Lookout Mountain resident Jen Story holds her daughter, Ella, 2, recently as they look across a road at Activation Ministry International, which has received Jefferson County approval to greatly expand the church. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

Development pressures on Lookout Mountain might make Buffalo Bill turn over in his grave if there were room.

The view from the historic gravesite of Old West celebrity William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody, though still magnificent, is screened by transmission towers. Neighbors fought construction of a 730-foot digital TV tower for almost a decade and blocked it until an act of Congress in 2006 overturned the short-lived victory.

Now, they've fought and lost an eight-month battle to prevent another nonhistoric, nonresidential development that they believe will further alter the character of their home and lead to dangerous traffic congestion on Lookout Mountain Road.

Activation Ministry International, a medium-size church of 300 to 400 people, won Jefferson County's final approval March 13 for a special-use permit to expand its 9,168-square-foot church into a regional Christian ministry and mission center of 30,000 square feet with 3 or 4 acres of parking.

Yet neighbors aren't giving up.

"This is about fear," resident Diane Lange said of the neighborhood protest and recent formation of Lookout Mountain Residents United. "This is about safety."

The group plans to explore appeals and legal options. And, as spokeswoman Stephanie Graf said, the group will look out for the next big development that tries to come down the road.

Lookout Mountain is one section of the 40-mile Lariat Loop National Scenic Byway. It winds through hillside subdivisions to tourist attractions such as Boettcher Mansion, Lookout Mountain Nature Center and the nationally acclaimed Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave.

The iconic route was a stage in the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge last year and will be part of the race again this year.

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Residents on Lookout Mountain, Colorado, fighting church's plan to triple in size

The choir of Dunns Creek Baptist Church sings Saturday during the groundbreaking for the new church building on See Off Mountain Road in Brevard. In March 2011, the original church was destroyed in a fire, though the cause remains undetermined.

BREVARD-- The sweet sounds of the congregation and guests singing Amazing Grace on Saturday at the groundbreaking for Dunns Creek Baptist Church celebrated the churchs moving forward after a devastating fire almost exactly a year ago.

Though the blaze destroyed the historic building on See Off Mountain Road, it did not take the congregations faith, Pastor Michael Rogers said. And the hymn reflected this feelings about the groundbreaking.

Were excited. Were extremely excited, he said. Amazed. Thats the word. God has put this thing in motion. Im astonished another word for amazed not by how its happened, but how God is making this happen.

The congregation continues to raise funds to rebuild. Rogers said the building will cost around $285,000 and will be completed by October. He added they need to raise about $90,000 more.

Firefighters from four counties had battled the fire last year. The fire destroyed the back of the 140-year-old church, and the sanctuary sustained water damage. The cause of the fire was never officially determined, Rogers said.

The fire happened a year ago on March 23, Rogers said. Were not looking back to the fire but towards the future to what God want us to be a good church.

Rogers said a good church is defined as a Christ-centered church with a congregation thats impacting its local community. Rogers first preached at the church in November and was elected officially as pastor in February.

He said when he first started, there were 12 to 14 congregation members regularly attending services at the community building next to the church site. Now, the congregation is around 35.

They didnt even have a pastor here when the fire occurred, Rogers said.

View post:
Church breaks ground, looks forward

Posted: Sunday, March 25, 2012 2:02 pm | Updated: 2:07 pm, Fri Mar 23, 2012.

Work is under way to restore the Chestertown Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Kent Street, which was damaged by fire Feb. 21.

Kevin McDaniel, pastor of the church, said on Monday that demolition of "the burned stuff" was nearly complete. Damaged materials, including the flooring and subflooring of the sanctuary, have been removed from the building. The interior is being dried out, and the contractors are dealing with water damage and mold.

The next step, McDaniel said, is removal and replacement of the roof, which he expected to take place in about a week. He said the main contractor, Paul Davis Restoration, will be using a local subcontractor for the trusses, at the church's request. "We want to include as many local services and contractors as possible" in the work, he said, to support local workers and keep money in the community.

McDaniel offered a "guess-timation" of about eight months for the work to be completed, depending on the many variables that affect construction work. The repairs will include a complete updating of the electrical work; he said the church's insurance policy covers bringing it up to code. Also, he said, this will be an opportunity to replace the building's "old beast" of a heating plant.

