Despite the fact that the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut recently won possession of the Trinity Episcopal Church property on Federal Hill, the pastor in charge will still be holding services at a host church.
The Rev. Stanley Kemmerer said he is not immediately initiating services at Trinity, but will instead continue to hold them at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
“As of now, we will be worshipping at Gloria Dei as we have been,” Kemmerer said.
He said only “a handful” of Trinity parishioners have been coming to the Episcopal services at Gloria Dei, which he holds every Sunday at 5 p.m.
“There just haven’t been many,” Kemmerer said.
This is why I often thinks bishops should take the moral high ground and just break off groups or churches take the property. I know of quite a few properties like this that have been reacquired by the diocese and are either sold or sitting vacant, doing no good to anyone in the Anglican church.
Why can’t the building be used during warm months?
When you have a beautiful building, you use it, no?
I wonder if Fr. Kemmerer is the same priest who formerly served in Iowa. If so his ex-wife is a friend of ours. Small church.
You don’t crank up the place for a couple of people. The longer it sits empty, the more things will go wrong…ask any real estate agent. So, you have the choice – crank it up for a couple or get the “for sale” sign up asap…..bet the bishop puts up the sign.
I heard a talk by Eric Sohlgren, the attorney for the churches that separated from the diocese of Los Angeles. He stated, to the best of his knowledge, no church that has been won back to the the TEO by lawsuits has ever gone on to a viable parish. (By the way, Eric was at the Anglican Men’s Retreat, and the man can jam! Saxophone, penny whistle,…)
Will the diocese even recoup its legal costs after it eventually sells off the property? I certainly hope not.
No. 5, Mr. Sohlgren is a brilliant lawyer and an equally brilliant musician. 🙂 He’s right about the “viable parish” comment too. In fact, there have been Continuing Church congregations that have actually purchased “retired” Episcopal churches on the open market.
Expect to see more of the same. This is a pattern that can be found in Scripture. When a city or people turn against Him, God makes the place an empty waste-a desolation.
“ I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals.
I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.†(Jer. 9:11)
“But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.” (Jer. 7:12)
The same can be seen in the Lords curse upon the three cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Perpetual ruins, never to be rebuilt.
Gods curses and woes upon those who forsake Him & His ways are not impeded by our supposed 21st century sophistication. His words-“yea, woe also to them when I depart from them”-hold just as true today as they did when they were first uttered thousands of years before.
Trinity will make a pretty strip mall.
Thanks Bishop Smith.
It is an absolutely lovely building, inside and out. A strip mall would be an abomination. An art gallery or community center, perhaps. But I hold out hope that perhaps Holy Trinity Anglican may hold together and strengthen enough to lease the building from the TEC landlord. 😉 What they ought to do is organize an Historic District around the church, to make it even less valuable in the eyes of potential investors. 🙂
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. (Psalm 127:1 – KJV)
One reaps what one sows.
I bet Fr Helmandollar has [b][i]lots[/b][/i] of parishioners! TEC ignores the truth – that “the church” consists of its members, not the edifice.
Somehow this reminds me of Aesop’s fable of the fox and the grapes. The fox, you may recall, could not eat the grapes, but intended to prevent any herbivore from consuming them. Would you like to guess what role I see TEC as playing in this fable?