A parish shaped by its location
University United Methodist Church has called the edge of the Louisiana State University campus home since 1941, when a small group first gathered for worship in the university theater. In the eight decades since, it has become one of Baton Rouge's most familiar parish-and-school presences, with traditional hymn-singing worship, a celebrated early-childhood program that has served families for more than seventy-five years, and a forty-year-plus mentoring partnership with neighboring McKinley Elementary. Today the church sits at 3350 Dalrymple Drive, welcoming congregants, college students, alumni, and families from across the parish and well beyond.
The parish calls itself "a community of grace, hope and unconditional love - grounded by faith, inspired by discovery and compelled to serve." That three-part identity, inward welcome, intellectual curiosity, and outward action, traces directly to the church's home on the LSU campus. The first organizational meeting of the Methodist congregation was held on September 8, 1941, in the Methodist Student Center at the university. The dean granted permission to use the University Theater for worship, and the first service was held on Sunday, September 14, 1941. One week before Pearl Harbor, seventy-seven people gathered for the first sermon. By Pearl Harbor Sunday itself, a crowd of more than three hundred had filled the theater for worship.
Two years later, in May 1943, the church purchased a lot adjoining the university. The cornerstone of a new sanctuary was laid on May 24, 1950, and the first service in that sanctuary was held on May 20, 1951. The building was named The William B. Reily Memorial University Methodist Church in honor of a major donor to the original fund, a name the congregation has carried ever since.
The church continues to embody the United Methodist tradition of "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors," and to live out a vision its staff summarizes simply: "open hearts, outward faith." Programs stretch from infant care through adult education and from the campus to clients of community shelters across North Baton Rouge.
Sunday worship and the rhythm of the week
Two Sunday worship services form the heart of the parish's life. Traditional worship is offered in person at 8:30 a.m., with a second service at 11:00 a.m. that is also livestreamed. The services are liturgical and choir-led, with congregational singing from hymnals and call-and-response prayer led by the clergy. Choir cantors and ensembles, including a children's choir and the Chancel Choir, help carry the music.
Dress is informal: "some people wear suits and ties, others jeans and t-shirts. What matters most is that you show up as your authentic self." Worship bags and children's bulletins are available in the narthex for younger visitors. Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. As a United Methodist Church, University UMC practices open communion, and all are welcome at the table.
Between services, at 9:30 a.m., the congregation gathers for fellowship time and children's choir, and Sunday School for all ages begins at 9:45 a.m. Nursery care for infants through age five is offered every Sunday from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in Room 106 of the Children's Building.
The full Sunday morning lineup is:
- 8:30 a.m. - In-person worship
- 9:30 a.m. - Fellowship time and Children's Choir
- 9:45 a.m. - Sunday School for all ages
- 11:00 a.m. - In-person worship with livestream
The 11:00 a.m. service streams on YouTube and Facebook. An archive goes back through years of messages from the senior pastor and guest preachers, with standing-room-only occasions for Easter, Christmas Eve, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Confirmation, and Senior Recognition.
UMPA: a 75-plus-year tradition of early childhood education
Tucked next to the sanctuary, the University Methodist Preschool of Excellence and Afterschool program - UMPA, sometimes spelled UMPEA - is one of the most valued and trusted child care programs in the Baton Rouge area. Established by University United Methodist Church in 1948, UMPA now serves children from three months old through middle school and is a certified Class A, Type III licensed center.
Programs include:
- Infant and toddler care (from three months)
- Preschool for ages three through five
- After School care for University Lab School students in kindergarten through eighth grade
- Summer camps and mini-sessions
Day care and preschool run from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with breakfast at 8:30 a.m., lunch at 11:30 a.m., and an afternoon snack at 2:30 p.m. A half-day program is offered from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The after-school program picks up from University Lab School each afternoon and runs from 2:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., staffed largely by college students studying education and child development.
UMPA emphasizes low student-teacher ratios, multidisciplinary enrichment in art, music, sports, and tutoring, and a weekly Children's Chapel with simple virtue-based lessons. Tuition as of fall 2025 is $990 a month for infants, $875 for toddlers and preschoolers, $550 for the half-day program, and $195 a month for the after-school program, with a $250 registration fee, a $70 curriculum fee, and a $30 technology fee. Priority for enrollment goes first to siblings of current students, then to University UMC members, and then to the community. A waiting list is the norm.
