(Part 2 of a series following the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling last week to let stand the lower court decision that the property of the historic Falls Church in Northern Virginia belonged to the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, and not an arch-conservative pack of defectors from that church who voted to leave it in December 2006, but subsequently occupied the property for five and a half years. For part one, click here.)

The City of Falls Church, Virginia, both is and isnt a small, sleepy residential enclave inside the Washington, D.C. Beltway, seven miles from the White House. It used to be truly country, a getaway destination that residents of the capital could ride to on weekends and relax under large shade trees. But in recent years, the press of urbanization crept in, swelling the schools and replacing tree shade with the multistory building type.

But always, since the 1730s in this region rich with early American colonial history, the center of small Falls Church has been The Falls Church. Built in 1735 as an outpost of the Anglican church in Alexandria where George Washington was a vestryman, it is a small box-like structure whose exterior has gone unchanged for going on 300 years. It has been a functioning church the entire time, named for its proximity to the Great Falls on the Potomac. With the American Revolution, its ownership remained with its Alexandria mother church as it transitioned from Anglican to Episcopalian. A small graveyard on its heavily-shaded perimeter is the final resting place of persons dating back to its founding. During the Civil War it was held at different times by both Union and Confederate forces pushing back and forth in the area, and was used as a hospital.

The grounds are modestly imposing, even as a portion of them were used for the construction in the 1990s of a large sanctuary adjacent the original building.

The church provided an ideal social and spiritual center for its surrounding community, which after World War II incorporated into an independent city so it could develop its own progressive school system, now nationally renowned for its excellence. It was the first in Virginia to integrate after the Brown Vs. Board of Education decision in 1954.

A founder of that school system was a leading member of The Falls Church since she moved to the area in 1941. Upon her passing at age 100 last year, a new school building in the City was named for her. The longtime superintendent of that school system was also a member of the church.

But the positive symbiosis between this venerable church and the community around it was sharply disrupted in the mid-1980s when it fell into the hands of new leadership that sent it in a very different direction. A young rector from North Carolina started shaping it into something unlike almost any other Episcopal church in the U.S.

It is not too simple to consider it an aspect of the Reagan revolution. Among other things, the shift happened in the context of the radical neo-conservative political thrust sweeping the nearby nations capital. New parishioners who shared the rectors arch-conservative views began flooding into the church from outside its community.

In 1991 I founded a weekly newspaper for the City of Falls Church. In almost no time it began chronicling the churchs new form of harsh interventions into the community around it. A zealous youth minister spoke at a funeral for a family life teacher at the local high school, a very generous and accepting soul enormously popular and beloved by all the students, and he used the occasion to rail against her tolerance of homosexuality.

Next, the student editorial board of the high school paper voted to accept an ad from a national pro-gay tolerance group and the church put up such a fuss that the faculty adviser to the school paper was almost fired, and was on the receiving end of ferocious hate mail for months.

The rest is here:
Church Defectors Acted Immorally, Part 2

Teays Valley Church of God in Scott Depot will have a groundbreaking at 2 p.m. April 6 as the first step of developing a 74-acre site known as Teays Valley Acres east of Rocky Step on Teays Valley Road.

Plans call for a construction project that will include a recreation park, conference site and community center that will also serve as the church building.

"God has given us a vision to serve our community by meeting the needs of the whole person," said the Rev. Melissa Pratt, the church's pastor. "This is the first step in a multi-phase plan to create a space that is open for our community to use every day of the week."

Site preparation is to begin in late April with PRAY Construction. The initial phase is expected to cost a half million dollars. Plans call for selling the current building and using those funds toward the more than $4 million building project.

The church family put a for sale sign last fall on its current facility located at 6979 Teays Valley Road. The asking price of $2.2 million includes the church building as well as two houses located on the property. One house is now used as an office building and the other as a community center.

Pledges so far total $800,000.

Church attendance averages 425 and membership about 600.

"We went to two services two years ago to have some breathing room," Pratt said.

"We welcome conversations with anyone interested in our project," Pratt said. "We would love to have more community partners come alongside us in this venture. It's a big task but we serve a big God. Believing he has called us to see this dream through, we will trust him to provide all of the resources needed."

