Northway Church
St. Edward’s Church
The church community is large and growing in Clifton Park. The Town has many churches throughout Town representing several denominations. In the last 10-15 years, in particular non-denominational churches have been founded and new facilities represent their growth trajectory. In the past year, NorthStar Church moved to a larger facility and invested funds to rehab an existing commercial building. This past Sunday, two churches held “grand opening” events for new facilities. The Northway Church has hosted services in Town for about 10 years, recently moving to a brand new facility in a commercially zoned area on Ushers Road very close to Exit 10 of I-87. St. Edward’s Church has hosted services in Town for decades. Located on a parcel in a residential area along Clifton Park Center Road, the church recently completed a multi-million dollar expansion, with the centerpiece being a beautiful new sanctuary.
Both of the churches with new facilities are in close proximity to other places of worship. A quick trip through the Shen Campus from St. Edward’s will bring you to churches on RT 146. A short drive westward on Clifton Park Center Road will bring you to Beth Salom and Clifton Park Baptist. In the Exit 10 area, Corpus Christi Church(has also expanded not long ago), Shen Methodist, Grace Chapel and Fruitful Vine Church all host Sunday services.
During my time in office, I have been invited by churches to attend special events, Holiday worship and other occasions. Each house of worship offers a different style and a wide range of presentations are experienced in each instance. However, the basic message is the same.
This past Sunday I attended both grand openings. The church services were very different. St. Edward’s offers a standard Catholic service including a sermon by Father Butler, a chorus and the presentation of the eucharist. The Sunday service lasted about two hours and included a blessing by Bishop Scharfenberger. The Northway Church began the service Sunday with a welcome from Pastor Cremeans, a band then played some faith based songs and the Pastor then presented a sermon.
The Town has many churches located in residential areas as well as commercially zoned parcels. I have been asked over the years about churches and how zoning affects their ability to locate in certain areas. Houses of Worship have been afforded favorable provisions with regard to local zoning laws through the Federal and NYS Courts. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act(RLUIPA), signed by President Clinton in 2000, was created to address the inequities of subjective land use rulings by local communities and further ensures churches are not treated differently than secular organizations. “The New York Rule” as its called, established religious uses are inherently beneficial to a community and allows churches in NYS, wider latitude when selecting a parcel to locate a house of worship.
Years ago it was not uncommon for churches to be located in residential areas. This practice, in many instances, was related to providing easy accessibility.
The church community in Clifton Park has been strong for many years and has experienced a great deal of growth in recent years. I agree with the NYS Courts that, in general, churches are inherently beneficial to our community. I know many people that benefit from the support, both tangible and spiritual, they receive from their church. Tangible benefits could be defined as help from a church support group, monetary support for a family that is experiencing difficult times or food available at the Jonesville Food Pantry at Shen Methodist. Many people would also classify the spiritual benefit they receive from attending services as tangible support. I have known many people that have completely changed the direction of their lives in a positive manner through worship. As we enter the Holiday Season, regardless of your beliefs, whether you attend a church or not, let us lend assistance to those in our community that need a hand up. Let us go the extra step to simply say Hello, offer a warm welcome to everyone we meet and realize the strength of our commonality and not the weakness that can result in our differences.
Clifton Park and Beyond 