A Faith Community on NE Fremont Street
Fremont United Methodist Church sits at 2620 NE Fremont Street, on a quiet residential block in the Irvington and Alameda neighborhoods of northeast Portland. The Tudor-style sanctuary and the surrounding rooms have been gathering people since 1923, but the congregation today describes itself less as a building and more as a presence in the neighborhood. Its mission statement names the unconditional love of God, the call to love neighbor as self, and an active engagement with the larger community. Its three core values are vulnerability (name brokenness, pursue healing, work for equity), belonging (include, embrace, connect), and mutual flourishing (be curious, build trust, take risks).
Fremont UMC is one of the United Methodist Church's Reconciling Congregations. The church affirms without equivocation that all human beings, having been created in God's image and having received the breath and grace of God, are God's children, and that sexual orientation or gender identity have no bearing on one's status as a beloved child of God. LGBTQI+ siblings are welcomed, affirmed, and fully embraced in the life of the church. Each Sunday the service begins with a statement of full inclusion and a land acknowledgment, recognizing that the building stands on the ancestral and unceded land of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, and other bands of the Chinook, and that the congregation grieves its part in their displacement.
From a 1922 Sunday School to a Century on the Corner
The story of Fremont United Methodist Church begins in 1921, when the Portland City Church Extension Society of the Methodist Church resolved that a Protestant Sunday school should exist within walking distance of every new grade school in the city. Alameda School had just been finished, a survey was conducted, and the decision was made: a new church was needed. The first services were held in Alameda School in July of 1922, and in May of 1923 the cornerstone was laid for a building that would serve the spiritual needs of the emerging Irvington and Alameda neighborhoods.
The land and the money to build it were anonymously donated by a lay person who believed in the need for a church. The property fronts Fremont Street between 26th and 27th, was sufficient for the first section of the church along with room for a parsonage, and was completed in 1928. The current sanctuary was completed in 1954.
The founders dreamed of a beautiful Tudor-style edifice that would welcome the people building houses and moving into the surrounding area, a Methodist presence to offer spiritual solace to neighbors and to give testimony to their faith in God. A century later, the congregation continues to live into that dream. Families and individuals are strengthened in faith, comforted in times of trouble, and blessed with lasting friendships. Children and youth are supported through kindness, encouragement, and love. The church partners with and supports community organizations that are serving the greater good.
The 2022 centennial celebration took the long view, telling the stories of the First Peoples of the Portland Basin, the William and Elizabeth Irving Donation Land Claim of 1851 that once covered the site, and the racial history of the neighborhood. Restrictive covenants on surrounding homes kept Black neighbors out of the area through the middle of the twentieth century, and church members of color only began to join the congregation in significant numbers in the 1970s and 1980s. In the late 1980s the pastors of Woodlawn UMC and Fremont UMC began to build a relationship between the two congregations.
Sunday Mornings at Ten
Fremont UMC worships every Sunday at 10:00 a.m., both in person and on Zoom. The service celebrates the love of God and the love of one another. Each Sunday begins with a statement of full inclusion and a land acknowledgment. Visitors are warmly welcomed.
Worship is led by Pastor Rev. Erin Martin and Associate Pastor Rev. Jefferson Chao. Music is offered by an accompanist, a choir, song leaders, and guest musicians. The sanctuary holds 175 in pew seating and opens onto a reception space and a partially covered patio. Two wired microphones run through the sound system, and WiFi reaches every corner of the building.
The Fremont YouTube channel carries a Sermon playlist, a Worship Music playlist, and a Community Hub playlist, so anyone who misses a Sunday can catch up at home. Online giving is available by credit card or bank transfer, with the option to designate gifts to specific projects.
Office hours are Tuesday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. by appointment. The phone rings at 503-284-4647, and the office email is office@fremontumc.org.
Children at the Pray-ground
Kids are not merely tolerated at Fremont; they are part of the liturgy. On Sunday mornings, children of all ages join the congregation in the sanctuary and are welcome to gather at the Pray-ground, a space at the front of the sanctuary that invites little ones to be present without leaving the room.
During the service, Pastor Erin takes a Conversation Time with the children, personalizing the sermon's message for their lives. After the conversation, kids are invited to stay in the sanctuary with their adults or to head downstairs to the Sunday School and Nursery room. The Sunday School curriculum combines scripture, hands-on activities, creativity, a snack, and time for play. Each Sunday a staff person is in the room with the babies and preschoolers who are not yet ready for the curriculum, in a space that keeps all the children together.
