King church in downtown Montgomery has new pastor

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) _ A new pastor has taken over as the spiritual leader of one of Montgomery's most historic churches.

The Rev. Cromwell Handy is the new pastor of Montgomery's Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. It's the church from where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The Montgomery Advertiser reports (http://on.mgmadv.com/Tx0N83) Dexter Avenue is the first church for Handy to serve as pastor. He says he understands the historical significance of the position.

But he said the downtown Montgomery Church has many of the same problems as other houses of worship. Those include dealing with the needs of an aging congregation and bringing young members into the church.

Handy had a long career working for the Internal Revenue Service and has served in various pastoral positions.