Bill Text: NY K00301 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Commemorating the 175th Anniversary of the West Hills United Methodist Church of Huntington Station, New York

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-04-29 - adopted [K00301 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-K00301-Introduced.html

---

Assembly Resolution No. 301

BY: M. of A. Stern

        COMMEMORATING  the  175th  Anniversary of the West
        Hills United Methodist Church of Huntington Station,
        New York

  WHEREAS, Religious institutions, and the many spiritual, social  and
educational  benefits  they confer, play a vital role in the development
of the moral fabric of a responsible citizenry; and

  WHEREAS, It is the tradition of this State and this  Nation  to  pay
tribute  to  those  institutions and individuals who have contributed to
the ethical and spiritual values of their communities; and

  WHEREAS, This Legislative Body takes pleasure in  commemorating  the
175th   Anniversary  of  the  West  Hills  United  Methodist  Church  of
Huntington Station, New York, to be celebrated  at  a  Mass  on  Monday,
April 29, 2019; and

  WHEREAS,  On September 9, 1844, a meeting was called for the purpose
of electing a Board of Trustees to preside over what  would  become  the
Methodist  Episcopal Church of West Hills; the first trustees were Elias
Brush, Derrick Ireland, Walter B.  Hill,  David  Valentine,  and  Israel
Oakley;  after  this  was  recorded  in the office of the Suffolk County
Clerk on September 23, 1844, the Church was officially established; and

  WHEREAS, Following this, the congregation came together to  build  a
place  of worship, and land was acquired from Aaron Oakley for $25, upon
which the church was built; the deed, signed in 1845,  allowed  for  the
purchasing  of  1/2  acre,  on  which  the trustees "shall not erect any
dwelling ... except a house for Public Worship and horse sheds with  the
appurtenances...";  the  single  room  building was erected at a cost of
$600, which was a considerable sum at that time; and

  WHEREAS,  In  May  of  1958,  James  Boyd  became  pastor,  and  his
enthusiasm  for redeveloping the church spread among his congregation; a
Sunday School and a Membership and Evangelical committee were formed and
a morning service was added to increase participation; and

  WHEREAS, Within 10 months, 62 individuals had joined the church, and
expansion would soon be needed; a building  committee  was  established,
and on land provided by Harry Jones, the church was moved off of Jericho
Turnpike  to  its present location; the sanctuary itself was enlarged by
several feet, and two wings  were  added  to  the  structure,  providing
offices  and  classrooms;  a fellowship hall and kitchen were also added
downstairs; and

  WHEREAS, In the early fall of 1960, the first sermon was preached in
the new church which retained the same arched ceiling  and  wainscoting,
and the identical altar and pews from the original building; eventually,
additional pews were purchased from the East Meadow Methodist Church and
new lighting fixtures from the Valley Stream Church; and

  WHEREAS,  Many  hours  were  spent  by  the  members  installing the
basement tiles and the kitchen ceiling, and funds  were  raised  by  the

Woman's Society of Christian Service through festivals, fairs, and other
sales, with the money used to purchase kitchen appliances; and

  WHEREAS,  Between  1961  and  1962, 99 people were received into the
church; by 1964, the total church membership numbered 302, a gain of 293
since June of 1958; enrollment in the elementary school division  topped
150;  by 1968, total membership peaked at 442, and a full nursery school
program was soon initiated; and

  WHEREAS, During the late 1970s and into the 1980s,  the  members  of
West  Hills  continued to forge ahead with ideas for a better church and
community by hosting an outdoor Christmas Pageant and a  Haunted  House,
and reestablishing the West Hills Vacation Bible School; and

  WHEREAS, The members of West Hills, whether they number nine, ninety
nine,  or  three hundred and nine, have never been idle. Their hands are
always working on some new idea, some new way of  making  the  church  a
better place to worship the Lord together; and

  WHEREAS,  For 175 years, the people of West Hills have gathered in a
small white church to worship together  in  faith  and  fellowship;  the
congregation  has  come  together, in good times and bad, times of peace
and times of war, times of happiness and times of grief; and

  WHEREAS, The people of West Hills have brought new meanings  to  the
words  family,  fellowship,  kindness,  and  love; the West Hills United
Methodist Church  has  both  struggled  and  flourished,  prospered  and
endured,  yet no matter what, the church has stood as a beacon of light,
shining its message of hope and love into the darkness of the world; and

  WHEREAS, Under the luminous leadership of Pastor Melanie Ollett, the
West Hills United Methodist Church stands on the threshold of  tomorrow,
prepared  to  meet  the challenges of the coming decades while retaining
that spiritual resolve which characterizes its past; and

  WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to take  note  of
enduring  religious  institutions  and to bring such institutions to the
attention of the people of this Empire State; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
commemorate  the  175th  Anniversary  of the West Hills United Methodist
Church, fully confident that this commemoration reflects the  belief  in
those  values  which  enhance the dignity and purpose of life; and be it
further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to  Melanie  Ollett,  Pastor,  West  Hills United Methodist
Church.