History

September 2023Anna Louise Bates, Church Historian As we approach Patriot Day, the memorial date designated to commemorate the devastation of 9/11/2001, it seems appropriate to celebrate the life of a patriot pastor who served the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. John Keogan of Sullivan County, NY, was twenty-four years old when he volunteered […]

June 2023Anna Louise Bates, Church Historian Children’s Day is a celebration first observed on the second Sunday of June in 1857 by Reverend Charles Leonard, pastor of the Universalist Church of the Redeemer in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The Methodist Church adopted the holiday by general consent in 1865, “… for the double purpose of interesting the

March 2023Anna Louise Bates, Church Historian New Paltz Methodists have a mixed record on race issues. While on one hand, the church had no qualms about hosting black-face minstrel shows during the 1940s and 50s, they remained committed to race equality in matters of church education. The church had a flourishing Sunday School in 1940,

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

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

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

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