First United Methodist Church sits at 104 South Pineapple Avenue, one block south of Main Street in the heart of downtown Sarasota. It is the only Sarasota organization still in continuous existence since 1891, and its Pineapple Avenue campus has been home to the congregation for more than a century. The church that began with twelve charter members gathered in a Main Street storeroom now runs two Sunday services, a children's choir that fills a fellowship hall on Thursdays, an early childhood program, and one of downtown Sarasota's busiest concert series.
The mission is short enough to fit on a postcard: Love God. Love People. Make Disciples of Jesus Christ. Everything from Sunday worship to a downtown food bank partnership grows out of those words.
From a Circuit Rider to a Colonial Sanctuary
Methodist worship came to Sarasota in October 1891, when the Methodist Episcopal Church South was formally organized in what was then a small village on the Gulf Coast. Rev. E. F. Gates, a circuit rider who traveled on horseback to serve scattered congregations, held the first services in a little schoolhouse on Main Street. Rev. Will Tresca followed to formally organize the church, gathering twelve charter members in a Main Street storeroom for the signing of the Church Charter. The price of a home for the new congregation: a plot of land on the southeast corner of Pineapple Avenue and Main Street, at the heart of the village, purchased for $40.
A first permanent church building, modest but meaningful, went up at Five Points in 1893. Twenty-one years later, in 1914, the congregation built an impressive brick Greek temple-style church at the same Pineapple Avenue location where the church still stands. That brick building carried the membership through the Florida real estate boom of the 1920s, the bust that followed, the Great Depression, and two world wars.
After World War II the church grew so quickly that by 1953 and 1954 Sunday services had to spill over into the city's Municipal Auditorium; the small sanctuary could not hold everyone who wanted to worship. The solution was a new colonial-style sanctuary, which the congregation filled for the first time on Christmas Day 1955. The mortgage was paid off in five years. An education building and fellowship hall followed in 1970, and a new office complex that included a dedicated youth hall and chapel went up in 1983.
In the fall of 2010 the church launched the Build on This Rock campaign, a major renovation of the sanctuary, its entrances, and gathering spaces. On Thanksgiving Sunday, November 27, 2011, the congregation gathered for the first service in the renovated sanctuary, with locally unparalleled acoustics and a prayer garden courtyard that includes a columbarium. In 2016 the church marked its 125th anniversary with a renewed commitment to the Sarasota community.
In a season when some United Methodist congregations have chosen to disaffiliate, First SRQ has reaffirmed its connection with the wider United Methodist community across the country and around the world. While the church may carry the legacy of an old Southern church, today's membership and leadership have pledged to welcome people from all cultures and backgrounds, because God loves all people.
Two Sunday Services on Pineapple Avenue
Sunday worship at First SRQ comes in two settings. Both services share the same scripture and the same message; the difference is style.
The 8:30 a.m. Chapel Service is the more unhurried of the two. Held in the smaller chapel just inside the Narthex, it opens with a hymn sing accompanied by piano, followed by special music, scripture, and the message. The whole service runs about 45 minutes. The energy is warm and intimate, with a small-town church feel.
The 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary Service is the fuller offering. Held in the colonial-style sanctuary with the pipe organ, piano, and Chancel Choir, it typically runs about 60 minutes. Children start in worship with their families before heading out to Sunday School during the Passing of the Peace. On Communion Sundays, usually the first Sunday of the month, the children return to the sanctuary near the end of the service to receive Holy Communion.
The dress code, in the church's own words, varies to match the Florida weather: some come in nice casual and others dress a little more formally. Everyone is welcome. Comfort is the only expectation.
Both services are streamed live on YouTube and posted for on-demand viewing, so anyone can preview what to expect before walking in the door.
Parking, Entrances, and the Sunday Valet
Downtown parking at First SRQ is easier than first-time visitors expect. The Mark Garage at 111 South Pineapple Avenue, directly across the street from the main entrance, holds forty reserved spaces on Sunday mornings. Look for the Church Parking sign at the entrance; free First UMC parking stickers are available at the Welcome Desk. If the marked spaces are taken, the city garages on State Street and Palm Avenue are within easy walking distance and free on Sundays. Street parking on South Pineapple Avenue and Mira Mar Court is free on Sundays as well.
For guests who would rather not hunt for a space, the church offers a complimentary valet at the Mira Mar Court entrance every Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Vehicles must be reclaimed by 12:30 p.m.
