Nashville, Tennessee.
City of country music.
Home to the Grand Old Opry.
Vanderbilt University.
And…
The United Methodist Publishing House.
A recent business trip for the hubby allowed me the chance to visit the home to all things United Methodist. Our hotel was conveniently located right across the street from the current facility which is located at 2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. The facility was renovated for the move from downtown Nashville to the Metro Center area in 2015. The facility was formerly the Fountain Square Mall. The newly repurposed and renovated facility was sparkling and integrates the new with the old. I loved being able to tour the facility with Amy Smith who is the Chief Administrative Officer and Assistant to the President and Publisher.

A massive statement greets visitors in the entrance to the building. It is a good motto to live by.
As you look at some of the pictures I hope you enjoy reading some of the facts about this organization and the facility.
Mission:
Reaching more people in more places with quality services and resources that help them come to know and deepen their knowledge of God through Jesus Christ, learn to love God, and choose to serve God and neighbor.
Buildings and rooms are named after important people in the United Methodist movement over the years including the John Dickens House main building and the Georgia Harkness Library.

Signs include old printing plates as a way to keep part of the history alive.
The United Methodist Publishing House is a publisher and distributor to Christian and laity and has the primary responsibilities for the publishing and distribution for The United Methodist Church.

I especially loved all of the old printing equipment including drawers filled with typesetting materials. This connection to the past is everywhere in this building.
The Publishing House is a fully self-supporting agency and receives no general church funds.

When have you seen an old card catalog complete with cards?
There are several “parts” of the United Methodist Publishing House including Abington Press and Cokesbury.
Abington Press is the publishing imprint for The United Methodist Publishing House and crosses denominational boundaries with thought-provoking and enjoyable books. Cokesbury, on the other hand, was founded in 1789, and is the retail arm of The United Methodist Publishing House. While they both fall under the umbrella of The United Methodist Publishing House they are definitely separate entities and function differently.

Old printing presses, cash registers and other objects from the original facility in downtown Nashville are sprinkled throughout the modern building. The mascot created by the huge IT department is made of computer parts.
Growing up I have vivid memories of visiting Cokesbury stores with my dad and up until a few years ago there was a store located at Lakeside, Ohio where we go yearly for East Ohio Annual Conference. The storefronts were phased out and all materials and publications are now available solely online through their website at Cokesbury.com.
The Publishing House is overseen by a board of 21 individuals: 15 are elected by the 5 jurisdictional conferences, 2 by the UM Council of Bishops, 2 represent the Central Conference, and two are chosen by the board itself.
The United Methodist Publishing House is the oldest and largest general agency of The United Methodist Church. It was established in 1789 in Philadelphia as the Methodist Book Concern.

A chapel is a place that welcomes everyone who enters to sit and meditate.
Many of you are familiar with Vacation Bible Schools and the impact that they can play on a young child’s life. I was excited to see the “hub” where the creativity and ideas form and come to life.
The integration of the old with the new helps maintain the history of this organization. The building that originally housed the Publishing House was filled to the rafters with artifacts of all shapes and sizes. I had to admit that I loved being able to see some of those that were worked into the design of the building. While they are not used they are on display in a wonderful way to incorporate how the past can be part of the future.
Artwork throughout is beautiful and often incorporates items that were once used in production as is the case of this beautiful piece that uses the plates that were covers for publications.
Impressive? Yes.
Beautiful? Yes.
Inspiring? Absolutely.
If you are ever in Nashville don’t miss the opportunity to take a tour of The United Methodist Publishing House. It is a really impressive place where there is much more going on than I could cover in a blog post. Check out their website for more information on the history and more details.
18 Comments
Leave a commentOk, we must be sisters, or at least related. My mother was the church secretary from the time I was born until I was almost a senior in high school at the Methodist Church in Duncanville, TX. I can’t tell you how many hours I substituted for classes, helped with vacation bible school and the like growing up.
I was a church secretary for about 3 years and then took a job doing outreach and small group work in the same church. Your experiences sound very familiar to me ! My dad was a UM Pastor so you can imagine that I saw the inside of church a lot!
That is pretty cool. I love the VBS inspiration area!
Yep—it was really fun and anyone who has done VBS knows that those kits are filled with inspiration! This is where it all starts.
Very cool! What a neat place, that I would never think of touring!!
I was thrilled to be able to connect with them and take a tour. Very fun.
I would 110 percent be in my glory here. Anything to do with printing, I’m in and loving.
It was a really great tour. My hostess was very knowledgable and took a lot of time sharing facts and tidbits with me. You can tell how proud they are of how the space turned out.
The Hamilton Wood Type Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, showcases wonderful old print type. The tour guide there, however, was not nearly as welcoming, especially regarding me taking photos. 🙁
Very interesting place!
What a cool space!
It was a really fun tour.
Very interesting! Bill has a friend in the music industry in Nashville. They just bought a home there and are expecting their first child. He has been there for several years, now and is established. It is an amazing area. Hugs!
Nashville is a really fun place and another trip someday is in the works I hope so that I can see the rest of Nashville!
Very impressive!!! And fascinating to see the evolution of printing preserved. I agree, the integration of old/new provides a super rich environment for creativity and idea exchange.
It was a really neat way to integrate the old with the new and I could just imagine how wonderful it would be to work there.
Yes, yes and yes! Impressive, beautiful, inspiring and really interesting and I love the printing equipment and the card catalogue.
I LOVED those items as well. The card catalog was just filled to the brim with cards and that just made me smile.