Middletown NY SDA Church

3/16/12-The following is info on the history of the Middletown SDA Church.

" A colporteur by the name of J.E.Frazee began selling religious books in the Middletown area. A resident named George Sands purchased a copy of "The Great Controversy" by Ellen G. White. Sands shared the book and its contents with a number of local Baptists who were interested in Sabbathkeeping. The year is 1891.
Brother Frazee was quite successful here in Middletown. He stayed on for a few more years. By 1893, a group was keeping the 7th Day Sabbath. A call was placed to the New York Conference for a Pastor. In 1893, a young pastor from California was recruited. His name was H.G. Thurston. He was 28 years old. He began to hold tent meetings in the Slate Hill area. As a result, about 10 were baptized. Thurston held some meetings in the City of Middletown, but was met with opposition from the mainline churches. As a result, Thurston gave up and moved on.
On December 22, 1895, the group was organized into a church. This took place in the Finch Building,at the corner of North & Prospect. The Pastor at this time was William Wentworth. The original charter shows 14 names with more added later in 1896. Wentworth left Middletown. There was no Pastor for several years. Some members dropped out or apostatized. By 1905, a pastor named Hiatt came. He had an assistant by the name of Bristol. Two years later, in 1907, a Pastor P.Z. Kinne arrived in Middletown. Kinne was a former New York Conference President. Kinne also had a son, Benjamin had just graduated from the Battle Creek Sanitarium as a medical doctor. Many wealthy people from Middletown were patients of Dr. Kellogg. These people wanted a clinic in Middletown. Dr. Kinne was asked to set up a clinic in Middletown.. By 1910, a Sanitarium was established in Middletown. It was patterned after the one in Battle Creek. The Adventists began to meet in the Sanitarium building. By 1935, the group was large enough to purchase an existing church on the corner of Roberts Street and Cottage Street.
By the early 1960's, the group began to look for suitable property for a new church. Property on the corner of Highland Avenue & Courtland Street was purchased. Construction began in 1961 and the present church building was completed in 1963. Currently, our membership is about 230. Many visit each week. The present Pastor is Dr. Victor Dyman."

Compiled by Richard Mills, Sr.
March 16, 2012