The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is nearing the end of negotiations to sell St. James the Great Episcopal Church in Newport Beach to real estate developers.
Bishop J. Jon Bruno announced the sale to congregants Sunday, Diocese spokesman Robert Williams said. The sale of the church could bring in roughly $15 million — twice the appraised value of the site, Williams said.
Services at the church will likely continue into the fall, Williams said. No information on where congregants will be moved or whether the congregation may reopen at a different site was available on Monday, he said.
From the Right Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the six-county diocese as quoted in the [i]Los Angeles Times[/i] on May 7, 2013 after Judge Kim G. Dunning ruled that the disputed properties belonged to TEC:
[blockquote]”I give thanks for the culmination of this marathon litigation, and I pray this action will settle the fact that people can disagree but cannot take property that has been entrusted to the Episcopal Church for ministry. I give thanks to God that, after these cases spanning more than eight years, we now can proceed with the continuing ministry of the Episcopal Church in Newport Beach.”[/blockquote]
After the sale of these properties, what kind of continuing ministry in Newport Beach does the bishop have in mind? Deploying the profits of this sale elsewhere would seem to violate the trust of those who helped to provide this locus of ministry in their community. Even those who are continuing adherents of TEC and support the philosophy of Bruno deserve some sort of explanation.
For years we have heard the sound bites, “we must focus of mission and not issues”. This sale is a sad example of what mission has become. It is about giving departing parishes the boot, locking the doors, and selling the property. It is not about preserving church property, it is about turning those churches into “missions” that can be later sold for profit. Mission accomplished?