New York
New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted of 8-2 to grant a “certificate of appropriateness” to the Middle Collegiate Church on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. This gives them permission to take down the famous façade over the objections of local preservationist groups. The building of the church was destroyed by a fire in 2020, all except the façade. Middle Collegiate is one of four collegiate churches that arose from a Reformed Church in New Amsterdam founded in 1628. They are considered the oldest continuous Protestant congregations in the Americas.
Nashville
United Methodists have been threatening a split for years, generally over the LGBTQ issues. Many congregations in the states and around the world are now voting on whether to go or stay. An assessment by journalists unaffiliated with United Methodists now reports that more than 1800 churches out of 30,000 nationwide have requested permission to depart the denomination with their property. This constitutes just over 6% of United Methodist congregations, although those leaving included some of the largest and most prominent UMC churches.
Los Angeles
Fuller Seminary, located in the great Los Angeles region, elected a new president, the Rev. Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley. Goatley is an accomplished theologian, missiologist, and academic administrator who holds ministry and academic degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. He is the sixth president of the influential Evangelical seminary and the first African American. He succeeds Mark Labberton.
Hendersonville
In Henderson, North Carolina, in the southwest corner of the state, Providence Baptist Church install as their fourth pastor the Rev. Dr. Dwight A. Moody, the same person who is host of TheMeetingHouse broadcast. Twenty people were present for the worship service and ceremony. Dr. Moody had been preaching for the congregation since June of 2021, a total of 19 months. At the same time, Rev. Marcy Mynatt was installed as associate pastor. The congregation is affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