Lead staff include Toi Davis, Preschool and After School Director; Natosha Breaux, Afterschool Director and UUMC Nursery Coordinator; and Penny LeSage, UMPA Office Administrator.
Kids Hope and a 40-year partnership with McKinley Elementary
For more than four decades, the church's strongest bridge to the surrounding neighborhood has been its partnership with the public elementary school at its doorstep. The University Terrace school, now consolidated into the new McKinley Elementary on East Polk Street, has been formally partnered with University UMC since 1983. The relationship predates that year, so more than forty years of mentoring, fundraising, and friendship now stretch between the parish and the school.
Kids Hope USA is the centerpiece. Every week, vetted UUMC volunteers serve as one-on-one mentors for third graders at McKinley, providing a stable, caring relationship outside the home. A prayer-partner network backs each mentor-child pair, while a separate Garden Team meets with fifth graders every Tuesday morning from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. in the school's edible garden. Book Club Leaders run eighteen clubs across the entire fourth grade, completing three chapter books with each student per year. Special Events Helpers coordinate the annual teacher back-to-school breakfast, a holiday carnival held right at the school, and a 5th-grade graduation ceremony and reception in the UUMC sanctuary and fellowship hall. Fall Fun Fridays keep the connection visible all year, with members dropping off snacks for the McKinley faculty lounge.
The church also sends weekly volunteers into the HOPE Ministries Client Choice Food Pantry, helps fund an annual Toy Drive at Christmas, supports a new $25 million McKinley facility that opened in the fall of 2023, and provides teacher appreciation across the school year.
Shirley Flake directs the Kids Hope program.
A music program that fills every decade
If early childhood and school-age care define the front door of the church's ministry, music defines the heart of its Sunday worship. University UMC offers an unusually deep musical life, from Cherub singers in preschool to a long-tenured Chancel Choir that rehearses weekly and sings for every major Sunday of the liturgical year.
Ensemble options include:
- Cherub Singers - for three- and four-year-olds
- The Asbury Singers - kindergarten through second grade
- The Wesley Singers - third through sixth grade
- The Chapel Choir - grades six through twelve
- The Youth Band
- The Agape Ringers - handbell choir, ringing once a month at both services
- The Chancel Choir - adults, rehearsing Wednesday evenings
The children's choirs meet on Sunday mornings from 9:30 to 10:10 a.m. in the Children's Building. They sing on the second Sunday of each month during the school year and share a Christmas program and a spring musical with the Wesley Singers every year. The Chapel Choir, with a legacy of more than thirty-five years, sings on the third Sunday of each month at 8:30 a.m. and produces a spring musical each year, ranging historically from Godspell, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Children of Eden, and Fiddler on the Roof to Jesus Christ Superstar.
The Chancel Choir is the resident ensemble for the 11:00 a.m. service, rehearsing each Wednesday from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Special music services include LSU Sunday, All Saints Sunday, Lessons and Carols, Home for the Holidays, The Longest Night, Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, and Easter. The Agape Ringers rehearse Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary and ring once a month at both worship services. The Director of Music and Chancel Choir is Dr. Johnnie Bankens, the Organist is André Courville, and Dr. Susannah Craig directs both the youth and children's choirs.
College ministry and the Wesley Foundation
A university church would not be itself without a college ministry, and University UMC takes its role seriously. Once a month during the fall and spring semesters, the church hosts a free LSU Lunch immediately after the 11:00 a.m. service. The room and menu vary, but the purpose stays the same: a free, friendly meal for undergraduates and graduate students who might wander in alone.
The church also partners closely with the Wesley Foundation at LSU - the Wesley - a United Methodist campus ministry located right behind University UMC at 333 East Chimes Street. The Wesley hosts weekly worship, fellowship, and small groups throughout the school year, and its Director, Rev. Mary Rachel Moore, also serves as the church's Associate Pastor.
A Sunday morning small group called the Genesis Class rounds out the college offering. Made up primarily of undergraduates and graduate students from area universities, the class typically covers the scripture passages for the upcoming Sunday and provides a supportive environment for students navigating the stresses of school and work. The church also offers the Carpenter's Class (mostly young professionals) in the upstairs Trice Building, the Contemporary Christian Concerns Class (older adults) in the parlor of the Holmes Building, the Foundations Class in the library, and the Open Door Class (members in their fifties through seventies) on the first floor of the Trice Building.
