The Providence United Methodist Church is located in Towson, Maryland, and has a long and fascinating history. It began in 1858 as a log building, which was eventually replaced in 1930 with the current cinder block building. In 1945, 2.48 acres of land were donated to the church. Towson United Methodist Church is a large United Methodist church in the historic Hampton subdivision of Towson, a suburb of Baltimore County, Maryland. The church's past is closely intertwined with the history of the United States.
It was a divided congregation in 1861, on the eve of the American Civil War, in a border state of divided loyalties. After World War II, the 1950s saw a time of reconciliation and rapid growth for major Protestant denominations, especially in the more prosperous suburbs. This period saw the official creation of Towson United Methodist Church in 1968, when the existing Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren Churches merged. The new church successfully established programs for men, women and youth for their full inclusion and participation. The roots of the church go back even further than this.
In keeping with the Methodist practice of the time in rural areas, circuit cycling ministers traveled on horseback to preach to villagers in the Epsom Chapel. When this congregation grew beyond the one-room limit, local residents Alfred and Fannie Lee donated land on which Lakeview Methodist Church was built and dedicated in 1893. Around the same time, the Methodist Episcopal Congregation built its own worship space, and parishioners of Epsom Chapel bought a melodian for their church. Towson United Methodist Church sponsors missions abroad, the Susanna Wesley House for single mothers, and is actively involved in Habitat for Humanity projects. Located near Baltimore County Circuit Courthouse in Towson, Towson Methodist Protestant Church was built in stone with a slate roof and steeple. At the Christmas Conference of 1784, held in Lovely Lane chapel in Baltimore, Methodists officially separated from the Church of England and became an independent denomination. Four years later, a second confirmatory deed was drafted and transmitted to church trustees to correct an error in the original 1786 scripture. Ransom was chief minister of First Methodist Church of Towson at the time of merger of two churches in 1952 and later prime minister of Towson Unified Methodist Church during its construction and first decade.
The current name, Towson United Methodist Church, was adopted in 1968 to reflect merger that year of United Methodist and Evangelical Brethren denominations. Towson United Methodist Church is an L-shaped structure with main sanctuary on north-south axis. Over years members of Towson Methodist men's group and Society of Women of Christian Service (now United Methodist Women) have supported Meals on Wheels, League of Women Voters and Head Start as well as volunteering at local hospitals and Maryland School for Blind. This church has been an integral part of American history since its inception over 150 years ago. From its humble beginnings as a log building to its current status as a large United Methodist church with many programs for men, women and youth, Providence United Methodist Church has been an important part of Towson's history.
