The Methodist origins of Pacific Palisades Community Methodist was the first house of worship established in what is Pacific Palisades, by Methodist missionary settlers who simultaneously founded and named Pacific Palisades. The Palisades is unusual amongst west Los Angeles communities in that it "was not founded as a speculative enterprise promoted by subdividers, but by a need for more space in which to carry on [a] program of religious education" and as a permanent site of the Chautauqua movement in Southern California. The location also suited the founders' plans for a beach resort especially for Methodists. As with other Chautauqua sites, it would offer lectures, performances, and religious services in a scenic, camp-like setting, and "expected to become the world's greatest Christian Resort and Assembly Center." The church was founded in 1922 under the oversight of Rev. Marle Smith of Pasadena, who sought a new "assembly area" for the church that could support a summer camp and a youth institute. The proceeds from the sale of Alomar bought the bluffs from the Santa Monica Land and Water Company, the church conference set aside "certain space" for "institutional purposes," and the remainder was subdivided for sale. From 1922 until 1929, congregants worshipped at a tent camp in
Temescal Canyon and then in the Pacific Palisades Association building. Another one of the Methodist institutions established, circa 1921, was the Pacific Palisades Rest Home Society, a retirement home for deacons and deaconesses, an institution that was later relocated to
Alhambra. Brush fires in
Topanga threatened the Pacific Palisades project in 1924. Unfortunately for investors, the lots held by the Pacific Palisades Association did not sell rapidly, interest accrued, additional purchases added to the debt, and then the
Great Depression was on, such that by 1934, "
foreclosure to the bondholders was recorded."
The Community Methodist Church building The church proper was built on a 1.5-acre site donated by the Southern California Methodist Conference, and the original sanctuary building cost $35,000. The groundbreaking for the original church building on Via de la Paz took place on August 18, 1929. On January 8, 2025, the church was heavily damaged during the
Palisades Fire. Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank released a video statement confirming the church was on fire and asked parishioners within the California-Pacific Annual Conference to pray for the congregation. == Additional images ==