The church has two entrances. The South Pineapple Avenue entrance is the main one; the chapel is immediately on the right as you enter the Narthex, and the sanctuary is a few steps on the left. The Mira Mar Court entrance, off the rear of the building, passes through the office lobby and into the Narthex. A small private lot on Mira Mar Court is reserved for those with limited mobility - calling the church ahead reserves a space.
Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The office is closed Fridays, Saturdays, and major holidays.
Children, Youth, and Song Squad
Children are a visible part of Sunday worship at First SRQ. The church's own line: if you don't hear crying, the church is dying.
For the 11:00 a.m. service, infants through two-year-olds are cared for in the upstairs nursery, accessible via the elevator in the Office Lobby. Pre-K through Grade 6 children begin in the sanctuary with their families and then move to Sunday School during the Passing of the Peace. Pre-registration is encouraged; check-in opens at 10:45 a.m. in the Narthex. All staff and volunteers working with children are screened and background-checked.
Club 456 is a once-a-month gathering for fourth through sixth graders on the fourth Sunday after the 11:00 a.m. service, with lunch provided and registration required.
Grades 7 through 12 have their own program. Youth meet on Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. during the school year in Youth Hall for dinner, Bible study, fellowship, and mission work. Friends are welcome at youth meetings, outings, and mission trips. A summer mission trip to Epworth by the Sea on St. Simons Island, Georgia is held each year.
Throughout the year the church runs a Vacation Bible School for ages 3 through 5th grade, the Mira Mar Music Camp, a back-to-school celebration, an Advent Workshop, and youth prayer retreats.
Song Squad is the church's children's choir, and it is open to any child in the Sarasota community - no church membership, no audition, no experience required. Kindergarten through Grade 5 gather every Thursday during the school year for an hour of music, games, snacks, and prizes. Kindergarten through Grade 2 rehearse from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center, with older elementary grades joining the same Thursday rhythm. Pickup is promptly at 6:30 p.m.
Adult Ministries: Faith Cafe, Women's Group, Dinner Tables
Between the two Sunday services, from 9:35 to 10:45 a.m., the church runs Faith Cafe in Room 104 - a Bible study that has worked through studies by Max Lucado, Adam Hamilton, Amy-Jill Levine, and Will Willimon. Newcomers and guests are welcomed.
On Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m., the Women's Spiritual Growth Group meets in Room 104 for fellowship, Bible study, and conversation about service opportunities in the community and beyond. All ladies are welcome.
Off campus, the Fresh Expressions program takes church out of the building and into local restaurants. Parables in Paradise, Holy Smokes!, and Common Ground Games are gatherings built around a short scripture reading and a meal, with the church encouraging members to bring along a friend who might not be connected to a church.
Dinner Party is a free monthly dinner in Fellowship Hall during the school year that brings church members together with families from Song Squad and the Early Care Center. Dinner, conversation, and a brief Jesus story close the evening.
Music and Fine Arts
Music has been at the heart of First SRQ for more than a century. The Music Fine Arts Director, Michael Stuart, oversees the Chancel Choir, the auditioned youth ensemble TeamTreble, and Song Squad, and curates the Music Fine Arts Concert Series.
The Chancel Choir sings the best of the American Protestant and English choral traditions at the 11:00 a.m. service each Sunday. New members are always welcome; no audition is required. Rehearsals are Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. (in summer, Sundays at 9:45 a.m. in the choir room).
TeamTreble is the church's only auditioned ensemble, made up of youth through age 20 with choral experience and music-reading ability. The group performs with worship leadership and appears regularly in the Music Fine Arts series.
The Music Fine Arts Concert Series draws audiences from across the region. Most concerts are free and open to the public, with occasional ticketed events for special performances. The series includes beloved seasonal events such as the Christmas Gala and Carol Sing, plus genre-spanning programming across jazz, gospel, classical, modern, choral, and orchestral music.
Spooktacular is one of the most popular events of the year - a family-friendly Halloween afternoon with Michael Stuart at the pipe organ alongside soloists Omar Urbina, Thomas Thai, Leela Sundaram, and Maicy Powell. Disney favorites, movie tunes, and an Elton John tribute fill the sanctuary; silly and creative costumes are encouraged for a parade across the stage.
Blessed to be a Blessing: Local and Global Missions
First SRQ lives out its call to bless others through more than two dozen active partnerships.