The congregation follows the United Methodist Church Safe Sanctuary Policy, which supervises children, youth, and vulnerable adults with two unrelated adults at all times, requires background checks and annual training for staff and volunteers, and holds diaper changes to be the responsibility of the adult in charge of the child. All building partners and renters must agree to adhere to the same policy.
Music Across the Sanctuary and the Neighborhood
Fremont's music program is one of its quiet strengths. The music director writes and arranges music for the congregation, an accompanist moves the room weekly, song leaders and a choir add their voices, and guest artists offer special music throughout the year. The Music Director position is currently open; Lily Breshears serves as Music Accompanist, a lifelong pianist and professional harpist who has played for choirs, dance classes, and soundtracks.
Music also spills out of the sanctuary and into the building's Community Music program, where the same director and accompanist lead the Alameda Women's Choir. For those who would rather listen later, the church's YouTube channel posts sermons, worship music, and a third playlist that gathers video and photographs from community-wide events.
The Building as a Community Hub
Fremont's current imperatives run in two directions. The first is to deepen the life of the congregation, so that its own healing and connection can ground its work with neighbors. The second is to exist as a Community Hub, paying attention to where God is already at work in the neighborhood and offering the building as a resource for that work.
The Hub is real in the way the church describes it: a building that is open seven days a week to people and groups who share its mission to build connection and community, create opportunities for healing, provide safe and expressive spaces, and educate for systems change. There is no cost to step inside; registration and fees vary by partner.
Who Shares the Building
Week in and week out, more than a dozen community partners make the church their meeting place.
- Adventures in Spanish. After-school and weekend sessions that introduce children and parents to the Spanish language and culture through songs, play, and a wide range of activities, with the goal of bilingualism and cultural awareness.
- Alcoholics Anonymous. Saturdays, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., weekly.
- Alameda Neighborhood Association. Meets monthly on the second Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. The association advocates for smart neighborhood policies and hosts events that connect residents.
- Citizens' Climate Lobby. Meets monthly on the second Saturday at 9:00 a.m. A volunteer group of Oregonians working across party lines for climate legislation.
- Culture Club French. After-school on Tuesdays. A French-language immersion experience for children aged 4 to 6 and 6 to 12.
- Daydream Music Lessons. By appointment. Brian teaches piano, guitar, voice, and ukulele.
- EveningStar Yoga. Tuesdays at 6:15 p.m. Vinyasa flow for all levels in the Community Room on the main floor. Bring a yoga mat.
- Everybody Dance Project. Wednesdays, 4:15 to 6:15 p.m. Ballet/Tumbling and Hip Hop/Tumbling classes for young, beginning dancers.
- Juniper Preschool. A Waldorf-inspired program for twelve children that has been a building partner for over twenty years. Enrollment opens each spring for the following school year.
- Monday Morning Meditation. Mondays, 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. Guided mindfulness practice with short reflections, open to beginners and seasoned practitioners.
- Music Together. Classes for ages birth to 8 and the grownups who love them, offered Monday through Saturday.
- Overeaters Anonymous. Monday nights at 7:00 p.m. A community of people who support each other in recovery from compulsive eating and food behaviors.
- Taoist Tai Chi Society. Monday mornings and Thursday evenings, with both introductory and continuing classes rooted in Taoist spiritual practice.
Every Second Sunday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., the lobby of the sanctuary opens for a Community Drop-In where everyone is welcome to strum along together.
Come to the Waters
Three times a year, Fremont offers a three-month weekly gathering called Come to the Waters. It is a place of nurture, of connection, and of longing for renewed life. It is open to people who are new to Fremont, new to Methodism, or new to Christianity, as well as to long-established members who might want to discover new life. The pathway follows the Jesus way through the lens of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Participants who wish to be baptized or to reaffirm their baptism are enrolled in the Book of Enrollment at the start of Lent and come into full membership at Easter.
Small Groups for Connection
A number of small groups meet around shared interests and shared questions. Creative Crafters gathers people who work with fiber, paper, and other materials. The Green Team focuses on Creation Care. Spiritual Disciplines gathers for spiritual practice. Stone Soup, Meet & Eat is a shared meal group. Where There's a Will, There's a Way is for end-of-life planning and conversation. Younger Adults is a fellowship group for the next generation.
United Women in Faith, formerly United Methodist Women, meets monthly to deepen relationships, learn from speakers, and serve others in times of fellowship and outreach.
Reconciling, Decolonizing, Walking the Peace Path
The congregation's commitment to full welcome is older than the denomination's policy. When the United Methodist General Conference voted to remove the language in the Book of Discipline that had long declared the practice of homosexuality incompatible with Christian teaching, the church marked the day with joy, declaring that the church's practice now aligns with the movement of the Holy Spirit across the broader United Methodist Church.