Children and youth
Children's Ministry at UUMC serves newborns through fifth grade. The team uses the Orange curriculum, "a strategy that aligns leaders and parents to create a community around a timeless message that mobilizes the next generation to love God and serve others." Beyond Sunday morning, the ministry offers Faith Friends, a group for third through fifth graders that meets on Sunday afternoons from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for crafts, snacks, outings, and Bible study.
Youth Ministry serves students in grades six through twelve, gathering in the Youth Wing upstairs in the Holmes Building. Sunday School runs from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m., and the youth group meets Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. for shared meals, conversation, and service. The Chapel Choir, the youth ensemble, rehearses Sunday evenings from 4:15 to 5:00 p.m. in Room 208.
Colin Winslette directs Youth Ministries, with Dr. Susannah Craig leading the choirs and Daniella Aparicio serving as the Family Ministry Intern.
Spiritual formation and contemplation
University UMC takes seriously John Wesley's conviction that "faith without works is dead," but it also takes seriously the quieter dimensions of the Christian life. A small Centering Prayer group gathers on Zoom each Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. for a twenty-minute contemplative meditation rooted in the teachings of Thomas Keating.
A trained spiritual director, Lisa Frost, is available to walk with individuals or groups through monthly one-on-one or online sessions. Sessions are framed as "spiritual companionship" rather than counseling: a contemplative, non-judgmental practice rooted in deep listening, openness, and silence. Lisa is certified in Spiritual Formation by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church and also leads retreats across Louisiana, teaches Disciple Bible Study, and works with small groups.
Adult small groups multiply across the week. A Monday Morning Book Group meets by Zoom at 7:00 a.m. and ranges from C.S. Lewis to Marcus Borg. A women's small group meets in the parlor on Wednesday evenings from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. for prayer, reflection on how the group has served in the past week, and a discussion of one chapter of Scripture. The Thursday Morning Wesley Group gathers each Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in the parlor for discussion around the Wesleyan quadrilateral. Covenant groups, Wesley groups, women's groups, men's groups, and couples' groups offer a variety of formats for those who want a smaller circle.
Mission and outreach across Baton Rouge
The Mission and Outreach Committee coordinates a wide slate of community partnerships and recurring service opportunities.
HOPE Ministries. On the first Sunday of each month, members bring shelf-stable food to church for delivery to the HOPE Ministries Client Choice Food Pantry, which serves roughly 15,000 people a year in the 70805 zip code. A small team of volunteers also staffs the pantry every third Wednesday. HOPE Ministries' family mentoring program and a workshop series help families in North Baton Rouge move toward stability and self-sufficiency.
Habitat for Humanity. Each fall, University UMC joins other Methodist churches in the Baton Rouge area to build a Habitat for Humanity home. Volunteers aged sixteen and up are welcome on build days, and meals for the crew are coordinated by the Mission Committee.
Front Yard Bikes. University UMC is an official partner of Front Yard Bikes, a nonprofit that helps neighborhood youth "develop healthy, fulfilling, and productive lives."
Rise Against Hunger. Once a year, UUMC volunteers gather to package more than 10,000 meals that are then shipped to international destinations.
Holy Grill. Started in 1987 and sponsored by the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, Holy Grill feeds some of the city's most underserved populations. UUMC volunteers serve meals at the BREC center in Cadillac Street Park in Zion City; Susan Pourciau coordinates the church's involvement.
LSU Food Pantry. Each summer, UUMC provides volunteers to staff the LSU Food Pantry while its student volunteers are away. Food is collected year-round, with Betty Backstrom coordinating the effort.
Cub and Boy Scouts. Troop 50 was formed at the church in 1951 with nine boys. More than seventy years later, the troop remains an active presence in both the parish and the wider community.
Advent Giving and Mission Outreach Dinners. Each Sunday in Advent, members collect items and monetary donations for community agencies, including the Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless, HOPE Ministries, and the IRIS Domestic Violence Center. Twice a year, Mission Outreach Dinners gather the parish to assemble hygiene kits for the Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless and gift bags for Kids Hope students.
The Social Justice Committee, chaired by Melissa Nguyen, partners with the Reconciling United Methodist Network and has taken part in LSU's Take Back the Night vigil, Baton Rouge's Pride celebration, and conversations on immigration, criminal justice reform, homelessness, environmental stewardship, women's issues, educational disparity, and poverty eradication.
