First United Methodist Church sits at the corner of Grant Avenue and Sixth Street in downtown Loveland, Colorado, where it has anchored the neighborhood for 150 years. The congregation lives by a simple motto - Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors - and works to be a community that accepts people as they are while serving the wider Larimer County region through worship, music, hands-on missions, and dozens of small groups.
A Methodist Presence in Larimer County Since the 1860s
Methodist preaching in this part of Colorado began in June 1863, when a circuit-riding preacher named Antes stopped at the W. B. Osborn homestead and asked the neighbors to gather for an evening service. Thirteen people showed up to hear the first hymn sung and the first sermon preached in Larimer County. The Methodist work that grew out of that gathering eventually reached the new town of Loveland, where in 1880 David Barnes offered a building site on Cleveland Avenue to any denomination willing to erect a church. The Methodists accepted, dedicating their first Loveland building on August 8, 1880, three years after the town was founded.
A second building, Barnes Chapel, was named in 1887 in memory of the town's founding father. A third building, dedicated in December 1901, drew "the largest indoor audience ever assembled in Loveland" for its consecration service, with every other minister in town closing his own church to attend. That structure burned on a Sunday morning forty years later, with no loss of life, and was replaced by the present building, consecrated on February 18, 1951. The Gothic-style sanctuary of salmon-rose brick, concrete, and steel seats about four hundred, with a Fellowship Hall and parlor below. An educational wing to the south was added in 1956; the Florence Coy Memorial Hall followed in 1976; and the children's education area was redesigned and refreshed in 2008.
The congregation that worships in this building today describes itself the same way it has for generations: followers of the teachings of Jesus who believe in doing all the good they can in all the ways they can. They are United Methodists, rooted in the Wesleyan tradition, and they work from John Wesley's triad of grace: prevenient grace freely given to all, justifying grace that begins salvation, and sanctifying grace that grows the believer over a lifetime.
Sunday Worship at Ten
Sunday morning worship happens at 10:00 AM Mountain time in the sanctuary. The service is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel and recorded so that previous Sunday messages can be watched later. Childcare opens at 9:45 AM, and after the service coffee and refreshments are served in the lobby on the first and third Sundays of the month.
The lead pastor, Don Bird, and associate pastor Rev. Lee Anderson-Harris share teaching duties. Pastor Don came to FUMC Loveland in the summer of 2026 after serving United Methodist churches in Fort Collins, Canon City, Greenwood Village, and Broomfield; he is a Colorado State University graduate and an Iliff School of Theology alumnus who discovered his call to ministry while leading off-campus Bible studies with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Pastor Lee is an ordained United Methodist Deacon whose previous ministry includes work as a Minister of Care and as a counselor for individuals and couples; she holds degrees from Texas A&M, the University of Colorado at Denver, and Iliff.
Worship is traditional in style, with liturgists reading from the congregation on a rotating basis, altar flowers placed by families in honor or memory of loved ones (ordered through Rowe's Flowers of Loveland), and volunteers serving as greeters, ushers, and tech-booth operators. Anyone who wants to read the lessons on a Sunday can sign up online; greeters find their assignments at the Ask Me Desk on Sunday morning.
Music Ministries: Choir, Bells, and Children's Voices
Music at FUMC Loveland is led by Organist and Music Coordinator Kathryn Peiffer, Chancel Choir Director Nicole Ceciliani (a Loveland High School and UNC music graduate now pursuing a master's in Choral Conducting at Colorado State University), and Spirit Sounds Bell Choir and Children's Choir Director Susan Harding, with sound handled by AV Coordinator Ryan Millard. The Chancel Choir rehearses Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 and sings in worship on three Sundays a month, with special presentations for Christmas, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. Membership is open to anyone age fifteen or older, no audition required.
The Spirit Sounds handbell ensemble meets Tuesdays from 4:30 to 5:15 PM for rehearsal and shares its music in worship about once a month, plus civic and service-group engagements around town. Basic music-reading ability is the only prerequisite. The Children's Choir has been a part of the church's music ministry for thirteen years under Susan Harding's direction.
Children, Youth, and the Nursery
Children's ministry is built around the Celebrate Wonder curriculum, which connects Bible stories to children's everyday lives. Preschoolers from six weeks to five years old are cared for in the nursery during worship, with check-in at the Kid's Sunday School Welcome Desk in the lobby. After the Children's Message, parents may escort their children to the nursery for the remainder of the service.
For kindergarten through fifth grade, a Sunday morning program called C.A.T. (Children's Activity Time) meets from 10:20 AM (after the Children's Sermon) until the end of worship, with faith-based stories, crafts, games, and a snack. The nursery itself is staffed by Nursery Supervisor Alison Williams and workers Bailey Williams and Ayla Lopez, who are Safe Sanctuary Certified, CPR trained, and care for children from birth through age six during worship, Sunday school, and special events.
The youth program welcomes sixth through twelfth graders and gathers on Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 PM with free snacks. Programming is shaped by Wesleyan theology and designed to be both fun and spiritually formative; throughout the year the group plans mission trips, ski trips, and special events. A scholarship is available each year for graduating seniors and college-age students, with applications due April 15.
