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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Walden Methodist Congregation plans a new church
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
The Walden United Methodist Church
is one step closer in its long journey to
build a new church building.
The church presented a site plan to the
Town of Montgomery Planning Board on
Sept. 11.
President of the board of trustees
Tony Virilli said the 3,500-square-foot
building would have a sanctuary and
meeting rooms that are designed as multi-
use spaces, allowing the church and the
community to use the space according to
their needs. There will also be a parking
lot and plenty of open space for outdoor
activities.
Virilli said he wants the church to
be open to the community during more
times than just on Sunday mornings, a
sentiment that Pastor Scharlise Dorsey
previously reflected.
“We don’t just want a nice building
for ourselves, we want a building to do
ministry out of and have it open where
the community feels comfortable coming
in,” Virilli said.
It will allow the church to grow its
ministries and Sunday School.
Currently, the congregation meets
at St. Andrews Episcopal Church for
service on Sunday at 11:30 a.m., after
St. Andrew’s congregation dismisses
A rendering of the proposed new Walden United Methodist Church to be built on a church-
owned parcel on Route 52, west of the village.
service at 11:15 a.m. Virilli said this hurts
attendance because some congregants
would like service earlier in the morning
so it doesn’t compete with other activities
on Sundays.
The project will be funded in large
part by donations. Virilli said the
church will also reach out to the United
Methodist Development Fund, a non-
profit corporation that provides first-
mortgage loans for building, expanding,
refinancing, site acquisition and
renovating United Methodist Churches.
Acquiring a new church has been a
long time coming. The congregation used
to reside in a church on Main Street in
Walden, but the upkeep and utilities for
the 15,000-square-foot-building became
too expensive for a small congregation.
Renovations to the building would
have been too expensive because the
building was old and not up to current
building codes. The congregation voted to
relocate in 2004. The building was sold in
2014.
“We actually felt restricted because it
started to be the focus of the church even
though we try hard not to make it that,
trying to pay all the bills every month,”
Virilli said.
Virilli said the board would like to
break ground this fall or next spring at
the latest.
Pastor Scharlise Dorsey said she is
excited for the new building and what is
to come for the congregation.
“It is a testament to what God can do,
that nothing is impossible,” Dorsey said.
“So, I’m excited for the Walden United
Methodist Church.”
In an age of declining church
membership, Virilli said it’s fairly
unusual for a new church to be built in
this area.
Virilli said the congregation is looking
forward to the new building.
“There’s a lot of excitement now in the
congregation because people feel like it’s
finally happening after all these years,”
Virilli said.
Spruce Up Walden event will beautify 20 village properties
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
Walden is getting a makeover with Spruce Up Walden
on Sept 21, a community service day that will beautify 20
Walden properties.
A projected 100 volunteers will paint, side properties,
power wash, remove debris from sidewalks, weed, cut
shrubbery, mulch, do minor repairs such as fix broken
steps, gutters, or fencing, and more on Walden’s main
street.
“100 volunteers are ultimately going to spruce up the
village of Walden and make it a brighter place for the
residents to enjoy where they live,” director of Orange
County Rural Development Advisory Corporation
(RDAC) Faith Moore said.
The event is sponsored by RDAC in Walden and the
State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA).
Moore said some properties are owner-occupied
residences, some are rental units and a few propertie s
are vacant. Volunteers would also be available to spruce
up Walden’s businesses upon request.
Volunteers will also extend the concrete in the
skatepark in Bradley Park and pick up trash.
Moore said SONYMA and RDAC chose Walden
because RDAC has their offices in the village. Beautifying
a small village is also more noticeable than one block of a
large city.
“This is our home. We love it here,” Moore said, “and
we felt that we could really make a large impact on the
residences, the buildings and the skate park that we’re
going to spruce up.”
Moore said volunteers will gain the satisfaction of
contributing to their community.
“It’s very humbling to be able to serve and do good in
the community that you live in,” Moore said.
Sherri Eckles, SONYMA senior vice president of
single-family programs, said spruce up events create
community pride and neighborhood involvement. And,
if one property is beautified, it might prompt their
neighbors to repair or beautify their home, creating a
ripple effect.
Spruce up events also fix up some properties for those
that are unable to fix them themselves, such as renters,
low-income residents, the elderly or the disabled.
“The people who are living in these houses . . . they
are so grateful of all the work that we’ve done and say,
‘Wow I’m so proud of my garden again,’ and ‘I can’t wait
to have people come visit me,” Eckles said.
RDAC is a non-profit rural housing initiative that
helps individuals obtain and retain affordable housing
and encourages home ownership. Created in 1983, the
organization has constructed more than 1,000 affordable
housing units.
SONYMA is a state agency that partners with mortgage
lenders to offer competitive, fixed-rate mortgages with
special features to help low and moderate-income New
York residents become homeowners.
SONYMA always teams up with a local agency for
spruce up events because local nonprofits know their
community best and can individualize each project to
their own community. The only requirement of the
events is that volunteers spruce up a space that will
benefit the community at large, such as a park or an
outdoor classroom.
“Anybody can volunteer,” Moore said. “There are
plenty of jobs to go around.”
The event is from 9-3, so volunteers can work for the
full day or a half day. Volunteers will also receive free
breakfast and lunch. Currently, RDAC has 25 volunteers
and would like to reach 100.
To volunteer or donate call Moore at 713-4568 ext. 110.