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Our History
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A century ago, church leaders and laymen
of the Detroit Annual Conference of, what was then, the Methodist
Episcopal Church saw the need for an alternative to the county
poor houses as a means of caring for “the lonely aged.”
Together they sought an innovative, non-profit, and faith-based
means of filling that need. Rev. James E. Jacklin, one of UMRC’s
founders, wrote: “The old, as the young, need more than
bread. They need rest, peace, comfort, care, fellowship and
love.”
For
visual timeline, click here.
Local stove manufacturer Frank Porter Glazier donated 33 acres
from a former county fairground site and, in 1906, ground was
broken in Chelsea, Michigan, to offer a new way of caring for
our aged saints. The Chelsea “Old People’s Home”
offered care with dignity to its residents, assured of this
same quality care even if their savings ran out. This promise
was made by our founders and continues to the present.
Today the United Methodist Retirement Communities offers a continuum
of care on its 58-acre Chelsea campus, with independent and
assisted-living apartments, short-stay rehabilitation facility,
and Towsley Village for residents living with Alzheimer’s
and all stages of memory loss. UMRC also encompasses Boulevard
Temple Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Detroit, The Pines
senior apartments in Chelsea, and joint ownership of Silver
Maples of Chelsea with the Chelsea Community Hospital. Plans
for an additional UMRC independent living senior community in
Dexter are also in the works for the near future.
UMRC has depended on generous gifts throughout its 100-year
history from individuals, churches, organizations, corporations
and foundations to support our founders’ promise of benevolent
care. In 1998 the UMRC
Heritage Foundation was created to raise and manage funds
to support UMRC’s faith-based, non-profit mission. This
investment and fund-raising arm ensures the same continuity
of care for all our residents, even if they outlive their resources.
While much has changed over the last one hundred years, UMRC’s
commitment to its founders’ charge remains steadfast.
UMRC looks ahead to its second century with renewed purpose
and dedication to its mission: to meet the changing needs of
Michigan’s diverse aging population by providing housing
and related services with a Christian focus. |
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