Locally, First UMC co-founded Resurrection House, a faith-based resource center committed to transitioning at-risk individuals to a path of self-sufficiency. The church helped found Meals on Wheels Sarasota in 1971; the program now serves 500 meals a day through 450 volunteers. First UMC volunteers every Monday morning at Caritas, the combined emergency-assistance effort of four downtown churches that serves thousands of Sarasota residents with utility payments, food, transportation, prescriptions, and work attire. The church supports Emma E. Booker Elementary through school events, a food pantry, a school store, back-to-school preparation, and financial assistance for families in need.
Other local partnerships include the Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC), the Salvation Army's Angel Tree and Red Kettle, a Ukrainian refugee gathering that meets weekly at the church, the GED program at Suncoast Technical College, and the BLESS Response Fund. The church also assembles storm buckets for disaster relief and serves breakfast and lunch to linemen at Robarts Arena after major storms, in coordination with the Florida Conference UMC disaster recovery hotline.
Globally, the church supports three Methodist churches in eastern Cuba - Madama, Juan Vicente Loma, and Cananova - with pastors' salaries, clean water infrastructure, and building repairs. Through Zoe Empowers, the church funds orphaned youth in Rwanda and Kenya in a three-year program that teaches them to run a business and support their siblings. The church also supports Agape Flights, which delivers food, toiletries, and water filtration systems to communities in the Caribbean.
Early Care Center
The Early Care Center is the church's Gold Seal-accredited early childhood program for children ages 6 weeks through 5. Open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. year-round, the center is accredited by the Christian Preschool Association and has received the Florida Gold Seal of Quality Care, the state's highest recognition for early childhood providers.
Programs include infant and toddler care, a preschool program for ages 2 through 4.5, and a Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program that prepares children for kindergarten through early literacy, creative expression, and social skill development. Children in the preschool program attend chapel and Song Squad one day a week, and Vacation Bible School is free for all ECC children each summer. The ECC direct line is (941) 366-9522; license number 580300082.
Weddings and Funerals
The Sanctuary, renovated in 2011, comfortably accommodates up to 600 guests and is one of Sarasota's most striking ceremony settings - a beautifully carpeted chancel, a magnificent pipe organ, and locally unparalleled acoustics. The Chapel, smaller and more intimate, seats up to 90. Both members and non-members are welcome. The Senior Pastor, Rev. Brett DeHart, is expected to officiate; couples may request a pastor from another church with the Senior Pastor's approval. A $500 deposit reserves a date, with member and non-member fee schedules applying. Joy VanDeMortel is the Wedding Coordinator and the first point of contact.
For funerals and memorial services, most services take place in the Chapel. The church describes the theology behind them this way: a Christian funeral is not just a memorial but a proclamation, grounded in the truth that in Christ, life is changed, not ended. Pastor Brett is the contact for funeral arrangements.
What the Church Believes
First SRQ's stated mission is Love God. Love People. Make Disciples of Jesus Christ. The goal is summed up in three words: More Like Jesus. Discipleship is described as a direction, not a destination - becoming more like Jesus inwardly by cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) and outwardly by practicing Holy Love - putting others before self and carrying the mission of Jesus into the world.
The church is part of the United Methodist Church and stands in the Wesleyan tradition. God is already at work in the world through prevenient grace, going before the church into every neighborhood, school, workplace, and relationship. The church does not take Jesus places; it meets him there and joins in what he is already doing.
Pastoral Leadership
Rev. Brett DeHart is the Senior Pastor. A graduate of Florida State University (B.S. Communications) and Candler School of Theology at Emory University (M.Div.), he brings more than twenty years of pastoral experience to First SRQ. He has led United Methodist congregations that grew in community depth and missional reach, with a particular focus on people who have never felt at home in a church. He is a recognized leader in the Messy Church, Dinner Church, and Fresh Expressions movements, and in 2023 received the Harry Denman Evangelism Award from the North Georgia Conference. He and his wife, Candy, have been together since high school and have two grown children.
Michael Stuart leads music as the Music Fine Arts Director. Laura Ross directs the Kids and Youth Ministry. Candy Bell directs the Early Care Center. The wider staff team supports worship, communications, pastoral care, finance, technology, and hospitality, and the Church Council is chaired by Chris King with Brian Richards serving as Lay Member to Annual Conference.