Structurally, the church's walls survived the fire in good shape. McDaniel said they were inspected twice, the second time by an inspector who worked on the Pentagon after the Sept. 11 attack on that building. "The walls are fine," he said.

McDaniel said once the building is ready for use, the congregation plans a "grand reopening and thanks to the community." He said he was "overwhelmed by the good people and the good community" in their response to the church's need.

He said the church had received "lots of good offers" of alternate sites to hold services while the building is being repaired. After consideration, the congregation elected to use its church school building in Sudlersville, in part because the rent money can help the school.

McDaniel said the community's donations to help with rebuilding had been "great," but more are always welcome. Donations may be sent to the Chestertown Church Rebuilding Fund, Chesapeake Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, 6600 Martin Road, Columbia MD 21044. For more information, call 410-995-1910 or see http://www.ccos da.org.

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Chestertown church focuses on rebuilding

Tiruchirapalli, Mar 25: Th ongoing construction of the Infant Jesus Church by the number one tolegate Infant Jesus Shrine Parish, under the Kumbakona Diocese, will be blessed and will be ready for offering worship within three months, according to Bishop of Kmbakonam Most.Rev Dr F Antonysamy.

Addressing a press confrence here last night, Mr Antonysamy said the total cost to build the church would be around Rs 90 lakhs. This has been met by the all community.

He said the infant church has been bifurcated from Amalshram parish on September 17, 2006 to establish the present church with the Colroon river on its northern side, Panguni Canal on the south, Nochiyam- Thudaiyur on the east and Thalakudi on the west. Two hundred and fifty Catholic families are housed under the jurisdiction of the Number one tolegate Infant Jesus Shrine Parish and they have been divided nto 12 'Anbiyams' , he added.

Mr Anthonisamy hailed the untiring efforts of Fr.Soosai, the Parish priest of the Number one tolegate Infant Jesus Shrine for the completion of the project and said the church will be blessed and will be eadyfo religious worship within three months,.

The Bishop also pointed out that under the Kumbakonam Diocese, there 123 parish and 123 educational institutions.

Efforts were on to set up a B.Ed college at Padalur in Perambalur district , and a B.Sc nurshing college at Kumbakonam. (UNI)

Yearly Horoscope of 2012 for the Zodiac Sign:

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Infant Jesus church to come up in three months

Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2012 8:04 pm | Updated: 12:50 pm, Fri Mar 23, 2012.

Drawing their inspiration from the book of Ecclesiastes, members of Nassau Bay Baptist Church believe it is time to build up and will celebrate a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new sanctuary Sunday, March 25, following the morning worship service.

The community NBBC serves is invited to join the celebration beginning at 10:45 a.m. Immediately after the worship service, the congregation will gather on the church parking lot, north of the gym building, for the groundbreaking and praise service.

On Feb. 19, church members voted to move forward with construction of the $1.55 million Phase 1 of the $2.3 million facility. The church is committed to completing the sanctuary debt free. Petra Construction is contracted to begin building this spring.

The 47-year-old Nassau Bay Baptist Church, known locally for a variety of community oriented ministries including AWANA Club, Vacation Bible School, Judgment House, and high quality fine arts productions, outgrew its existing chapel shortly after the arrival of current senior pastor Dr. David Fannin 15 years ago.

Church members are excited about meeting as one body when the 626-seat Phase 1 is complete. Phase 2 of construction will open an additional 276 seats in the balcony. The congregation currently meets for worship Sundays at 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Bible study classes meet at 9:45 a.m.

The multi-purpose gym, constructed after a memorable fire destroyed a similar structure in 1988, has served the church well but the need for a new sanctuary has become apparent in recent years. Growth in church and Sunday School attendance, a desire to better serve the community, and the need for a facility to meet the expanding production aspirations of the musical and drama departments has, in part, spurred the commitment to build.

Ultimately, church leaders say, the new sanctuary will broaden the scope of church ministries that enable the congregation to share the gospel message with their neighbors in Nassau Bay and beyond.

The sanctuary will be built in phases as the finances are available. Once the church committed to raising the funds for the sanctuary in September, members raised $800,000 by February. Some $300,000 were already on hand from a previous fund raising effort. Phase 1 of the project is expected to be complete within a year after construction begins. Amenities such as balcony seating and the finishing out of anterooms will be completed as the funds are available for Phase 2.

