clothing for children and youth each fall. ToGather Together, sponsored by the Consultation of Religious Communities, supports school students in Johnson County and the Iowa City Community School District, with a focus on Lucas Elementary.
On a wider scale, Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity builds low-cost, reliable housing, and a sister weekend project called Helping Hands supports home repairs in the Iowa City area through Mission RRR funds. The Appalachia Service Project team travels each summer to the central Appalachian Mountains to make homes warmer, drier, and safer, marking more than four decades of consecutive summer trips. The Garden of Grace, a community garden started in 2024, grows vegetables on a small plot behind the Wesley Center and shares produce with local food banks and members of the congregation.
Social Justice Team
A standing Social Justice Team gathers presenters and educational materials and helps the congregation engage God's justice and love in the wider community. The team focuses on racism, LGBTQ+ full inclusion, poverty, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, environment and climate change, and domestic violence. On LGBTQ+ inclusion, the group works to provide a welcoming atmosphere in the church by educating the congregation and adding visible signs such as stoles and signage. On poverty, the team notes that the local poverty rate is 113.28 percent higher than the US average, with 27 percent of the community living in poverty, and pursues both local relief and systemic change. On environment and climate change, the team promotes recycling, reducing energy use, water quality, transportation transitions, and other practical responses to the climate crisis. On domestic violence, the church partners with the Domestic Violence Intervention Program. Monthly programs follow the 10:30 AM service, with opportunities to grow into concrete projects.
A 180-Year Story on East Jefferson
Methodism took root in the Iowa City area between 1836 and 1839. Beginning in 1839, circuit rider Joseph Kirkpatrick held services in a two-story log cabin near the present site, owned by Matthew Teneick. In 1840, the Iowa Territory legislature set aside four half-blocks for church projects. The Methodist Episcopal church was completed for $5,000, one of five churches built within three years on those two blocks at a cost of at least $1,000 each.
The congregation has worshiped in four different buildings. The first church was enlarged in 1863 with a steeple and colored glass windows. Twenty-one years later, after a fire, the building was remodeled with a blunter steeple and a steeper roof. A Sunday morning fire in April 1906 burned the church to the ground. With dedication from members and financial help from other churches, the architectural plan known as the Akron Plan was chosen, using sandstone from Colona, Illinois, with Bedford Indiana limestone trim. Six skilled stonecutters from the Quad Cities shaped the pillars. The church was dedicated in 1908 at a cost of $75,000, and the exterior is what you still see on the corner, sandblasted in the 1960s to renew its original look. The Christian Education Building was added in 1970. The Wesley Foundation was completed on adjoining property between 1951 and 1958, and The Coralville Methodist Church was supported by the congregation in 1963, followed by St. Mark's Methodist Church in 1973.
The 1908 sanctuary contains an intricate Rose Window whose view was, until the 1940s, partly blocked by organ pipes. Interior carved walnut staircases to the balcony were removed at the same time, and the pews were reworked to allow a center aisle. The Last Supper wood carving below the altar remains. The church is widely known for its stained glass and its music programs. Fifty-seven senior pastors and dedicated associate pastors have served the church over its long life.
A pipe organ renovation project is restoring the instrument, which had about 25 percent of its components in decay as of 2013. Phase 1, budgeted at $25,360, addresses repairs to bring the organ back to full working condition. Phase 2, budgeted at $79,600, adds a multi-level capture system, new swell-shade operators, a new chime action, engraved indicator plates, and re-voicing of three chorus reed ranks. The total project goal is $115,000.
The Pastoral Team and Leadership
Lead Pastor Heecheon Jeon began his ministry at the church on July 1, 2022. A district superintendent for the Central and Riverview Park District, he previously served Corning United Methodist Church, Iowa City First UMC as an associate, and Mount Vernon UMC. He and his wife Anne and their daughter Sonia live in West Branch. Pastor Heecheon loves reading, tennis, and ping pong.
Director of Congregational Care Joyce Thomas joined the staff in 1990 as Director of Spiritual Life and stepped into her present role in 2020. She holds degrees in elementary education and business administration from the University of Iowa. Joyce leads the Hospitality Team, focusing on Welcoming Ministry, Fellowship Table Ministry, and Congregational Care Ministry.
Director of Membership and Recruitment Stacey Abel leads the youth ministry contact work as well. Outreach Coordinator Wayne Steen serves as Church Council Chairperson and has been active at the Iowa Annual Conference level, including seven Annual Conferences representing the church.
The church's lay leadership includes Church Council Chair Jane Driscoll, Finance Chair Brad Langguth, Permanent Endowment Chair Kirk Perreau, History Chair John Marshall, Leadership Development Operations Team Chris Best, LALC Board Chair Barbara Boeka, Memorial Committee Chair Sarah Grimm, Staff-Parish Relations Chair Greg Von Spreecken, and Trustees Chair Jim Ross.
Weddings, Funerals, and Baptisms
The sanctuary is offered for weddings, funerals, and baptisms. Members are given first consideration for wedding dates. A minister from First United Methodist Church officiates all weddings in the sanctuary, and a guest minister may be invited in conversation with the lead or associate pastor. One of the Services of Christian Marriage from the United Methodist Book of Worship is used, with pre-marriage counseling from the officiating minister. The church organist, a wedding coordinator, and the wedding custodian all help with the day, and the building opens three hours before the ceremony. Couples receive a Wedding Booklet covering church standards and practices.
Funerals performed at the church take precedence over all other scheduled activities. Arrangements for weddings, funerals, and baptisms are made through the church office in consultation with one of the pastors.
Visiting First United Methodist Church
The church sits at the corner of East Jefferson and North Dubuque Streets in downtown Iowa City. Visitor parking and accessible parking are on the alley off North Dubuque Street, and street parking is generally available on East Market, North Dubuque, East Jefferson, and North Gilbert Streets on Sunday mornings. Additional parking is a block or two away at Brewery Square, Tower Place and Parking, and the Old Capital Mall. Visitors can enter through the Alley entrance or the Courtyard entrance, both of which are accessible. An elevator sits near the alley entrance.
The dress is whatever a guest is comfortable in. The 8:30 AM service has a praise band and an informal style, and the 10:30 AM service features organ and choir. Children are welcome in worship, with a special story time for young disciples at the 10:30 AM service and Sunday School for grades one through six at 9:15 AM.
Visitors who want to talk with someone before the first visit can email a pastor or staff member at the church's email addresses.
Office hours run 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday, and the office number is (319) 337-2857. Giving is available online through Tithe.ly or by check, and a weekly newsletter keeps members and friends connected between weekends. The church shares its building with the Wesley Foundation, whose campus ministry walks alongside University of Iowa students.
The congregation's vision is simple: a community of faith through which grace is offered to all and each person is empowered to impact the world for good. The mission is to be disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, walking the path of Worship, Grow, and Serve, knowing God's love, growing in faith, and showing God's grace.