Our Story
1898 was the first year of Mennonite worship in Albany. The first meeting of Albany Mennonite Church was in 1906. Their first owned building was purchased in 1909 and moved to a site on West 12th Street where the congregation worshiped until July 1952, when they moved to the current building.
Those services were held in the basement until the completion of the sanctuary in February 1955. The cost of the church and grounds amounted to about $75,000, which came from donations, gifts and pledges. Work was largely donated by members and friends.
On November 12, 1972, the congregation voted to purchase a piano and place it in the auditorium to be used in the presentation of special music. (The current grand piano in the auditorium was designed by Susan Kenagy, the daughter of Clif and Lois Kenagy, for their use in their home. They later loaned it to AMC. It continues to be used in all forms of worship.)
In 1985, AMC co-sponsored with Bethany Mennonite Church an Albany Voluntary Service unit under Mennonite Board of Missions and worked with them in congregational outreach and mission. In late 1989, AMC began planning for a Service Adventure program, sponsored by Mennonite Board of Missions. This 11-month program was for young persons 17-21 years of age. The first Service Adventure youth arrived in June 1990. The program continued to be supported by the Albany and Bethany congregations until 2015.
On December 6, 1998, the Bethany congregation officially merged with the Albany congregation. Leading to this merger was the possibility of losing their land to road construction and the impending retirement of their pastor. Albany Mennonite Church was the official name chosen for this merger.
With the growth of the congregation there began to be a need to move the fellowship hall from the basement to a larger space. On September 11, 2005, a formal groundbreaking service was held. Over the next year, many of AMC members assisted in the construction of the new addition. The new addition included an elevator, a new foyer with the main entrance to the building, new staff offices, and a fellowship hall with a full kitchen, a large sewing room, a conference room and a couple of storage rooms.
Pastor Peter Epp began his pastorate at AMC in September 2018. In June, 2021, Albany Mennonite Church became officially inclusive of all gender identities and sexualities. In January, 2023, while the congregation continued to grow and thrive, AMC adopted a working vision for the future entitled Taste & See--designed to extend the gift of hospitality and connection that they recognized God had given to them during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
At AMC, as we look back on our history, we acknowledge that we have long gathered and continue to gather on the traditional land of the Kalapuya, Tsankupi, Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla, past and present. We have begun to work to understand this part of our land's history, recognizing, among other things, how colonization and grave injustices have benefitted us at much cost to this land's original inhabitants. We have much more to learn, and we commit to learning it with a posture of openness and a goal of working for a more just and equitable world.
Those services were held in the basement until the completion of the sanctuary in February 1955. The cost of the church and grounds amounted to about $75,000, which came from donations, gifts and pledges. Work was largely donated by members and friends.
On November 12, 1972, the congregation voted to purchase a piano and place it in the auditorium to be used in the presentation of special music. (The current grand piano in the auditorium was designed by Susan Kenagy, the daughter of Clif and Lois Kenagy, for their use in their home. They later loaned it to AMC. It continues to be used in all forms of worship.)
In 1985, AMC co-sponsored with Bethany Mennonite Church an Albany Voluntary Service unit under Mennonite Board of Missions and worked with them in congregational outreach and mission. In late 1989, AMC began planning for a Service Adventure program, sponsored by Mennonite Board of Missions. This 11-month program was for young persons 17-21 years of age. The first Service Adventure youth arrived in June 1990. The program continued to be supported by the Albany and Bethany congregations until 2015.
On December 6, 1998, the Bethany congregation officially merged with the Albany congregation. Leading to this merger was the possibility of losing their land to road construction and the impending retirement of their pastor. Albany Mennonite Church was the official name chosen for this merger.
With the growth of the congregation there began to be a need to move the fellowship hall from the basement to a larger space. On September 11, 2005, a formal groundbreaking service was held. Over the next year, many of AMC members assisted in the construction of the new addition. The new addition included an elevator, a new foyer with the main entrance to the building, new staff offices, and a fellowship hall with a full kitchen, a large sewing room, a conference room and a couple of storage rooms.
Pastor Peter Epp began his pastorate at AMC in September 2018. In June, 2021, Albany Mennonite Church became officially inclusive of all gender identities and sexualities. In January, 2023, while the congregation continued to grow and thrive, AMC adopted a working vision for the future entitled Taste & See--designed to extend the gift of hospitality and connection that they recognized God had given to them during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
At AMC, as we look back on our history, we acknowledge that we have long gathered and continue to gather on the traditional land of the Kalapuya, Tsankupi, Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla, past and present. We have begun to work to understand this part of our land's history, recognizing, among other things, how colonization and grave injustices have benefitted us at much cost to this land's original inhabitants. We have much more to learn, and we commit to learning it with a posture of openness and a goal of working for a more just and equitable world.