Epworth Methodist Church was formed in 1895 in Gaithersburg MD. Once located on Brooks Avenue in Old Towne Gaithersburg, the ‘new’ building was built in the 1960s at its current location 9008 Rosemont Drive, still within Gaithersburg City limits. The Rosemont neighborhood was built around the church, and what was once a one lane Frederick Ave became a divided highway.  Long-standing Gaithersburg families such as the Kings, Bohrers, and Jacobs labored to build a faith community that was relevant and engaged. In 1968 Epworth Methodist Episcopal became Epworth United Methodist with the merging of the United Brethren and the Methodist Episcopal Church. 1982, Epworth opened Epworth Preschool, now Epworth Preschool and Kindergarten, as a ministry for the families in this community.

 

In 1985 an adult English language program with parallel children’s tutoring program called Ayuda Especial was founded by lay woman, Ana Brito, at Bethesda United Methodist Church. In the 2000s, in response to shifting immigrant communities, Ayuda Especial was expanded to Woodside and Glenmont UMC in the Silver Spring/Wheaton area and Epworth and Covenant UMCs in the Greater Gaithersburg area. By 2009, this work was exclusively housed at Epworth, embraced by Epworth’s Mission committee. In 2009 leaders from Epworth mission team received grant funding to begin computer classes in a computer lab created and housed in EUMC. In 2010, a small worshipping Spanish speaking Methodist community, Camino de Vida, relocated to Epworth United Methodist, setting Epworth on the course to be a multi-lingual church as well as the multicultural church it had already become in the late 1990s. Many of the Camino de Vida leaders came from the Bethesda Hispanic UMC community who had originally surrounded the Ayuda Especial work, adding strength and vision to the mission team

 

In 2012, Epworth’s mission committee formed a Foundation as a separate 501c3 with the specific intent of building sustainability for the Ayuda Especial existing English classes and tutoring, and Epworth’s computer classes, support for local schools and food pantries, commitment to youth empowerment, and immigration resources. Epworth leaders named the foundation after Ana A Brito in honor of her longstanding commitment to faith-based community engagement.

​

Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pupo Ortiz became the first program director of the foundation, working together with Ana A Brito herself, to provide leadership to the ESOL/tutoring programs of the AABF until Ana’s death in 2021 and Yolanda’s retirement as director  in 2023.

 

From 2024, Epworth UMC has embraced Epworth’s Ana A Brito Foundation as an outgrowth of the longstanding community engagement of Epworth, expanding to ESOL work beyond just the Spanish speaking community and working with Mujer Fuerza y Coraje to build even more resources for the global families served. Epworth’s Food Distribution ministry (started in 2020), Back to School initiatives (started in its current form in 2015), and youth empowerment initiatives (started in 2019) have been rolled into a more comprehensive partnership between Epworth UMC and Epworth’s Ana A Brito Foundation. The foundation stands on a holistic vision for the empowerment, growth, and strengthening of the rich Greater Gaithersburg community; immigrant, newcomers, and long-standing.