Sale of our current property – Vicar’s Voice, May 2016

We recently passed a significant milestone in our journey to building a new church: we sold our current church building and property. Although this is only one step on the journey, it’s a big step with many implications.

I know that many of us have strong attachments to our building and property; after all, it’s become a sacred place through our continuing prayers and presence Sunday after Sunday. We have a lot of memories in this place, and it’s not easy to walk away without acknowledging some grief. Many of us have invested a great deal of time and energy in caring for our church and the grounds, so it’s natural that we might feel a loss.

It seems that many steps in our journey have been guided by God, and this sale is one of them. We’re selling to New Fellowship Church, and not only are we happy for them, but it feels good to know that our worship space will continue to be a place of worship to God. The sacred space remains sacred. I’m happy knowing that New Fellowship will be able to grow their church just as we did from the beginning.

An important consideration written into the sale contract is that we have the right to remain in the church with our same schedule for the next year, rent-free. Not only does this save us a lot of money renting elsewhere, it means we don’t have to move twice. There are a number of small items still to be negotiated with New Fellowship Church, such as landscaping, the names on the sign, the cleaning contract, etc.

We received a good amount in the sale, which becomes part of the financial package we’re putting together to build our new church. This sale came along at just the right time, in God’s time as a matter of fact. Other pieces of the financial puzzle include the investments we’ve been building for many years in the Diocesan Investment Fund (DIF), the contributions to our Capital Campaign, a bridge loan from the diocese, and a line of credit we will apply for to cover the complete construction.

May God continue to guide us as we move toward our vision of a new church.

Bill