St. Paul United Methodist Church at 2000 Douglass Boulevard in Louisville's Highlands is known for two sharply distinct Sunday worship settings and for ministry that reaches beyond its sanctuary. KOINONIA, a contemporary service, meets at 9:00 AM in the Family Life Center, while traditional worship at 11:00 AM takes place in the church's citizens' Gothic sanctuary. The same congregation supports an annual Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival, graded music education, programs for children and youth, a resource center, and partnerships serving Louisville.
More Than a Century of Faithful Service
For more than one hundred years, St. Paul has developed a multigenerational ministry rooted in bold vision, faithfulness, generosity, and inclusiveness. It describes itself as a congregation of loving and imperfect people who engage their minds on the journey of faith, trust faith as a gift from God, and commit their hearts and minds to hands-on service. The congregation seeks to experience God through worship, music, mission, art, and community.
St. Paul's mission is to mirror the love of Christ and the good news of the Gospel through service to all. Its core values are loving and compassionate, faithful and authentic, and welcoming and inclusive. That mix of theological reflection, practical service, and an open welcome shapes the church's worship and the many ministries gathered under one roof.
Sunday at St. Paul: KOINONIA and Traditional Worship
St. Paul offers two Sunday morning services with distinct music, atmosphere, and physical settings. Both gather the same congregation around Scripture, prayer, music, and the sermon, but each makes space for a different worship vocabulary.
KOINONIA at 9:00 AM
KOINONIA meets on the second floor of the Family Life Center. Its spirited contemporary worship brings together music, prayer, drama, and visual arts. Musicians, singers, and audiovisual technicians lead a relaxed service that includes the same sermon heard during traditional worship. The setting is informal enough for worshipers to bring coffee and donuts from Common Cup into the service while remaining centered on Scripture and its relevance to life.
Traditional Worship at 11:00 AM
The 11:00 AM service takes place in St. Paul's citizens' Gothic sanctuary. Congregational hymns are accompanied by pipe organ and choir, followed by readings from the Old and New Testaments, liturgical responses, a sermon, and a children's moment. The musical repertoire ranges from sixteenth-century hymns to newer compositions, and large-print bulletins are prepared for worship. Holy Communion is part of the service on the first Sunday of each month.
The 11:00 AM worship service is livestreamed through Facebook Live and the St. Paul YouTube channel. Recorded services are also available there for those unable to attend in person.
Childcare, Parking, and an Accessible Visit
Childcare is available during both Sunday services for infants through pre-K in Room 200 of the main building. Sunday childcare runs from 8:15 AM to 12:15 PM, covering the full worship schedule. At Wesley Night, childcare is available for children age five and younger from 6:30 to 8:00 PM.
The church is reached from Douglass Boulevard and has substantial off-street parking behind its buildings. From the main lot, visitors can drive under the overpass and turn left into the alley, where one St. Paul lot and five additional parking lots are available. Dedicated on-street parking appears before the main lot when approaching from Bardstown Road and is reserved for visitors and older members on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings.
Accessible parking is located between the main building and Family Life Center. Two elevators serve the main church building, all services are wheelchair accessible, and hearing aids are available in the sanctuary for the traditional service. These features support the church's stated aim of being a safe, open congregation where people can worship and grow as followers of Jesus Christ.
Music Ministry from Three-Year-Olds to Adults
Music is one of St. Paul's largest shared ministries. Dr. Jim McFarland, Director of Music Ministries and Organist, has led the music program since 2013 and holds degrees in organ performance. Karla Temple, Associate Director of Music Ministries, has been part of the staff since 1996 and directs the Wesleyan Choir and preschool music. Dr. Lori Elbert, Director of Koinonia Worship, has served since 2001 and helps lead the contemporary service.
- Music Milestones welcomes children ages three through kindergarten on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 6:30 PM during the school year. Activities include songs, rhythm, instruments, movement, and music games.
- Joyful Song serves grades one through three, while the Wesleyan Choir serves grades four through six. Both rehearse from 7:00 to 8:00 PM on Wednesdays and prepare music for worship.
- The Youth Choir for grades seven through twelve meets Sundays from 5:00 to 6:00 PM, sings in worship, leads seasonal services, performs a spring concert, and participates in a summer mission trip.
