St. Paul's United Methodist Church (Houston)

At the beginning of the 20th century, members of Houston’s Methodist community worked toward organizing a new congregation on what was then the burgeoning south end of town.

[1] The church grew along with the city of Houston, and in the late 1920s, members launched a campaign to raise money for new and larger facilities.

Jesse H. Jones, Walter Fondren Sr., and James Marion West Sr. each contributed $150,000, and the church hired noted architect Alfred C. Finn to design a new building at the corner of Main and Binz streets.

It includes wider sidewalks, green areas, enhanced seating and lighting, and a pavement labyrinth.

The project has been given the Landmark Award by the Mayor’s Proud Partners program of Keep Houston Beautiful.

Dr. Jim Bankston, who served as pastor from 1995 until his retirement in June 2013,[5] was an outspoken advocate for immigration reform[6] and a leader in the Breaking the Silence movement to welcome all people into the church and to ordain members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) communities.