For more information, call the church office at 304-757-9222.

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Teays Valley Church breaking ground on new community site

WORK on a 3 million flagship church could begin as early as May after it was granted planning approval.

Plans to replace Newtowns Hope Community Church at Dolfor Road with a new church were approved on Thursday by Powys County Council (PCC).

The Rev Alan Hewitt, senior minister at the church, said work to demolish the existing building could begin in May, subject to the completion of agreements over a temporary home for its congregation and day nursery.

Last month the church was given planning approval to use part of Newtowns Pryce Jones building for worship while construction of its new home is carried out.

However, contracts have not yet been completed and the church is also still in discussions over a venue for its day nursery.

Construction work is expected to take around 14 months with the building opening in 2015.

Mr Hewitt said the congregation is thrilled at the latest development.

He said: We are delighted to receive the news that we can move ahead with our plans to vastly improve the facilities we can offer to our community.

During the last few years we have explored many different options by which we could make further provision for our Church activities, but finally came to the conclusion that the best long-term option was to demolish and erect a brand new building.

The new facility will be more functional, more energy efficient, more spacious and will be a vast improvement on our current premises enabling us to provide better services to our community.

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Work to start on 3M church

The former Bradford Industries site at 1857 Middlesex St. in Lowell is slated to be the eventual permanent home of the Lowell Collegiate Charter School. SUN / DAVID H. BROW

Sun staff photos can be ordered by visiting our Smugmug site.

LOWELL -- After failing to move into a permanent location on Middlesex Street last fall, the Lowell Collegiate Charter School will again have to postpone its move there this fall as sale negotiations for the site have stalled and it has run out of time for construction.

The charter school, operated by SABIS Educational Systems, plans to renew its lease for another year at the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church on Father John Sarantos Way, The Sun has learned.

The school will settle for another year there because construction at the former Bradford Industries warehouse site will not be completed by the beginning of the school year. That site, 1857 Middlesex St., in the Highlands section of Lowell, is slated to be the eventual permanent home of the school.

"The Lowell Collegiate board of trustees and its representatives are in the midst of facility negotiations and it would not be appropriate to comment at this time," according to a statement from Jose Afonso, SABIS Educational Systems' director of business development. "As soon as we're able to disclose additional information, we will do so."

The Lowell Collegiate Charter School initially planned to move to the permanent Middlesex Street site for the 2013-2014 school year. However, those plans were stalled a year ago because of delays in approvals from the city, Afonso said a year ago.

Planning Board members delayed voting on the project to seek more information about the effect the school would have on traffic. Neighborhood groups opposed the project because of concern about the traffic impact on an intersection that was already rated one of the worst in the state -- Wood and Middlesex streets.

Afonso said a year ago he thought the approvals would be granted in February. The final approval came on March 4, 2013, which Afonso said wasn't enough time to construct a 45,000-square-foot building for fall 2013.

Now with sale negotiations taking longer than expected, the Lowell Collegiate Charter School will not move to Middlesex Street for the 2014-2015 school year. The charter school's board and the owners of Bradford Industries on Middlesex Street have been unable to reach an agreement on the property's cost.

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Stalled talks delay Lowell charter school move

The proposed site of the new Lowell Charter School on Middlesex Street. SUN/ David H. Brow

Sun staff photos can be ordered by visiting our Smugmug site.

LOWELL -- After failing to move into a permanent location on Middlesex Street last fall, the Lowell Collegiate Charter School will again have to postpone its move there this fall as sale negotiations for the site have stalled and they've run out of time for construction.

The charter school, operated by SABIS Educational Systems, plans to renew its lease for another year at the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church on Father John Sarantos Way, The Sun has learned.

The school will settle for another year there because construction at the former Bradford Industries warehouse site will not be complete by the beginning of the school year. That site, 1857 Middlesex St., in the Highlands section of Lowell, is slated to be the eventual permanent home of the school.

"The Lowell Collegiate board of trustees and its representatives are in the midst of facility negotiations and it would not be appropriate to comment at this time," according to a statement from Jose Afonso, SABIS Educational Systems' director of business development. "As soon as we're able to disclose additional information, we will do so."