Care and prayer inside the congregation
Inside the walls, several lay-led ministries care for the parish's own members. The Prayer Team, coordinated by Susan Pourciau, upholds the congregation, ministries, pastors, and community in prayer. Concerns submitted through the church or by phone are kept confidential; those who wish can have their names printed in the weekly Gathering and Scattering for congregational prayer.
The Cards Ministry Team has met faithfully for twenty years. Each Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. in the library, Patti Damico and Ki Addison lead a team that sends sympathy, encouragement, and congratulations cards every week, mails birthday cards to members age eighty and above, places rosebuds on the altar to celebrate recent births, and lights candles in memory of those who have died. They also coordinate requests to the Meals Ministry and the Bereavement Team.
The Bereavement Team is called into action whenever a funeral is scheduled at the church. Three or more volunteers prepare the sanctuary, place white paraments, light candles, and offer hospitality to families before, during, and after the service. A reception in the Fellowship Hall can be arranged.
The Carpenter's Lay Eucharistic Ministry Team, founded in 2016, brings pre-blessed Holy Communion to homebound members. Team members complete two days of training and a Safe Sanctuary background check before serving in homes, assisted-living centers, and rehabilitation centers.
The Visitation Team offers in-person visits to those in the hospital or at home, and the Meals Ministry delivers meals after a birth, surgery, or in times of crisis.
Membership
University UMC recognizes the baptism of all Christian churches and welcomes members by profession of faith, reaffirming faith, or transferring membership from another church. Those interested are invited to contact the church office to speak with one of the staff.
Weddings and gameday parking
University UMC welcomes outside couples to use its sanctuary for weddings. One of the church's ministers conducts the ceremony and requires pre-marital counseling. Weddings are not scheduled on holidays, holiday weekends, Holy Week, LSU football home game weekends, or in the month of December, and rehearsals and ceremonies are limited to a 6:00 p.m. end time. The church organist is the only authorized organist for weddings, with the fee paid directly one week before the service. A separate dressing room is available for each member of the wedding couple.
Another long-running use of the property is gameday parking on LSU football home Saturdays. Reserved numbered spaces in the Front Lot, Back Lot, and Side Lot are sold by season for $40 per game, with proceeds supporting the church. The lot opens at 8:00 a.m. for day games and noon for night games, and is attended by church volunteers from open until kickoff. Restrooms are not available, tailgating is not allowed, and no alcohol is permitted on the property. The church sits about a mile from Tiger Stadium.
Pastors and ministry staff
Rev. Jay C. Hogewood, Ph.D., serves as Senior Pastor. A graduate of Samford University (B.A. in English and History), Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University (Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Theological Hermeneutics), Rev. Hogewood has served United Methodist churches in Louisiana throughout his ministry and previously served University UMC as Pastor of Congregational Care before returning as Senior Pastor. He and his wife, Karrie, have two adult children, Beck and Mariah.
Rev. Mary Rachel Moore is the Associate Pastor and Director of the Wesley Foundation.
Other ministry staff include Colin Winslette, Director of Youth Ministries; Elise Strain, Director of Children's and Welcoming Ministries; Dr. Susannah Craig, Director of Youth and Children's Choirs; Dr. Johnnie Bankens, Director of Music and Chancel Choir; André Courville, Organist; Lisa Frost, Spiritual Director; Megan Prater, Director of Communications; Shirley Flake, Kids Hope Director; Toi Davis, Preschool and After School Director; Natosha Breaux, Afterschool Director and UUMC Nursery Coordinator; and Daniella Aparicio, Family Ministry Intern.
Giving and staying connected
Members can give by cash or check during either Sunday service, online through the church's giving platform, by planned gift or charitable gift annuity, or by selecting one of several giving menu items that fund current capital projects - replacing worn banquet chairs in the Holmes Building Fellowship Hall, adding new round folding tables for shared meals, replacing a projector lost to theft, or replenishing operating reserves. Many employers will match contributions, and the church encourages members to look into corporate matching programs.
A weekly newsletter, prayer-request submissions, and ongoing communication with the office help the parish stay connected outside the campus walls. Tours of the nursery, preschool, and the sanctuary itself are available by appointment through the church office at (225) 344-0343.
University UMC describes itself as "a community of grace, hope, and unconditional love - grounded by faith, inspired by discovery, and compelled to serve, from our home on the LSU campus, outward to the world." More than eight decades after that first gathering in the University Theater, the parish continues to offer traditional worship, expansive care for children, a deep musical tradition, and a wide reach of service into the Baton Rouge community and beyond.