An Episcopal church vacated by its congregation in a theological dispute has been put on sale by the Jacksonville-based Diocese of Florida.
Bishop Samuel Johnson Howard said he hopes the 5.3-acre All Souls Episcopal campus in Mandarin will become the eventual home of a ministry or school instead of being sold for the current $2.8 million asking price.
[i] Bishop Samuel Johnson Howard said he hopes the 5.3-acre All Souls Episcopal campus in Mandarin will become the eventual home of a ministry or school [/i]
Or perhaps a nudist colony. But not an orthodox Anglican church.
The departing congregation should wait a few months. I bet it sits and sits…Then offer the bishop the following terms: Charge him to occupy it and keep it from being vandilized. Wait for the price to drop. Buy it as distressed, which it is. They hold all the cards, he has a vacant building to maintain.
NWLayman [#2]: I like your advice but fear that it may presuppose a bishop and denomination more economically rational than Bp. Howard and ECUSA. Payback, deterrence, and prideful combativeness shape their approach to church property disputes. But that approach will eventually become a luxury they can’t afford.
Hmmm! If there is a vast, conservative, Anglican conspiracy, I wonder if some rich, undisclosed principal might buy this church for ostensibly secular purposes and then turn around and donate it to an Anglican congregation.
It could happen. But then, that wouldn’t make Mrs Schori and David booth Beers happy, would it?
If it sits idly for long enough, it will erase any profits that he makes.
And given the current state of the real estate market, it will sit empty for a very long time……unless, of course, they let it go to an Anglican congregation.
Maybe Mr. Madoff will buy it and donate it to Jewish charities. Maybe GM will buy it and open a new dealership for Hummers. Just a couple a thinking-outside-the-box ideas . . .
[i]Maybe Mr. Madoff will buy it and donate it to Jewish charities[/i]
Mr. Madoff is otherwise occupied. But if he’d thought of it earlier, he could have sold vacation time shares in the property, sight unseen.