Pastor Tom MacLeod of the newly formed North Fork United Methodist Church previously served as pastor at Sag Harbor United Methodist Church, where he also led efforts to sell the congregations old building to construct a new church. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)

The Cutchogue United Methodist Church building is for sale.

The historic Main Road structure, built in 1927, went on the market last week as part of an ongoing plan to consolidate Methodist congregations in Southold and Cutchogue and construct a new church elsewhere in Southold Town, Pastor Tom MacLeod said.

Related: Sacred spaces headed to market

In June, church officials closed Southold United Methodist Church and put it up for sale, citing declining membership and ever-increasing maintenance costs. In the months since, the Southold and Cutchogue congregations have been worshiping together in Cutchogue under the name North Fork United Methodist Church.

The Cutchogue church will remain open until a buyer is found.

There has been a grief issue, the Rev. MacLeod said. These buildings mean a lot to many people and they have served the community for years. But more than that, there is a renewed sense of excitement. We are a bigger church now than we were before the merger. A lot of the older members want to move into a new building. They see the vision and are looking forward to moving toward it.

Since the two Methodist congregations got together, there has been a steady uptick in membership and a renewed sense of commitment to the church among parishioners, the Rev. MacLeod said, pointing to a recent church dinner that raised more than $6,000 for local families in need.

Moreover, it was an easy event, he said, thanks to the helping hands of the congregations 60 regular members.

We are stronger with more people, the Rev. MacLeod said. Almost everyone from Southold came to Cutchogue. With this bigger congregation, there is a great sense of community. That allows us to do more.

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Cutchogue United Methodist Churchs building up for sale

Two statues with symbolic importance for St. Anthonys Catholic Church were blessed recently and now stand as welcoming presences near the front doors of the church on Frankwood Avenue.

One statue depicts St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of the Reedley church.

The other is a representation of Mary pregnant with Jesus, which is a statement about the Catholic Churchs pro-life position, said Jim McGahan, a St. Anthonys parishioner.

The statues each with a bronze coating stand just short of 7 feet tall. They are mounted on stone bases that are just over 3 feet tall.

The stands are made of rocks from Smith Mountain, which is historically significant for the parish.

In the early 1900s, 24 families went to Smith Mountain and got rocks used to build old St. Anthonys church on F Street.

This year, Matthew Reyes and fellow Boy Scouts in Troop 282 gathered rocks from Smith Mountain for the bases. Reyes role in gathering the rocks is a step toward him earning his rank as an Eagle Scout.

Monsignor John Esquivel, pastor of St. Anthonys, blessed the statues in separate ceremonies.

He pointed out that the statue of St. Anthony faces south in the direction of old St. Anthonys.

St. Anthony is basically saying, Im watching over those who attend the old church, Esquivel said.

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Statues of St. Anthony, Mary blessed at church

Reverend Stephen White in front of the stained glass windows at St Luke's on the Taieri. Photo by Linda Robertson.

A special commemoration service by Bishop of Dunedin Kelvin Wright was held on Sunday.

St Luke's vicar, the Rev Stephen White, said the church had a large presence in the community.

''The church is significant in terms of its ministry,'' he said''We have line dancing, we have counselling services ... we have a wide-ranging church community, we have people from all walks of life.''

The site of the current complex had been a place of worship for many years before its construction in 1964.

''This is the second church that has been on this site.''

Anglican worship began on the Taieri in 1878 when the Rev Stanley, of Milton, began taking regular services in Green Island and Allanton.

The first St Luke's church was a wooden construction by architects Mason and Wales built in late 1892.

''The old building was a much-beloved building. They felt it would serve them well.''

The small complex could only fit 60 people and by 1949 Mosgiel residents had had enough of not being able to squeeze in and began the New Church Building Fund.

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St Luke's marks 50 years

A historic church in Syria dedicated to the one and a half million Armenians murdered by the Turks in 1915 has reportedly been reduced to rubble by Islamists.

