Cascade United Methodist Church has taken another step toward hopes to strengthen its social justice and outreach ministries by adding a second campus. this one in Midtown Atlanta.
That includes expanding work around such issues as food insecurity, affordable housing and addressing racial injustice, said Cascade’s Senior Pastor Kevin R. Murriel.
A second location, the former site of Grace United Methodist Church on Ponce de Leon Avenue, “enables us to serve a different population in the heart of the city,” he said. Murriel said he hopes Cascade will provide a strong church and community presence for people who live, work and attend colleges and universities in the area.
Grace UMC, which was founded more that 150 years ago, merged into the larger Cascade United Methodist Church in June. Cascade UMC, which has about 7,000 members, is a historically Black congregation and Grace was predominately white and its congregation was declining in size.
As for logistics on how services will be handled, Murriel said that is still being worked out. Cascade’s first service at Grace was earlier this month.
The church is working with a coaching firm to determine what it looks like for it to be a multi-site church, he said.
“ We haven’t gotten that far yet,” he said. He said the church is in a good location to draw from several college campuses including Georgia Tech, Georgia State University and schools in the Atlanta University Center.
“We’re being very intentional about reaching out to the next generation population in the community,” he said.
The church has a 99-year lease with the General Board of Global Ministries of the UMC, which purchased the building several years ago.
Cascade United Methodist Church was founded in 1926 and is located at 3144 Cascade Road in Atlanta.
It was once led by the Rev. Walter L. Kimbrough, a prominent leader in the United Methodist Church and an Atlanta civic leader, and civil rights legend the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery. Cascade was one of several places that Nelson Mandela visited during his historic U.S. visit in 1993.
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