A Short History 

Memorial United Methodist Church was the result of a merger between the Otterbein Evangelical Brethren Church and the Montrose Methodist Church.

In 1870 a group of Methodists banded together to form what was known as the Montrose Society. They met every two weeks in the Montrose School. The group later built a church in 1875. Since the church was not self-supporting it was associated with the St. Agnes Mission  and later with the Asbury Methodist Church. In 1880 the church was destroyed by fire. The church was not rebuilt until 1892. In 1907 and 1908 a new brick building was erected to house the expanding congregation. By 1968 the Montrose congregation had once again outgrown its building. The current congregation as of 2001 has renamed the church Victory Temple.

The Otterbein United Brethren Church was organized as a "Home Mission" by the Reverend William Todd in October 1922. A permanent large tabernacle was built in 1924 to house the expanding congregation. Later, in 1927, a newer building was constructed (see photograph right). In conjunction with merger of the Methodist Church and the United Brethren churches, the Otterbein Evangelical United Brethren congregation merged with the Montrose Methodist Church congregation in 1968. Since 2001, the church is operating as Cavalry Temple Church.

The new church, built at 2701 Poplar Street, was named Memorial United Methodist Church.

Less than five years after Memorial United Methodist Church was built, a fire on January 28, 1973, destroyed all of the church building except the sanctuary. The congregation immediately made plans to rebuild and on February 24, 1974 a reconstruction service was held with Bishop Ralph Alton in attendance. On Sunday evening, October 10, 1976, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale presented Memorial United Methodist Church the Guidepost Church Award. Guidepost Magazine in its November 1976 issue said that Memorial church had earned and won the Guidepost Church Award for its courage and dedication after the tragic fire. Memorial United Methodist Church was called "the church that rose from the ashes."

We have recently added an office addition to our building (2009), complete with new office space, classrooms, conference room, and storage areas.