Warwick's AME Church welcomes new pastor

Warwick - On Sunday, May 20, members of the Union African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) welcomed their new pastor, Rev. Vernon H. Peters, and his wife, Cheryl, at a reception and service held in their honor at the Warwick Senior Center. Guest speakers were Warwick Town Justice Peter Barlet and Village of Warwick Mayor Michael Newhard. Peters was recently appointed as pastor by Bishop Richard F. Norris. Before this appointment he served as an associate minister at Allen Memorial AME Church in Brooklyn. He earned his bachelor of science degree in business from Lehman College and his master of arts in divinity from Stanford University. He is currently matriculated at Drew Theological Seminary in the doctor of ministry program. The newly appointed pastor will soon have the privilege of serving as the first pastor in a new facility to be built on the site of the original church building at 98 McEwen St. that had served the congregation since 1905. Last year an engineering report had all but condemned the property for safety reasons. And with modern building codes and other requirements to contend with, repair and renovation was out of the question. The only solution was to demolish the old church building and replace it with a new facility. In the meantime, Sunday services and Wednesday night bible study are being held at the Warwick Senior Center. The new building, designed free of charge by Degraw & Dehaan Architects in Middletown and to be built by Felter Construction, a Warwick firm, is estimated to cost $500,000. The law firm for the project is Stage, Nathans & Ziobro, also of Warwick. The Union African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is supported by the 40 families who form the congregation, has obtained a building loan of $300,000 from Key Bank. So far, members and other donors have contributed $40,000 toward the $200,000 still needed to complete the project. The new facility is expected to accommodate additional services for the congregation including an extended Vacation Bible School and possibly a day care center. Fundraising plans include the sale of building bricks with the names of individual or business donors engraved. Any person, business or organization wishing to help the Union African Methodist Episcopal Church reach its building fund goal should call 986-3649. Donations also can be mailed to Union AME Church, attention: Building Committee, P.O. Box 352, Warwick, NY 10990.