The Lowell Collegiate Charter School initially planned to move to the permanent Middlesex Street site for the 2013/2014 school year. However, those plans were stalled a year ago because of delays in approvals from the city, Afonso said a year ago.

Planning Board members delayed voting on the project to seek more information about the effect the school would have on traffic. Neighborhood groups opposed the project because of concern about the traffic impact on an intersection that was already rated one of the worst in the state -- Wood and Middlesex streets.

Afonso said a year ago he thought the approvals would be granted in February. The final approval came on March 4, 2013, which Afonso said wasn't enough time to construct a 45,000-square-foot building for fall 2013.

Now with sale negotiations taking longer than expected, the Lowell Collegiate Charter School will not move to Middlesex Street for the 2014/2015 school year. The charter school's board and the owners of Bradford Industries on Middlesex Street have been unable to reach an agreement on the property's cost.

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Lowell charter school's move postponed over stalled negotiations

Members of an Owensboro church will remember the destruction of their house of worship. It was a year ago today that First Christian Church burned down after a lightning strike.

"That was a pretty bad night that night," says Bobby Austin, who lives across the street from the site of the fire. He used to hear First Christian Church from home

"I really enjoyed hearing the church bells every Sunday," he says. But not anymore.

"An empty lot and wind. That's about it," Austin adds.

A year later, very little stands at the corner of 7th and J.R. Miller Blvd.

"I've been looking at that church for so long. It's actually kind of weird now," says Austin.

A sign, rocks, and a little foundation. All that's left after the fire leveled the church last March.

"The scope of the fire was really incredible. The heat of the blaze, the smell of it, the sights and sounds," says First Christian Pastor Jacob Caldwell. "I often look at it, and i still can't believe this happened."

Caldwell, a man of faith, is still in disbelief a year later.

"Certainly, on the day of that fire, we were in the valley of dry bones, and we wondered what hope was there, and we were really in a difficult place on that day," he says.

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First Christian Church Fire: One Year Later

NORTH ANDOVER The North Parish Church, the most prominent fixture in the Old Center, has been around for nearly 400 years, yet it continues to grow.

The church has been growing so much that it has just begun to expand its quarters at the head of Great Pond Road. Debb Putnam, co-chairwoman of the Building Task Force, told The Eagle-Tribune the religious education section at the rear of the church will be replaced with a structure that will be twice as large.

The project will also include the construction of a lobby as well as renovations that will make it fully accessible, she said.

Church members began talking about expansion back in 1999, Putnam said. Even then, We were out of room, she said, adding, That is a good problem to have. They encountered some challenges, including drainage and historic preservation issues, she said.

The congregation temporarily solved its space problems by renting the old Grange Hall, which is across the street from the side of the church at 3 Great Pond Road. Members, however, wanted to have everything under one roof, Putnam said.

Windover Construction is doing the work. The church has set a deadline of Sept. 5, Putnam said. Asked why North Parish Church has been growing so much, she said, It has to be about what we are.

Putnam, an Andover resident who has been a member of North Parish since 1987, described the Unitarian congregation as diverse and welcoming. Many of the members, she said, come from different religious backgrounds or sometimes no religion at all.

She and her husband had not been part of a church for many years, she said, but when their son turned 9, they decided it would be a good idea to find a spiritual home.

This was a place that worked for us, she said.

The Unitarian Universalist Association, with which North Parish is affiliated, does not tell members what to believe, Putnam explained. A minister might provide some guidance, but members are free to find their own way, she said.

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North Parish Church begins expansion project

Print Create a hardcopy of this page Font Size: Default font size Larger font size A wedding at Saint Patrick Church

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Posted: Monday, March 17, 2014 5:00 am

A wedding at Saint Patrick Church

Although it wasnt St. Patricks Day, perhaps there were some Irish eyes smiling upon Dr. F.R. Nickolas Carter and Josephine Decker when they were married on Nov. 3, 1926, at Saint Patrick Church in South Bend. In the 1840s, Irish immigrants arrived in South Bend, many displaced by Irelands Great Potato Famine. In 1858, under the direction of the Rev. Thomas Carroll, they founded Saint Patrick Church, which they named for the patron saint of Ireland.