- The Chancel Choir rehearses Thursdays from 7:15 to 9:00 PM and usually performs at the 11:00 AM service. Its repertoire ranges from classical and spirituals to contemporary music, with occasional work alongside an orchestra or instrumental ensemble.
- The Bells of St. Paul is an intergenerational handbell ensemble that meets at 8:00 PM on Wednesdays from September through May and participates in traditional worship several times a year.
Instrumentalists are also invited to help form a church orchestra when needed, while children and adults can serve through choirs, handbells, worship teams, children's ensembles, Youth Choir, and the Koinonia audiovisual team.
Wesley Night: Dinner, Music, Study, and Service
Wesley Night gives St. Paul a shared midweek rhythm during the school year. Dinner begins at 6:00 PM in McAdams Social Hall, followed by age-specific activities and adult study. The schedule is designed for families and individuals to eat, learn, make music, spend time with friends, and serve.
- Children in grades one through six have gym time and homework help from 6:00 to 6:30 PM.
- Preschool and kindergarten music begins at 6:00 PM, with additional gym time for younger children accompanied by a trusted adult.
- Youth gather for games, fellowship, and Youth Jam from 6:30 to 8:00 PM.
- Joyful Song and Wesleyan Choir rehearse from 7:00 to 8:00 PM, while adult studies begin at 7:00 PM.
- The handbell ensemble closes the evening from 8:00 to 9:00 PM.
Children, Tweens, and Youth
Children's Sunday classes for kindergarten through sixth grade meet from 10:00 to 10:45 AM in age-grouped rooms on the third floor. Lessons make room for art, games, acted Bible stories, prayer, and service projects around the church. Fourth through sixth graders also gather as tweens on Sundays from 5:00 to 7:00 PM for dinner, fellowship, and service. A quarterly Kids Worship Night gives younger children a worship service designed specifically for them.
Fourth through sixth graders may serve as acolytes, bringing the light of Christ into the sanctuary and assisting with the offering at 11:00 AM. Family events include Parent's Night Out, Family Game Night, and mission activities. The Family and Children's Ministry also looks for volunteers to teach Sunday school, prepare activities, organize children's spaces, support children with learning differences, and help with Vacation Bible School or Project Serve.
The youth ministry serves students in grades seven through twelve. Sunday evenings begin with dinner at 6:00 PM, followed by a game or activity at 6:30 PM and worship, a lesson, and small groups at 7:00 PM. During Sunday school, students take part in service projects that can include operating the coffee shop, sorting Resource Center donations, making cards, and completing other needs of the church. Wesley Night adds Wednesday fellowship and Youth Jam.
Highland Community Ministries provides child care and preschool for infants through children age five on St. Paul's campus. HCM primarily serves Highlands residents while welcoming children of all races, creeds, and backgrounds from throughout Louisville.
Groups for Adults and College Students
St. Paul's adult ministries create room for conversation, study, service, and shared meals.
- Meet & Eat Groups bring together eight to ten adults once a month for a rotating potluck meal and relaxed fellowship.
- The Men's Group meets every other Monday at 7:00 PM in Common Cup for Christian conversation and mutual support.
- Women of the Word meets Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:30 AM during the school year for Bible study, prayer, food, and caring fellowship.
- United Women in Faith meets on the second Tuesday of each month for spiritual formation, leadership development, education, and fellowship.
- Kaleidoscope is an evening group centered on fun, mission, study, support, and relationships.
SPAMS, St. Paul Adult Ministry for Seniors, meets monthly for service, fellowship, and outreach. Activities alternate between trips with a meal and lunches at church featuring entertainment or lectures, with January and February reserved for service projects. The Barnabas Ministry connects college students with adult mentors who offer encouragement through prayer, notes, and care packages.
Faith Quilters Put Care Into Every Stitch
Faith Quilters gathers on the third Tuesday of each month, except in December, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM in Room 100. The group welcomes experienced sewists and beginners, and all piecing and quilting is machine sewn. Participants who cannot meet can request quilt kits containing fabric, backing, batting, and instructions for completing a quilt at home.
Since 2003, the group has donated more than 1,900 handmade quilts. The quilts remain in the local area through Project Linus and are distributed to children from newborn through age eighteen who are served by organizations including Norton Children's Hospital, The Center for Women and Families, Ronald McDonald House, and Wayside Christian Mission.
