Special to The Truth
Braden United Methodist Church will celebrate its 118th Homecoming weekend October 9-11, 2026 with a Legacy Gala and its annual Homecoming Sunday worship service.
On Friday, October 9 from 6 to 9 PM, we’ll gather to celebrate leadership, laity and legacy by featuring guest speakers, Audrey Johnson of the Unbounded Artists Development Community, and Kathy Moore, the Director of Lay Servant Ministries for the West Ohio Conference.
The UADC is a nonprofit organization that provides support, resources, and opportunities for artists of color to connect with one another, and with the community in various art forms and Lay Servant Ministries is a leadership training program that equips people to serve in the churches and in the community – building up the body of Christ.
The gala will also honor the last three surviving members of the Allen family’s third generation. Morell Fonfield (95), Ruby Hill (93), and Shirley Kynard (92) represent members who stayed, served and worshipped at Braden for nearly a century. Described as keepers of the family history, by their family, they are also historians of the church, where their faithfulness will be honored.
The gala will be held at Braden United Methodist Church, Friday, October 9, from 6-9 pm. Tickets are $35 in advance or at the door. Just as the church will celebrate the generations that have laid the foundation to remain for 118 years, its celebratory theme is “The Doors Are Open!” and a son, raised in Toledo and spiritually formed in Braden UMC, will return home as the guest speaker for Sunday’s Homecoming service.
J.C. “Jimmy” Matthews was a young man playing basketball for Bowsher High School who after graduating in 1986, earned a full basketball scholarship to Northern Kentucky University, where he studied political science before continuing on to law school. A member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Matthews would go on to build a career spanning law, labor relations, corporate leadership and ministry in Dallas, Texas.
While he has spent decades in leadership roles in labor and employment relations, he currently serves as Director of Labor Relations in the Legal Department at Southwest Airlines.
For a congregation celebrating 118 years of ministry in Toledo, there may be no more fitting picture of homecoming: opening the doors to the community while welcoming home one of its own.
Family, former members, friends, colleagues and alumni are invited to reconnect with Jimmy and the church that raised him Sunday October 11, at 10:30 AM. The church is located at 4725 Dorr Street where Rev. Ernest P. Ologo is the pastor.