In order to raise funds, church members are pledging to give above and beyond their regular offering toward the building program. The church will also host a number of fundraisers open to the community.

The rest is here:
Nassau Bay Baptist Church groundbreaking planned Sunday

VOL. 127 | NO. 59 | Monday, March 26, 2012

St. Elisabeths Episcopal Church has filed a $2 million construction loan through First Alliance Bank for 38 acres at the southeast corner of Old Brownsville and Billy Maher roads east of Austin Peay Highway. The property is adjacent to the St. Columba Episcopal Conference & Retreat Center.

St. Elisabeths bought the acreage in 2008 for $600,000. At the time, a 1,700-square-foot vacant house was on the site at 6033 Old Brownsville. A demolition permit was issued in March 2009.

The Shelby County Assessor of Propertys 2011 appraisal was $317,500.

The church, formerly on Yale Road, sold that property several years ago and moved to its current site at 2911 Elmore Park Road in Bartlett.

Memphis-based Hord Architects has designed the new building, according to the churchs website.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

Daily News staff

Kendall Haney of Keller Williams Realty | Kendall Haney Group has signed a publishing deal to contribute to the book The New Rise in Real Estate: The Nations Trusted Real Estate Advisors Reveal Their Top Secrets for Buying and Selling Homes in the New Real Estate Economy.

Haney is among a select group of real estate entrepreneurs nationwide who have joined with real estate coaches Jay Kinder and Michael Reese to co-write the book.

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St. Elisabeth's Prepares to Build New Church

WEATHERFORD A judge recently ruled that South Main Church of Christ is entitled to more than $4 million from a three construction companies owned by a man who committed suicide, leading to a public search, last year. However, when and if the church will see that money is still unknown.

The members of this congregation have been severely harmed by these actions, church Elder Larry Cobb said of the fallout from the actions of Dempsey Stice.

Stice, who founded Stice Electric, Stice Construction and several other companies, was best known as president of Stice Enterprises at the time of his death in January 2011. The business was the general contractor for many large construction projects in Parker County, including hotels, housing additions, churches, businesses and a medical center and bank.

Among his projects was a $1.9 million renovation project at South Main Church of Christ, not completed at the time of his death.

The church at 201 S. Main St. in Weatherford tackled the ambitious project which shut down a half-block of College Street in January 2010, tearing out an old classroom wing and working to replace it with a 20,000-square-foot, three-story configuration that will house administrative offices and consolidate all 26 classrooms in one building.

What the church didnt know at the time was that Stice, who was reported missing and later found dead in a helicopter he owned that he had landed in far north Parker County, was facing many problems. At the time of his death, he was under investigation regarding forged construction project documents and he had filed for bankruptcy in May of 2010.

In a petition filed earlier this month, on March 7, South Mains lawyer noted that Stice had completed some renovations for the church in 2009 at a cost of $278,000 and, at the time, the church was satisfied with his work. In his attempt to convince the church to hire him for their $2 million education facility project, Stice told the church that he was experienced in this type of work and had proper training, had the necessary financial capabilities to perform the work, would hire an experienced and qualified engineer and obtain permits, would properly supervise the work and other promises, the petition states.

These representations were false, the petition reads. In fact, what Dempsey Stice contemplated, and what he had done on other jobs, was stamping a fake engineers seal on the plans for the project so that he could obtain the necessary permits without the trouble or expense of having a qualified and license engineer review and approve the plans.

Through fundraising efforts and a $1.6 million loan taken out with Legacy Texas Bank, the church proceeded with the construction, according to the petition.

Construction of the education facility proceeded through most of 2010, the petition reads. In late 2010, the City of Weatherford withdrew the permit for the construction because of evidence of the lack of authenticity of the engineers seal on the plans. The evidence of this fraud by Dempsey Stice was the culmination of a series of difficulties for Dempsey Stice, including his filing for bankruptcy, and Stice Construction being sued in a multi-million dollar wrongful death claim. This led to Dempsey Stice flying his helicopter from Weatherford to Mineral Wells and committing suicide on January 14, 2011.

The rest is here:
$4 million judgment for church

By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff

The auction of the Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church, originally scheduled for Thursday morning, has been postponed until summer after the church filed for federal bankruptcy protection.

