Brown Memorial is a mission church in the Conference, located on the Near Westside of Syracuse. The 13204-zip code is one of the poorest zip codes in the United States. The neighborhood is known for its cultural diversity, low homeownership, high transiency, poor graduation rate from high school, high poverty, illiteracy, drug/alcohol abuse, and crime (75% of shots fired calls in Syracuse are in our zip code.) 

The church’s mission statement is to “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.” Brown Memorial UMC does this by offering a free community meal every Sunday at 3:00 p.m. (cooked and served by multiple congregational partners). Dinner is designed to build connection with the community. The weekly worship is held immediately following dinner on Sundays at 4:00 p.m. Brown Memorial UMC offers homework help on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and the church upgraded its Wi-Fi during the pandemic to create a space for children to access the internet for homework purposes. Brown Memorial UMC has hosted Lay Servant training, National Grid fairs, a clothing closet, and multiple small groups. They fund the community food pantry, legal aid, AA, NA, and the facility is used as a community resource. 

The pandemic has been especially hard for Brown Memorial UMC. Pre-COVID, the congregation had grown to 45 people in their Sunday worship celebrations. Post-COVID, the congregation is now 12 to 15. Brown Memorial continues to serve between 75 and 140 people every week at their community meals – but COVID restrictions required them to serve “take-out” only. In April 2022, Brown Memorial resumed their dine-in meals. There have been two dozen children in the tutoring programs and nearly 25 adults and youth in the life skills groups. 

Brown Memorial hosts mission groups, confirmation classes, youth groups, and VIM teams who are looking for local mission opportunities. They partner with the Syracuse United Methodist Ministries for winter break “Safe Space” for kids and other city-wide projects. 

Fundraising Goal: $8,000 

Contact info:

Rev. Dr. B.J. Norrix

228 Davis Street

Syracuse, NY 13204  

Phone: (315) 726-2815 or the church (315) 478-5074

Email: bjnorrix@gmail.com