Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church is once again participating as a venue for Doors Open, a free city-wide event celebrating our community and our stories: May 18th and 19th, 10am-5pm.
Experience the magic of Doors Open Minneapolis 2024 with HAUMC as we open our doors to share our story with our neighbors! As one of over 100 amazing venues participating in this city-wide event, it’s an opportunity to share and to learn more about our history, space, and our impact on the Minneapolis community. Who knows? You may even discover things about the church that you never knew.
Doors Open at Hennepin Schedule and Activities
In addition to the activities listed below there are plenty of opportunities to explore the church, meet new people, and enjoy the magic of Hennepin!
What is Doors Open Minneapolis?
Doors Open Minneapolis is a chance to explore the buildings that tell our city’s story. From theaters to business hubs, sacred spaces to private clubs, sports complexes to engineering wonders, historical gems to not-even-open-yet buildings, Doors Open Minneapolis will give you a FREE behind-the-scenes look at dozens of exciting venues. Building owners and caretakers will provide unique perspectives that illustrate why these venues, people, and businesses, are central to our city’s identity.
Doors Open Minneapolis is produced by Minnesota-based historic preservation nonprofit, Rethos. Rethos works with communities to identify building and community-related challenges and find solid solutions. From visioning a building’s next chapter or teaching plaster repair, to telling the diverse stories associated with our buildings from early history to today. Rethos practices The New Preservation which takes into account the future as well as the past, preserving not just the structure of the building but its stories and value to the community.
Besides our amazing Sanctuary and Windows, HAUMC also has an exceptional art collection that began with the religious art of TB Walker. The history of our art, the city of Minneapolis, and the beginnings of the Walker Art Center and HAUMC are fascinating! The collection highlights include a Pourbus Abraham and the Three Angels and Italian painter Antonio Cesari‘s Ecce Homo. It is a glimpse into a Gilded Age collector who, for all his faults, believed that all people should have access to the power of the art. Guided tours through the gallery will take place at 12:30 each day. Also on view is a combined exhibition of selected works from the United Theological Seminary’s permanent art collection, combined with pieces from the private collection of Dr. Wilson Yates, all speaking to the symbiosis of art and spirituality. Dr. Yates is also offering lectures throughout the spring on the arts in spiritual practice.
Back by popular demand, Patrick Henning and Jonathan Orwig will be doing an organ demonstration on our (Robert Sipe, 1979) organ at 11am and 2pm on both Saturday and Sunday. The organ is a freestanding tracker organ with mechanical action. It has 54stops, 4,500 pipes and four keyboards!
Be sure to ask them about the Nightingale stops, one of the rarest stops in American organs! It’s 2 pipes turned upside down that are submerged in water. When it’s activated (by a foot lever), it sounds just like birds chirping!
This year we are thrilled to be able to show the different ways our building is a home and place of healing and expression for the greater community as well! Visitors can participate in a Community Yoga Class with Leslie Ball in our art Gallery at 10:45 am on Saturday. All skill levels are welcome and you can bring your own mat or borrow one for the class. Dress comfortably and bring some water.
For over a year we have been hosting the Ten Thousand Things Theater performances in our Art Gallery. As luck would have it they have performances of The Spit Fire Grill at 4pm both Saturday and Sunday.
This heart-warming musical tells the story of Percy Talbot, who has just been released from prison. In search of a new life, she travels to the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin, and gets a job at Hannah’s Spitfire Grill. A celebration of fresh starts and the hope one person can bring to an entire community. Adult themes, parental discretion advised.
The show runs weekends May 2-19. Thursday, Friday shows at 7:30pm
Saturday, Sunday shows at 4pm. Tickets are offered through Ten Thousand Things Theater, Suggested at $35 or Pay What You Can starting at $15:
Please note that Ten Thousand Things Theater is an independent, non-profit organization whose performances we host in our space. Ticket sales go to support their mission of bringing professional theater directly to communities throughout Minnesota for free. You can find out more at: https://tenthousandthings.org/about/
We feel it’s so fortunate to be able to highlight some of the diversity of programming that occurs within our walls that allow us to serve the community in so many different ways!
You can also volunteer to be a host through Rethos for HAUMC or at any of the other venues. Volunteers get a t-shirt and VIP pass for priority access. The city needs your help greeting visitors, handing out program guides, and answering questions about the event. Don’t worry, Rethos will set you up to succeed! Learn more and sign up here!