The auction company, Paul E. Saperstein Co. of Holbrook, posted a note on its web site saying the auction has been continued due to bankruptcy until July 19.

The historic black church filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday to block OneUnited Bank in Boston from foreclosing on a $1.1 million loan and auctioning off the Roxbury church, as well as an adjacent small retail building and a former pastors residence in Milton.

The church hopes to keep all the properties and renegotiate its loans with OneUnited. In addition to the $1.1 million loan, it also owes OneUnited $3 million for construction of a community center, which has yet to be completed. The church has proposed repaying the bank over 30 years.

OneUnited, one of the nations largest black-owned banks, has said it is studying the bankruptcy filing. Lawyers for the church were expected to appear in US Bankruptcy Court on Thursday.

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Charles Street AME Church auction postponed until July after bankruptcy filing

SALT LAKE CITY -- The LDS Church is attempting to remake downtown Salt Lake City by opening the shopping mall portion of a $2 billion mixed-use space that spans two city blocks and features a meandering creek and retractable glass roofs.

Church partner and retail operator Taubman Centers Inc. expects 50,000 visitors on Thursday, when City Creek Center's nearly 90 stores open.

City Creek Center has outdoor walkways, plazas, fireplaces and metal sculpture. Waterfalls, fountains and a trout pond are part of the village-like development, which includes condominiums and is joined by a pedestrian bridge over Main Street.

The residential towers were built by City Creek Reserve Inc., a for-profit firm owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church is a multibillion-dollar organization with business and real estate holdings.

The church paid for City Creek Center with cash and says no member tithing was used. For the most part, it will be like other shopping malls, except that the stores close on Sundays -- the church wanted the Sabbath for its nearby Temple Square.

It will be operated like Taubman Centers' other upscale malls in Los Angeles and Denver, said Robert Taubman, chairman, president and CEO of the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based company. Two of the restaurants at the Salt Lake City mall will serve liquor, but there are no bars. Its anchors are Macy's and Nordstrom, with other stores such as Tiffany & Co. and the Swedish fashion chain H&M.

Built during the recession, which lowered construction costs, City Creek Center is the only large shopping center of its size -- around 700,000 square feet -- scheduled to open in the country this year, officials said.

"It's about the rebirth of this city and the fabric of downtown," said Taubman, who said the design of City Creek Center was unique.

"We opened the mall to the sky and sunny weather that's here with these amazing retractable roofs," he said.

No other U.S. shopping center has retractable roofs, says Linda Wardell, City Creek Center's general manager.

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LDS Church hopes mall helps downtown Salt Lake

TUMACACORI, Ariz.- They live by the golden rule, "do unto others as you would have others do unto you". It's a message one religious organization in Santa Cruz County is trying to spread to its neighbors, as a battle brews over their desire to expand in their small rural community.

A sense of peace surrounds a 165 acre property in Tumacacori, which belongs to a church group called the Global Community Communications Alliance. About 150 members live, learn and worship there together. "We are looking to do something in the way of community building that is not maybe status quo," GCCA Member Centria Lilly says.

For the past year they have wanted to build a 17,000 square foot church because the outdoor pavilion and indoor community room where they currently hold services, is no longer big enough. "We need the facility for our Sunday worship services, but also for adult and childrens' classrooms, for a library, and administrative offices," Lilly says.

But the GCCA is facing opposition from many of its neighbors, who say building the church will disrupt the peacefulness of their small community. "It just doesn't fit in with the area at all," Neighbor Dan Kirkham says.

Kirkham has lived in the area for more than a decade. He fears building the church will attract more people to the area, creating noise, destroying roads and disrupting water quality. "I'd like to see it not built, period, to stop, stop right now," Kirkham says.

He's not the only one. Last fall Santa Cruz County denied the GCCA's request for a building permit. Board members tell News 4 Tucson it was because the majority of neighbors oppose it and because the alliance never informed the Union Pacific railroad company that runs through the property of its plans. The county requires any property owner within 300 feet of construction must be notified.

"There are federal laws that support churches in providing them means to build and construct churches," Lilly says.

Which is why the GCCA filed an appeal this month. It hopes to settle the matter out of court. "We're hoping to build a bridge with all of the neighbors who have concerns," Lilly says.

But until then, the peacefulness of this small community might just be an illusion.

Continued here:
Controversy in Santa Cruz Co. over church construction