According to The Independent, the destruction of the Armenian church in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour appears to have been committed by Jabhat al-Nusra rebels.

Irreplaceable archives dating back to 1841 - shortly before the church's 1846 construction - and which included documents on the Armenian genocide have been reduced to ashes.

In a further act of insult, the bones of hundreds of genocide victims have reportedly been removed from the crypt and strewn on the street outside.

Overseer of the Armenian church in the Deir el-Zour district, Monsignor Antranik Ayvazian, told The Independent's Robert Fisk that the militants tried to use the church as leverage, promising not to destroy the priceless archive if he in return acknowledged them as the legislative authority in the area.

He refused and they set about destroying the church.

"I refused," he said. "And after I refused, they destroyed all our papers and endowments. The only genocide victims' bones leftwere further north in the Murgada sanctuary and I buried them before I left. They destroyed the church there, but now if I could go back, I don't even know if I could find where I put the bones."

He only found out about the church's destruction when a secret photo showing the ruined building was smuggled to him.

It is not only the fact that the bones of genocide victims were stored at the church; its place in Armenian history is poignant because the priest at the time, Father Petrus Terzibashian, was killed by Turks in front of the congregation, says Msr Ayvazian.

"Then they threw his body into the Euphrates," he said. "This time when the Islamists came, our priest there fled for his life."

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Historic Armenian church destroyed by Islamists in Syria

By JENNIFER NOBLIT Wednesday November 12, 2014 10:41 AM

Eric Killian's Eagle Scout project could be a pathway to literacy for some.

The Dublin Coffman High School freshman built and installed eight shelving units at First English Lutheran Church near downtown Columbus.

"I made eight large, wooden book shelves," Killian said.

The member of Boy Scout Troop 299, based out of Indian Run Methodist Church, said he got the idea from his pastor.

"I contacted my church and my pastor didn't have anything he needed done so he directed me to a church we help with food drives," Killian said.

Although he doesn't have a lot of experience building things, Killian decided to construct book shelves the church needed for a library.

"I was able to recruit a lot of people from my troop and people from my family (to help)," Killian said.

Construction, installation and painting were done in three work days over the summer, Killian said, but did not come without a few obstacles.

"One of the challenges was painting taking a lot longer than I thought, but we got some rollers and that sped it up," he said.

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Church gets shelves, books as part of Eagle project

LADY LAKE Lady Lake Church of God was decimated by tornadoes that struck the area in February 2007, but the congregation regrouped and two years later dedicated a new modern $2.1 million sanctuary off U.S. Highway 27-441.

Now, the church, which became a symbol of perseverance in the wake of the killer storm that took 21 lives in the Lady Lake and Lake Mack areas of the county, is moving ahead with plans to build a 5,000-square-foot multipurpose building as part of a major site plan the Town Council approved several months after the tragedy.

The multipurpose building, one of several planned on the nearly eight-acre site, will be located adjacent to the church on Oak Hill Road and will serve church members as well as area residents, the Rev. Larry Lynn said.

The building's final price has yet to be determined because details are still being nailed down, but a church member has offered to pay for half the construction costs, he said.

"It'll be used for all kinds of activities, from senior adults to preschoolers," said Lynn, who has led the church for 17 years. "We're planning on hosting some community events as well."

The 100- by 50-foot building will feature a half-court gym, a caf area and will have video games and game tables, too.

"As soon as we get a permit to build, we'll begin construction," Lynn said.

The church received an outpouring of support in the aftermath of the destruction. Then-Gov. Charlie Crist, who last week lost his bid to become governor again, attended an outdoor Sunday service days after the catastrophe. He returned six months later to the church site, where he signed a tax relief bill for homeowners who sustained damage during twisters.

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Lady Lake church that rebuilt after tornado planning large multipurpose building

Construction is under way Friday at the future home of the Tuscaloosa location of the Church of the Highlands on Rice Mine Road.