Resource Center and Mobile Outreach
The St. Paul Resource Center welcomes community members on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Its shelves supply clothing, shoes, hygiene items, blankets, and other everyday essentials. People arriving at other times can receive a Compassion Bag and information about resources available in the community. Donation boxes for shelf-stable food and clothing, especially men's clothing, are located in the Family Life Center lobby and the main building's elevator lobby.
St. Paul's Mobile Resource Center takes clothing, shoes, toiletries, and other supplies to Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church's Open Door Community Ministry on the second Saturday of each month. Open Door serves lunch five days a week in downtown and Old Louisville, and St. Paul joins that meal ministry by providing needed resources to its guests.
The church also maintains mission relationships with United Methodist Mountain Mission, Kentucky United Methodist Children's Homes, Habitat for Humanity, Highland Community Ministries, and Open Door Community Ministry. Mountain Mission receives clothing, household items, and furniture through pickups several times a year. St. Paul has long participated in fifth-Sunday offerings for Kentucky United Methodist Children's Homes, which provides residential treatment, independent living, behavioral health, outpatient therapy, and adoption services for children recovering from abuse, neglect, or trauma.
Thanksgiving Boxes have long been assembled for families connected with Waller-Williams school. St. Paul also supports mission work through one-time and recurring gifts, designated giving for special causes, and secure online giving.
Resilience and Care for the Community
St. Paul's Resilience Team works to reduce the effects of toxic stress by building awareness, relationships, and connections. The church has partnered with Smoketown Family Wellness Center, and a Sunday school gathering studies topics and books related to trauma-informed care and resilience. Additional resources for children, youth, and caregivers address emotional health, coping strategies, self-care, and support for people caring for children, sick adults, older adults, or people with disabilities.
The Boar's Head and Yule Log Tradition
St. Paul's annual Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival is a musical pageant celebrating the arrival of Christ and the triumph of good over evil. Carols, dancing, seasonal food, dramatic gifts, and scenes of help for people in need combine with professional musicians and performers from across the community and region. A child portraying a medieval Sprite opens the festival with a candle symbolizing Christ as the light of the world.
The program culminates with cast, choir, congregation, brass, and organ singing Gustav Holst's "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" and the carol "O Come All Ye Faithful." About 300 St. Paul members help produce the festival each year, extending the church's long tradition of music, drama, hospitality, and public service well beyond its regular Sunday rhythm.
What St. Paul Believes
As a United Methodist congregation, St. Paul affirms one God who created the world, is sovereign, and is loving. It believes Jesus was both human and divine, was raised from the dead, lives today as Savior and Lord, and calls followers to pattern their lives after him. The Holy Spirit is present with the church, comforting those in need, awakening people to God's will, and empowering obedient living. The Bible is God's Word and the primary authority for faith and practice, and St. Paul encourages study of both the Old and New Testaments.
The church understands human beings as created in God's image with the ability to accept or reject a relationship with God. It identifies the church as the body of Christ and the communion of saints, called to make disciples, worship God, support growth in faith, and participate in the reign of God. That reign is understood as both a present reality and a future hope, made visible through reconciliation, restoration, healing, and the transformation of creation.
St. Paul regards baptism and communion as sacraments. Baptism may be administered by sprinkling, immersion, or pouring to people of any age and is received once in a lifetime. Communion uses bread and wine to recall Jesus' life, death, and resurrection and to nourish people for mission. The congregation practices open communion, welcoming all who love Christ, repent of sin, and seek peace with one another, and offers a gluten-free option.
Many Ways to Serve
Service at St. Paul extends from worship and music to the Resource Center, Mobile Resource Center, youth programs, meals, building care, and mission projects. Worship volunteers can serve as readers, liturgical participants, acolytes, ushers, greeters, musicians, Communion preparers, and sound or streaming technicians. Other roles include teaching children, supporting youth, sorting clothing and food, greeting guests, assisting with office work, and completing practical repairs around the campus.
Ministry teams include Beyond the Walls, Communications, Congregational Care, Discipleship and Spiritual Formation, Children and Families, Music and Worship, Resilience, Safety, Senior Adult Activities, Youth Ministry, Finance and Stewardship, and Trustees. Together, these teams reflect St. Paul's conviction that church life is carried by many people using their gifts. At St. Paul, those ministries remain joined in one multigenerational Louisville congregation committed to welcome, formation, music, and service.