TCC History
Reimagining sacred space for all people.
In 2013, United Methodist pastors and members asked a question: what if we reimagined the church property to show radical hospitality to all our neighbors?
That question gave birth to Trinity Community Commons.
TCC was planted inside the active Trinity United Methodist Church in East Nashville, which itself had a long history of radical hospitality.
Trinity United Methodist Church served as a hub for social, spiritual, physical, and community health from 1857 - 2022.
Destroyed and then rebuilt in 1904, it was re-dedicated in this spirit:
“People should direct their efforts not with a view to bettering their own condition alone, but that they should so build that future generations might profit by their efforts.”
- Bishop Wilson
“Trinity Church had been an important factor in the education of the people of this community, and in the upbuilding of characters. He hoped that it would wield as great an influence in the future as it had in the past, and that it would have larger opportunities for doing good.”
- Mayor Albert S. Williams
1857 - 2022
Trinity United Methodist Church
2013 - Present
Trinity Community Commons
Founder Nate Paulk opened the doors of the historic Trinity UMC property to welcome all neighbors in, affirming the worth and potential of all people through radical hospitality:
free community dinners, summer leadership camps for kids, after school reading programs, financial literacy classes, community gardening, farmers markets, and more.
Ash Wednesday Fire
February 17, 2021
The fire forced us to reckon with our mission.
How could we best use this partially destroyed property to continue showing radical hospitality
to all our neighbors?
2023 - 2025
rebuilding community
Together, we started building: tables, benches, garden beds.
A new community gathering space was planted on what was once an empty front lawn.
Everything in response to the needs, skills, and gifts of our neighbors.
We started asking neighbors what they needed most in their community. Their answers were clear: People told us they needed a place to live, meaningful work, and a way to be in community with their neighbors — a community-run third space.
As we witnessed increasing displacement, neighbors and friends being forced out into the periphery or onto the street, we knew we could do more.
Radical hospitality means welcoming strangers into our community, our homes, and our lives. Hospitality is essentially treating others as family. If we wanted to show hospitality that is truly radical, we needed to build homes.
In 2024, TCC began partnering with Nelson Community Partners to draw out this idea in more detail. Together we’ve developed plans to revitalize our historic sanctuary into a vibrant community gathering space — and use the rest of the property to build affordable homes for families who need it most.
2024 - 2027
