New Albany Parish

OUR HISTORY
In 1846 a group came together to form the New Albany Baptist Church. This church affiliated with what came to be the American Baptist Churches, USA. In 1870 a group of Methodists formally organized into the New Albany Methodist Church (now United Methodist). For a century these two congregations engaged in Christian worship, witness, and service to the residents of the New Albany area.
In 1970 the two congregations decided to form a Parish structure and share a pastor between them. The ministers would alternate between American Baptist and United Methodist clergy.

OUR MINISTRY
Over the years the two congregations have come to share more and more areas of their life. Currently we worship together every Sunday begin ning at 11:00 A.M., alternating each six months between the two buildings (May-October, United Methodist; November-April, Baptist). We have a Parish Sunday school at 9:45 A.M. with classes for all ages; youth groups from elementary through high school; and three choirs (Senior, Teen, and Junior). We also offer opportunities for Bible study and prayer during the week. Each summer we organize a Vacation Bible School. Over holiday seasons we offer special services of worship.
The two churches continue to maintain separate boards and committees, treasuries, women's groups, and support of their relationships to their respective larger church bodies.
Most recently both congregations have joined the Endless Mountains Group Ministry. In this arrangement eleven churches from New Albany to Milan share together. Our minister is part of a staff that serves the congregations; ten United Methodist and one American Baptist.

OUR MESSAGE
While there are some differences between Methodist and Baptist practices, we share these central Christian beliefs and convictions.

• God made this world and every individual in it with great love.
• We have rejected God and his love by turning from him and his ways of living, insisting on our own way. Our rejection (or sin) separates us from God, disrupts relationships with other people, and will eventually destroy us.
• God reaches over the barriers we have made; most importantly, he reaches to all of us in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to take on the results of our rejection; by his death on the cross, the penalty of our sin has been taken away. By his resurrection from being dead, we know that he is the Living Lord, who offers us life.
• We can know a new life by turning away from our ways and entrusting ourselves to Jesus. He forgives and gives us a fresh, clean start with God.
• As we follow Jesus, he sends the Holy Spirit to live with us; the Spirit helps us to live as God wants, and helps us through the troubles we may face.
• We also have a life with other people. Coming together as a church, we have opportunities to worship, to learn, to help each other as we follow Jesus, and to do projects for God that we could not do on our own.

If you have any questions, we invite you to talk with our pastor; the office phone is 363-2570.

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