The original church was built on the corner of Western Avenue and Scott Street. Just over 30 years later, in 1886, the congregation built a Gothic-style church at its current location at 309 S. Taylor St. When the Rev. Edward Sorin began construction on the University of Notre Dame, he turned to these Irish Catholic laborers. Surprisingly, the first St. Patricks Day parade was held not in Ireland but in New York City in 1762. The celebration of St. Patricks Day was originally a way for Irish immigrants in America to keep in touch with their cultural identity and ancestry.

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A wedding at Saint Patrick Church

Without Walls, formerly the Carpenters Home in North Lakeland, is a sanctuary tied up in a foreclosure lawsuit. The church stopped having services in 2011.

LAKELAND | Without Walls International Church, the owner of a North Lakeland sanctuary tied up in a foreclosure suit, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The Tampa-based church filed a notice one week ago in its ongoing defense against foreclosure by the California credit union that holds the mortgage on its properties in Lakeland and Tampa. The notice said Without Walls filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in Tampa.

Evangelical Christian Credit Union described the move in court documents as a "litigation tactic" intended to stall the case. The credit union, which says Without Walls owes it $13.9million on the Lakeland property, began foreclosure proceedings in Bartow's 10th Judicial Circuit in October 2012.

Without Walls Central, originally known as Carpenter's Home Church, is the largest sanctuary in Polk County with a seating capacity of about 9,500. The church has been dormant since August 2011.

Without Walls International pastor Randy White referred The Ledger to the law firm representing the church. A message left Friday with the law firm was not returned.

Without Walls' bankruptcy filing names nearly 100 creditors.

The list includes two Polk County companies Construction Management Associates of Winter Haven and Aerial Rigging Inc. of Lakeland along with Lakeland Electric and the city of Lakeland's code enforcement department.

Construction Management Associates asserts it is owed nearly $163,000 by Without Walls . Records show Without Walls owes Lakeland Electric more than $45,000. The church also has accrued more than $5,000 in fines from Lakeland's code enforcement office for violations.

In an emergency motion filed March 10, Evangelical Christian Credit Union argued that the bankruptcy filing should not halt the foreclosure proceedings. Lawyers for Without Walls filed a response Tuesday asking the court to deny that request for a stay of relief.

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Without Walls Church Seeks Protection in Bankruptcy Court

Elevation Church plans to open a new, 1,200-seat campus in University Citys Innovation Park the former IBM headquarters by Easter 2015.

Elevations decision to build in the University area was disclosed in a new audit of the churchs 2013 finances the first one Elevation has ever made publicly available.

Other details in the audit revealed that a total of $13,000 was paid to some church board members for speaking at Elevation events.

Elevation, one of the countrys fastest-growing churches, just opened a $10.5 million campus in the Lake Norman area its ninth Charlotte-area site in January.

Construction of the new University site, just off IBM Drive, will begin in the upcoming months, said James Chunks Corbett, the churchs chief financial officer. Currently, the church rents space every weekend for worship at the University City YMCA.

The audit report, prepared by C.DeWitt Foard & Co., a Charlotte CPA firm, is available online and says Elevation has entered into an initial, 10-year lease for the land on which the University campus will be built. The church issued a $1.5million letter of credit in February to secure the lease, the report said, and Elevation expects monthly payments of $37,659 will start in the first quarter of 2015.

The church had previously declined to disclose its audited financial statements.

Instead, it distributed a glossy annual report, showed videos and made announcements at weekend services, while making income statements and balance sheets available.

In 2013, we decided to make the full audit available, he said.

Corbett also revealed that on Friday, Elevation was accepted as a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. The ECFA, based in Virginia, is a respected accreditation organization that asks member churches and Christian nonprofits to adhere to standards on everything from financial transparency to governance. To become a member, Corbett said, the church had to turn over all of its employees compensation data including Furticks.

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Elevation Church to build 1,200-seat campus in University City, discloses audit for the first time