NEW SCOTLAND – The octagonal-shaped sanctuary of the new First Assembly of God Church provides a modern home for a Pentecostal denomination dating back to the late 1800s.
The church is a member of Assemblies of God, USA, based in Springfield, Mo. Assemblies of God is the largest Pentecostal denomination, with 51 million members worldwide. Their mission – "Evangelism, worship, and discipleship."

About 150 congregates worship at the New Scotland church on Mariana Lane off Krumkill Road, which took several years to build as plans were delayed over obtaining water.

In 1995, the church purchased a large parcel of land where it intended to build a newer, larger church building. In 2000, the church purchased an adjacent piece of land, adding to the size of its property. After some confusion over whether the property was within the town of New Scotland or Bethlehem, construction on the church was finished in October, and it received a certificate of occupancy on Oct. 31, 2006.

The church is now hoping to add a 24-square-foot sign with interior illumination and changeable letters to the exterior façade. Interim pastor Sterling Lawrence said the sign would help enhance communication with the community.

The congregation met on Partridge Avenue in Albany prior to the move to New Scotland. Raymond Sullivan told The Enterprise two years ago that it was not the church’s first choice to relocate from Albany, but it was unable to find an affordable location there.

Lawrence has been acting as interim pastor since Sullivan retired. He moved to the area from Ohio, where he worked as an evangelist, traveling around the country. He has been a staff evangelist for the First Assembly Church of God for seven years.

Lawrence took over as pastor in early October, just after the church began holding services at its new location. A pulpit committee is searching for a new pastor.
"Since I’ve been interim pastor, it’s been people working together," Lawrence told The Enterprise. "Everybody has been doing their part."

A prospective pastor will arrive in January, he said.

The new church has a sanctuary, capable of holding 350 to 400 people where Sunday services are held. Aqua-colored theater-style seats, rather than traditional pews, face the altar. The octagonal shape is emphasized by exposed wooden beams.

An oblong-attached educational wing with various rooms is used for a multitude of youth programs and religious classes, as well as office space. A large room is used for special events, and gatherings for families. A nursery with pale blue walls painted with fluffy white clouds is located just off of the family room, and to the left of the nursery is a teen room. The teen room is where the teenagers in the congregation meet one night a week. It has a small stage with musical instruments for some creative fun.
The proposed sign, Lawrence said, could publicize church services, upcoming events, and youth programs for the week. Changeable letters are necessary, he said, because "things are constantly changing with events."

Two applications for use variances for the sign were heard before the town’s zoning and planning boards in recent weeks.

One variance is required because the church falls in a residential conservation district, and the zoning law for that district allows a maximum of two signs not exceeding 16-square-feet each.

The other variance is required because illuminated signs are permitted only in commercial or industrial districts.

Both the planning board and the zoning board had issues with the size of the sign, and questioned the need for the sign to be so large. Both boards requested that Lawrence provide photographs and design sketches to better understand what the church is proposing.

A public hearing on the applications will be held at the Dec. 26 zoning board meeting, and a separate public hearing on the illumination of the sign will be held at the Jan. 2 planning board meeting.

Other business

In other business at the recent zoning-board and planning-board meetings:

– The planning board passed a favorable response to the zoning board on an application submitted by Samuel Whiting on behalf of Edith McMillen for a boundary line adjustment on a pre-existing, non-conforming, 1-acre lot, where McMillen’s house is located. The house straddles two lots, one owned by McMillen, the other owned by Steven Crooks, and is located within the residential hamlet district at the intersection of Bennett Hill Road and Tarrytown Road.

McMillen is seeking 40 feet of relief from a rear-yard setback to allow for a setback of 10 feet for her home, and a minimum of 76,500 square feet of relief from the minimum lot area to allow for the reconfiguration of her pre-existing 1-acre lot. A public hearing will be held at the Dec. 26 zoning board meeting;

– A public hearing on an application submitted by John Jeffers on behalf of his business, J.J. Maddens, for a special use variance to illuminate a detached sign, was adjourned until the Jan. 2 planning board meeting;

– Henry Digeser withdrew his application for a special use variance to erect a windmill on his property on Upper Copeland Hill Road. His property falls within a residential forestry district, which does not allow windmills as a permitted or a special use. The windmill would have been used to power a generator to produce electricity for his home. Digeser would have had to prove unnecessary hardship in order to be granted the variance.

Digeser was heard before the zoning board and planning boards, and withdrew his application following the planning board’s stance that he did not meet the hardship requirement. In a letter sent to town supervisor Ed Clark, Digeser said that clean, renewable energy should be a priority in the town, and the town should think about revising zoning laws to permit alternate energy forms;

– The planning board passed a favorable response to the zoning board on an application submitted by Sherman Coonradt on behalf of Walter and Catherine Vivenzio, with the stipulation that the layout of Vivenzios’ property be reconsidered.

The Vivenzios own property on Fielding Way, and are proposing a subdivision of two pre-existing, non-conforming lots, to create a new residential lot. The new lot, however, would lack the required road frontage. Zoning law requires that lots have a minimum of 15 feet of road frontage, providing access to a public road in order to be granted a building permit.

The planning board made suggestions on how the tax lot could be reconfigured, so that each of the two existing tax lots has only one house on it. A public hearing will be held at the Dec. 26 zoning board meeting;

– The planning board passed a favorable response to the zoning board on an application submitted by Krishen Mehta and Katy Irani for a boundary line adjustment between two pre-existing, non-conforming lots located along the Feura Bush Unionville Road within the residential hamlet district. The couple own both parcels, and live on one of the parcels. The lots have power lines and a roadway that intersect them, and the adjustment would create a third lot with the road and the power lines acting as boundaries for the lots. A public hearing will be held for this application at the Dec. 26 zoning board meeting;

– The planning board passed a favorable response to the zoning board on an application submitted by Edward and Cynthia Bunk for a two-lot subdivision where a pre-existing, non-conforming dwelling is located within a front yard setback. The property, owned by the Bunks, is located on New Salem Road, within the residential agricultural district, which requires a minimum front setback of 70 feet when located on a state road. The Bunks are requesting relief of 47.4 feet to allow a setback of 22.6 feet. A public hearing will be held at the Dec. 26 zoning board meeting; and

– The planning board heard from John DeMis on behalf of New Salem Properties LLC on an application for the subdivision of a 40.9-acre parcel into nine lots, ranging in size from 1.01 acres to 31.1 acres. Individual wells and septic systems would be provided privately on each site. The board had issues with the storm-water management layout, and forwarded the application to the town’s engineering firm for review.