Lynnwood Reformed celebrates 70 years
— Photo from Susan Spring Meggs
The Lynnwood Reformed Church, whose congregation first met in this barn, is celebrating its 70th anniversary on Sunday, Dec. 15, at the 9:45 a.m. service with a celebration at 11 a.m during the coffee hour.
GUILDERLAND — The Lynnwood Reformed Church is celebrating its 70th anniversary this Sunday.
The first worship service for the “Lynnwood Chapel,” as it was then called, was held on Dec. 19, 1954 in the barn just north of the parking lot of the current church, at 3714 Carman Road in Guilderland.
The property was owned by the Champagne family, and made available to the church for over a year, until the church building was finished in March 1956.
Karen Stutz Messercola, a life-long member of the church, recalls walking up the stairs in the barn to the temporary sanctuary and enjoying the sight and sound of the horses on the first floor.
The Reverend Floyd Nagel of the Helderberg Reformed Church in Guilderland Center directed the establishment of the new church for the Albany Synod. Members from the Helderberg and the Altamont Reformed Churches helped to clear the ground for the new church building, and served on committees to raise funds and organize the effort.
