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Founded in 1889 as Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church, with Rev. D.G. LeSourd as founding pastor, the congregation has always been rooted in the neighborhood between 6th Ave. and S. 12th, in Tacoma. In 1925, the present building was built at S. 8th & Anderson, with hopes of adding another wing (with attached parsonage) where the parking lot and Kiki's Court now lies.
The name Epworth is a link to the roots of the Methodist movement and its founder John Wesley, born at Epworth, England, where Wesley's father was rector of the Anglican Church.
The Methodist movement in the United States became independent of British Methodism in 1784, and from 1784 to 1938 the largest body of American Methodism was called the Methodist Episcopal Church. The 1925 building bears the name, Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church. Through mergers with other church bodies in 1938 and 1968, the denomination's name is now The United Methodist Church.
In 1907, ten members of the Epworth church saw the need for a new Methodist Episcopal Church in Tacoma's western reaches, and the LeSourd Methodist Episcopal Church was founded. Through the years it moved from location to location, finally settling on N. Orchard, just across from where Wilson High School now stands.
In 1970, the Epworth and LeSourd congregations merged, becoming the Epworth LeSourd United Methodist Church. The church made its home in the Epworth church building.
In 1989, Epworth LeSourd UMC celebrated the Epworth's centennial. On November 25, 2007, we celebrated 100 years of LeSourd.
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