History

Formerly two separate congregations, Kilgo and St. Luke came together in 2014 to reach people in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood and be a church that loves all people through worship, service, prayer, and study.

Since then, we have covenanted to follow the example and teaching of Jesus Christ, live into our connection as United Methodists, and grow to share grace with others.

The Building

Kilgo Methodist Church was founded on September 5, 1943 with only 37 members. Through the far-sightedness of the Charlotte Mission Society of the Methodist church and its guiding spirits, James Addison Jones and Dr. Grover T. Bond, the parsonage at 2121 Belvedere Avenue was purchased and given to the Church.

Sunday morning services and Sunday School were held during the first fifteen months of its existence in the Midwood School auditorium. Evening services and other Church activities were held at the parsonage.

The stately, colonial T. C. McNeil residence with its lovely bower of oak trees at 2101 Belvedere Avenue, was then purchased by the Charlotte Mission Society and presented to the Church on August 25, 1944. Remodeling of the McNeil residence was completed in January of 1945. Pews and pulpit furniture were installed that same year and a Hammond organ was placed in the Chapel April 6, 1946. Ground was broken for the Fellowship building in March 1948, and it was first occupied a few months later.

Kilgo Methodist Church was named in honor of the Rev. John Carlisle Kilgo, one of North Carolina’s great Methodist Bishops and a resident of Charlotte at the time of his death, August 11, 1922. His home for many years was the white frame house located at the corner Belvedere Avenue and the Plaza.

Bishop Kilgo was especially noted for his work as president of Trinity College (now Duke University), a position which he held for sixteen years. Under his leadership the school grew from a poverty-stricken institution to one with the largest endowment of any southern college.

Members of the Kilgo family continued as members of Kilgo Methodist Church.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Before the neighborhood was known as Plaza Midwood, it was "Chatham Estates." This was one of Charlotte's first suburbs in the 1920s with a trolley line running along Central Avenue, The Plaza and Mecklenburg Avenue to the Country Club.

Plaza Midwood's official boundaries are marked on the map with The Vine situated in the middle of it all. We are fondly referred to as "Our Church" by the Plaza Midwood Neighborhood Association and work together with our neighbors to love God and each other. We partner together for discipleship and fellowship throughout the year.