A Wide Range of Adult Small Groups
Adults at FUMC can join any of more than a dozen ongoing groups. Conversations, a discussion-based Sunday morning class, meets at 8:30 AM in East Coy Hall with childcare provided. Centering Prayer gathers on Wednesdays at noon for thirty to forty-five minutes of teaching and silent meditation; the practice draws on the contemplative tradition and welcomes beginners as well as experienced practitioners.
Other recurring offerings include Holy Happy Hour, a fellowship that meets the second and fourth Monday evenings; a Spanish conversation class called Speaking of Spanish; an online strength workout with Anita on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:30 AM (in-person cardio on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 PM in Heart Hub); an Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregivers' Support Group meeting monthly on the first Wednesday; and Oasis, a ministry for LGBTQ+ people and their friends and families that the church is hoping to restart.
Union is a Spiritual Community for "nones, dones, and deconstructors" - people who describe themselves as spiritual but not religious, disillusioned with organized religion, or working through a deconstruction of their faith. Union is co-led with Trinity United Methodist Church of Loveland and welcomes everyone regardless of race, ability, gender, sexuality, nationality, belief, or socioeconomic status.
The 5Ms - Methodist Men Monday Morning Mechanics - gather every Monday from 8:00 to 11:00 AM to do plumbing, electrical, carpentry, and painting repairs around the church, finishing with fellowship. Women's Fellowship meets every other month for shared autobiographies and a rotating local project; Y.A.R.N. (You Are Really Needed) creates prayer shawls, scarves, and hats on Tuesday mornings in West Coy Hall; the Charity Quilt Group sews on the second Saturday of every month for the Johnstown Police Department, Loveland Fire Department, and Loveland Hospice; Women of the Cloth gathers for needle arts every Friday at 9:30 AM; CLEO's (Church Ladies Eating Out) meets at a different restaurant on the second Friday of each month at 11:30 AM; and BUNCO is played on the first Saturday at 5:30 PM, with a rotating host and a dish to share.
Missions Across Loveland and Beyond
Mission work is woven through nearly every corner of FUMC's life. The Missions and Social Concerns team, led by Barry Wehrle, partners with more than a dozen local nonprofits and runs several of its own programs. FUMC members have been building houses with Loveland Habitat for Humanity since 1987 - usually twice a year on what the church calls the Faith Build Team - and travel to Guatemala each February through Pura Vida to build homes for families there; the church has been sending construction teams since 2016 and also sponsors students through high school and beyond.
Locally, the church serves the Loveland Community Kitchen on the third Thursday and third Friday of each month; packs weekend food bags for KidsPak, which delivers more than five hundred bags weekly to students in the Thompson School District; volunteers at the Food Bank for Larimer County; staffs the Mobile Laundry Truck at the Loveland Public Library on Thursdays and Fridays (the truck washes clothes for low-income families and people experiencing homelessness); and supports SafeLot Loveland, the city's designated overnight parking program for people sheltering in their vehicles.
Around the holidays the Angel Tree program provides Christmas gifts for the children of incarcerated parents through Prison Fellowship, and Christmas food baskets (including three plaid-fabric Christmas trees and a $100 King Soopers gift card) are delivered to residents of the Harvest Pointe low-income apartments and a few church families. The annual Christmas offering has been divided among organizations like ChildSafe of Colorado, the Food Bank of Larimer County, and UMCOR hurricane relief in the Caribbean.
Sharing a Historic Downtown Building
The building itself is one of the church's largest mission offerings. Space is rented out at three pricing tiers for outside groups, nonprofits, and members, with liability insurance required for non-affiliated renters. Spaces include the 295-seat Sanctuary with sound booth and projection, the 2,000-square-foot Heart Hub with full kitchen, the Serenity Center and Vitality Vista (both elevator accessible), and several smaller conference and classroom spaces. The church also hosts baptisms, weddings, funerals, and memorials.
Giving, Legacy Gifts, and Publications
Financial giving at FUMC Loveland can be set up as automatic bank drafts (through Business Manager Karen Lumpkin), scheduled through a personal bank's bill-pay system, or made online by PayPal or credit card. Stewardship campaigns run yearly with both pledge and one-time gift options, and the church encourages members to consider legacy gifts through wills, retirement accounts, real estate, charitable trusts, life insurance policies, or endowed funds (either unrestricted for the General Endowment or designated to a specific ministry). A portion of every purchase at King Soopers also comes back to the church through the store's Community Rewards program (enroll with code UK667).
Two regular publications keep members informed: The Window, a weekly announcement sheet, and The Insight, a monthly newsletter, both available online. The church calendar is also posted online, with options to subscribe through Google Calendar, iCalendar, or Outlook.
Office, Location, and Practical Details
The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Friday from 8:00 AM to noon. The address is 533 North Grant Avenue, Loveland, CO 80537. The phone number is (970) 667-0876 and the email is office@fumcloveland.com. Office Manager Pam Day is generally the first point of contact, and each staff member - Pastor Don, Pastor Lee, the music staff, the AV coordinator, the nursery supervisor, and the business manager - can be reached directly by email.
The sanctuary is accessible by ramp at the main south-side entrance, and many of the meeting rooms in the south wing and lower levels are elevator accessible. Assisted listening is available in worship. Children are welcome in worship; nursery care begins at 9:45 AM, and the C.A.T. program for elementary-age children runs from 10:20 AM until the close of the service.