January 2023Anna Louise Bates, Church Historian As our church recovers from nearly three years of a horrific pandemic that shook our world, our church, and our community, we remember that health was a primary concern for early Methodist circuit riders. As they traveled their circuits, they were exposed to the elements and all kinds of …
John Lee, A Dedicated Preacher Despite His Illness Read More »
November 2022Anna Louise Bates, Church Historian It’s November, and the excitement of election day is upon us. Members of the New Paltz UMC Community have fond memories of this time until COVID-19 disrupted our church’s routine. One of our best memories is that of the Black Diamond Dinner, which had, since the 1990s, been a …
Black Diamond Dinner: A New Paltz Methodist Tradition Read More »
July 2022Sharon Roth Pastor Limina Grace opened the celebration of Juneteenth at the New Paltz Rural Cemetery on June 19, 2022. She dressed in white, which is often done at these celebrations remembering June 19, 1865, the day 250,000 enslaved in Texas celebrated their freedom by buying new clothing. Kate Hymes-Flanagan read the names of …
July 2022Anna Louise Bates, Church Historian Methodist pastors are itinerant, appointed to their stations by the bishops of their respective Annual Conferences each year. This has always been the practice of Methodist churches, and it is largely because of itinerant circuit riders that membership in Methodist churches grew rapidly during the early years of the …
May 2022Anna Louise Bates, Church Historian The Halmshaw Fellowship Club was an organization formed by women students at the New Paltz Normal School who worshiped and socialized at the New Paltz Methodist Episcopal Church. Named for a beloved pastor of the church, the purpose of the club was twofold: educational and social. Club membership ranged …
March 2022by Anna Louise Bates, PhD, Church Historian The New Paltz Methodist Church historically celebrates and supports military veterans and active service members. This is particularly clear in a news article from the May 30, 1946 New Paltz Times. The article describes a celebration given by the church’s Service Flag Committee (which worked at spreading …
New Paltz Methodists Honor Veterans and Service Members Read More »
January 2022by Anna Louise Bates, PhD, Church Historian What does it mean to become a Methodist? The answer to that question has changed drastically over time. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when the Methodist church was new, it was perceived as an experimental church, wherein profound conversion experiences marked the entry of new souls …
November 2021by Anna Louise Bates, PhD, Church Historian In 2020, I published a story in the church newsletter about blackface minstrel shows performed by members of our church during the 1950s. The article was based upon primary documents; in this case, programs from the 1951 and 52 shows. The programs evidenced deep racial insensitivity among …
Historians, Halloween and Race at New Paltz Methodist Church Read More »
September 2021by Anna Louise Bates, PhD, Church Historian In 1960, the New Paltz Methodist Church had occupied its new church building for more than thirty years. During that time, the congregation had grown from 370 members in 1932 to 413 in 1960. Besides Sunday services, the church featured multiple Sunday School classes for all ages …
“Growing Pains” (of the best kind!) Lead to Action! Read More »
May 2021by Anna Louise Bates, PhD, Church Historian The New Paltz United Methodist Church building on Main Street is a well-known landmark in New Paltz. This is the first in a series of articles about the history of New Paltz Methodists’ current location. Prior to this building’s opening in 1929, the church occupied a building …
Flies and Stench are Why We Built Our Church in 1929 Read More »
