On Saturday the old met the new in Newry

A church at the entrance to a former mill community near Seneca hopes to be a facilitator when it comes to the great change that’s underway in that community.  At the same time, Lydia Baptist Church of Newry seeks to rebound from services lost to the pandemic.  Lydia on Saturday welcomed many of its faithful and the general public for an evening of reunion and a post-July 4 hot dog cookout.  Fud Cater used his audio-visual skills to display a black-and-white film that depicts life when the mill was in full operation in the year 1938.  At the other end of the Lydia fellowship hall, a representative of the development company that is converting the buildings that remain from the 1893 Courtenay Plant of Abney Mills into apartment style living with many of the amenities that 21st century offer including a swimming pool, walking trails, fitness center, coffee and general store.