Reconciliation extends to the church's relationship with Indigenous neighbors. The congregation has committed to ongoing truth-telling work, including participation in a regional process to research and reckon with Methodist history and participation in Native harm and removal. Members have visited Willamette Mission State Park north of Salem to study the work of the first Methodist missionaries in Oregon and have explored what wealth redistribution, land back, and the broader work of repair might look like at Fremont.
The 2026 Imperatives or Focus Areas are Creation Care, Disability Justice, and Family Ministry. The Creation Care team has committed to exploring what it means to lovingly tend the earth, including a Lenten plant-based diet and education about reducing microplastics and investing in solar and passive energy. The Disability Justice team has conducted an accessibility audit of the building and is leading the congregation into deeper conversation about how the community welcomes and includes people of all abilities.
The church's annual conference participation is part of the same call. She has been chosen by Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth to lead a design team through a year-long process of decolonial futuring, a framework that challenges dominant Western-centric visions of the future and creates space for historically marginalized worldviews. Parishioner Cynthia MacLeod serves as the Columbia District Lay Leader and was also named to the team. Cynthia was instrumental in the church's 1980s conversations with Woodlawn UMC that opened the door to more diverse membership.
Christmas Trees, Block Parties, and Blessing Bags
The Christmas Tree Lot on the front lawn is one of Fremont's most visible traditions. The sale began in 1993 with about 500 trees hauled in from Molalla in a rented truck and has grown into a neighborhood event of its own. Tree lot volunteers include Boy Scout Troop 100, the building partners, and neighbors who have been coming back for years. Ten percent of the proceeds still go to the Northeast Emergency Food Program, in keeping with a tradition started in the early years of the sale. The relationship with the tree supplier, Pedro, has grown over decades into a friendship that has now stretched into the next.
Each August, Fremont joins with neighbors to host the Alameda Block Party, with food, lawn games, board games, crafts, and a bounce house. The t-shirts printed with the church's new core-values logo have become a small celebration of the life of the congregation.
Throughout the year, the church cooks and packs Blessing Bags for distribution to neighbors on the street, hosts the Portland Pride Festival booth and a Pride Worship Service, gathers monthly with other neighborhood churches in the NE Youth Collective (a youth-led model where a Core Team of teenagers from four churches decides the activities and direction), and joins with First AMEZ for a summer church picnic at Wilshire Park.
Renting the Building
Fremont opens its spaces for one-time or ongoing use, with rates based on use and time. WiFi reaches every corner.
The Sanctuary, with reception space and outside patio, rents for a four-hour block at $300. Pew seating holds 175. The reception area has space for coffee service, four display tables, and standing room for twenty. Basic A/V, with a technician for up to two hours, one lapel mic, up to three wireless mics, a six-by-eight foot screen, and projection, is $150. The full A/V package, with a technician for up to three hours and ProPresenter livestreaming, is $200.
Fellowship Hall rents for a four-hour block at $200 and is ADA-accessible through a ramp from Fremont Street. It includes twenty banquet tables, one hundred chairs, fifteen cafe tables seating four, a sound system with one wired mic, a coffee and tea counter, and a piano. The full kitchen is available at additional cost.
The Community Room rents for a four-hour block at $75 and is reached by about twelve steps, so it is not ADA-accessible. It includes forty chairs, two banquet tables, a small center table, a welcome space in the hallway, a mini kitchen with coffee and tea service, and a 65-inch media cart available for $25 more.
The Conference Room rents for a four-hour block at $40, also non-ADA-accessible, with twenty chairs and three tables and an optional coffee trolley for $10. The Reception Room rents for $40 for four hours, is ADA-accessible by ramp, includes twenty folding chairs and four tables, and offers coffee and tea service.
To inquire about availability and pricing, the office can be reached at office@fremontumc.org.
Joining In
Fremont UMC is sustained by the people who walk through its doors on Sunday morning and by the partners who fill the building the rest of the week. Visitors can join the service in person or on Zoom. Anyone can sign up for the monthly Fremonter newsletter, Pastor Erin's weekly email, the Sunday bulletin, or Community Hub updates by emailing the office. Giving is available online through a credit card or bank transfer, with the option to designate gifts to specific projects.
At the heart of it all is a small congregation with a large imagination, convinced that the love of God is most fully expressed when it spills out into the next-door cafe, the local school, and the unhoused neighbor on the corner of 27th.