Work is under way off Rice Mine Road preparing the site for the new Tuscaloosa campus of Church of the Highlands.

The Rev. Jimmy Bowers, pastor for the Tuscaloosa campus, said site preparation is expected to continue through late December with construction of the building to follow around Christmas.

About 26 of the sites 33 acres will be developed to accommodate the 1,200-seat sanctuary, church offices, childrens spaces and a cafe.

Outside, 964 parking spaces are planned.

And well be landscaping it beautifully to match the area, Bowers said, and were leaving some trees along the river.

In total, the project is expected to reach $21 million and be complete by spring 2016.

The nondenominational Church of the Highlands was founded in February 2001 by the Rev. Chris Hodges as a way for people (to) connect with God in a church without letting structures and programs get in the way, according to its website. Its first service had about 350 congregants in the Fine Arts Center of Mountain Brook High School.

Now, the megachurch has a membership of about 26,000 at 10 church campuses across Alabama, said the Rev. Scott Montgomery, an associate pastor for the Church of the Highlands who oversees the churchs capital projects.

This places the Church of the Highlands in the top 10 of the 2013 Fastest-Growing and Largest Outreach 100 Churches as determined by Outreach magazine, a Christian-based publication.

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Rice Mine Road site being prepared for Church of the Highlands

Church has been part of community since the 1800s

By Katie Mills Giorgio, correspondent

November 10, 2014 | 12:01 am

ATKINS St. Stephens Lutheran Church in Atkins has been a part of the community since 1866.

While the first services were held in homes on farm land surrounding the town, a permanent church was built in 1872. The building where the congregation celebrates today was constructed in 1941, with additions added to the building in 1973 and 2004.

And by the end of this month, the church will grow again.

Some six months ago, church members began construction on an addition that includes a fellowship hall and kitchen, a multipurpose room that will be used by the Churchs quilting group and the choir, and a new entrance with a covered drop off space off the new parking lot.

Pastor Doug Woltemath, who has been with St. Stephens for 14 years, said the project got underway after a survey of church members.

Everyone was very united behind the project, he said. I am amazed at how well the congregation has gotten behind it. And I think everyone is getting something they wanted out of the addition.

Woltemath said he looks forward to using the space for coffee and doughnuts after Sunday services.

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Off the Map: St. Stephens Church growing in Atkins

Our Lady of the Assumption Church, west of Broadview, sits tiny against the broad swath of farmland and endless blue sky, as it did when it opened 101 years ago.

It looks better now than it did back then. A photo taken the day the first Mass was held in 1913 shows wooden posts propped up the unfinished steeple.

Scaffolding covered the front of the building, and the wood exterior was bare of paint. Now the clapboard structure is covered in gleaming white paint, and the interior is restored, thanks to the hard work of volunteers.

One of them is Pat Frey, whose family lived in a house next door to Our Lady of the Assumption. The church has been part of her family history even longer.

I grew up across the pigpen from the church, Frey said, sitting in the dining room of her Broadview home. My dads aunt and uncle donated the land where the church sits, and there were lots of families involved at that time.

Barney and Georgiana Gotken donated the three acres from their homestead, which sits about nine miles west of Broadview. The parish probably began in 1907 or 1908, Frey said, before the church was built.

There were farmers in that area that wanted this church started and they all got together, Frey said.

Her father, Alvan Stiles, helped with the upkeep of the church, and the cemetery down the hill from the church.

The cemetery land was donated by the Newton family, she said.

These days, gravestones are scattered in the sparse field, some decorated with plastic flowers.

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Little church on the prairie: Remote Broadview parish still going

Chengalam St Antony #39;s Parish Church Construction ( 31-10-2014)
Chengalam St Antony #39;s Parish Church Construction ( 31-10-2014)

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Chengalam St Antony's Parish Church Construction ( 31-10-2014) - Video