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THE BEGINNING
In September 1902, a group of women from the Methodist Churches of the Grand Rapids District organized a club to do settlement work. They selected Irene Cummings, a deaconess, to supervise the project. The place of operation was a store building on Ellsworth Avenue. The program included classes for kindergarten and early elementary children (all girls). By the second year, two evenings a week were devoted to a program for buys. As the project grew, Irene Cummings was succeeded by Bertha Clark with Nellie Shorter as an assistant. Classes were offered in Bible study, citizenship , cooking, sewing and handy-craft. Already the program was beginning to meet the needs of ethnic people, among them several Syrian families.
After a decade of service, it was evident that here was a growing and deserving program that merited expansion. Property was purchased at 314 Wealthy Street. Individuals were chosen from several Methodist Churches to serve on a governing board. The name of the organization was changed to the Methodist Community House. As the project grew, financial support was obtained from the Woman’s House Missionary Society.