The New Simkins Hall in The Shelby Center

At the heart of ministry and outreach...
For the life of God’s people!

Design created by (M)Arch. working in
conjunction with our Simkins Hall Task Force.
Click on the image to view full size.

The new Simkins Hall in The Shelby Center is now complete!!! We are celebrating the completion with a special worship service on Sunday, February 3 at 10:00 am in the sanctuary. Near the end of the service we will move into the new Hall for a Dedication and light brunch reception. Rev. Don Shelby and his wife Jean will be with us and we'll be celebrating his birthday! Come join us AND thank you SO MUCH for your support in this effort. May this newly refurbished space be a blessing to our congregation and our community and forward the work of God!

A Social Hall…
In May of 1955, the Social Hall of the First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica was dedicated to a wide variety of uses in support of greater community. And for more than half a century it has amply fulfilled its purpose. A gym, a meeting room for groups large and small, a site for dinners and lunches, the Social Hall has been used for lectures, concerts, church committee and council meetings. It has earned money for FUMC in the form of rental fees from the larger community. During the 1980s, it even served as our place of worship while the sanctuary was being remodeled.

Becomes Simkins Hall…
In July of 1985, the Social Hall was renamed Simkins Hall in memory of C.H. (Bill) and Nadine Simkins, whose gift from the sale of their 20th Street property made a significant upgrade possible. As the marker commemorating their generosity reads: “Simkins Hall named in loving memory of C.M. “Bill” and Nadine Simkins whose generous bequest funded the complete refurbishing of the social hall and manifested their long and faithful membership in this congregation.” This memorial will be incorporated into a newly designed Heritage Center in the refurbished hall.

In the Shelby Center.
With refurbishment of Simkins Hall now in progress, the entire complex in which it is located - including the Choir Room, the kitchen, the Scout Room and the UMW Workroom - will be named The Shelby Center to honor the long and distinguished pastorate of former Senior Minister, the Reverend Don Shelby, and Jean Shelby, who served FUMC from 1975 to 1998. Under Rev. Shelby’s leadership, the hall continued to be at the heart of the congregation’s ministries of fellowship, education and service for children, youth and adults as well as the site of the church’s intersection with the community.

Simkins Hall Tells Our Many Stories…

Coffee and refreshments on Sunday mornings
Birthday parties, wedding receptions, anniversary celebrations
Gatherings with loved ones following a memorial service
Potluck suppers, Halloween haunted houses, Easter Egg hunts
Volleyball matches and youth basketball games
Walking the Labyrinth
Advent craft workshops and Summer Sing-Alongs
Parties to support Project Angel Tree
Holiday parties for the residents of Family Place
The annual Charge Conference
Lecture series and community forums
A kitchen for innumerable meals
Lenten Dinners, St. Patrick’s Day luncheons
Easter brunches
A stage for countless performances
Santa Monica Quilt Guild
Debtors Anonymous
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day events
Health information program of St. John’s Hospital
A polling place and site for annual flu shots
Rotary Meetings
The Assistance League, the Jane Austen Society
Westside Domestic Violence Coalition
Square-dances, folk-dances, and Taiko drumming
OPCC retreats and Daybreak Christmas parties
High Holy Day activities of Santa Monica Synagogue
Countless fund-raisers, Alternative Christmas
The UMW Bazaar
The Oceanaires
Retired Teachers Association
Eagle Scout ceremonies
And much, much more…

YOU are a part of the on-going story of Simkins Hall - a space for celebration, education, prayer, praise, community building, play, fellowship and mission, for the life of God’s people and service to Santa Monica and to the world.

The New Simkins Hall…
Refurbishment means more than much-needed new paint and wall coverings. Refurbishment also means a flexible sound system, multi-purpose lighting, new flooring, and a more professional stage incorporating electronic projection technology. A more gracious setting for every event, the new Simkins Hall will still be durable and flexible enough to accommodate children and youth activities. A Labyrinth will be inlaid into the floor, in the manner of ancient European cathedrals, as will the markings for basketball and volleyball courts. The West wall will be configured with a motorized screen and portable risers to accommodate both speaking events and large meetings. The alcove will be updated to facilitate meetings for medium-sized groups. The South wall of the alcove will contain a Heritage center, focused around the altar piece from the old sanctuary. The North wall will feature a Donor and Memorial Wall.

How Do You Measure the Value of a Space?
Is it by cost-per-square foot? Seating capacity or maximum occupancy? Is it by fair rental value or desirable location? Or do you measure the value of a space by its beauty, its hospitality, its functionality, and its role in transforming lives? For over 50 years, Simkins Hall — a space for ministry to the congregation and outreach to the community – has touched thousands of lives in priceless moments of spiritual and social transformation. Now we invite your help in carrying it forward.

We Welcome Your Gift.
Whether you are a member or friend of the Church or come from the larger community, we welcome your support for the new Simkins Hall in The Shelby Center in whatever amount is right for you. For your convenience, there is a pledge form on the back of this brochure.
If you haven't already done so, you are still welcome to contribute to this project.

For further information, you may contact the Church Office:
theshelbycenter "at" santamonicaumc.org
310-393-8258