Mixed Feelings Over Western Michigan Church Sales
[The Living Church March 23, 2007]
The Diocese of Western Michigan will be selling the Cathedral Church of Christ
the King in Portage, a suburb of Kalamazoo, and St. Paul’s Church in Walker, a
suburb of Grand Rapids. Many members of the diocese are wondering whether these
actions are necessary pruning toward growth, or symbols of demise.
The sale of the cathedral was “the only decision the diocese could make, because
we’re out of money, and the building costs quite a bit just to maintain,” said
Bishop Robert Gepert after the March 10 executive council meeting when the
decision to sell was made. “The shame is that we haven’t been good stewards in
the past, and this is a resource that could have been used in the future.”
The cathedral was built in 1968 during the episcopate of Bishop Charles
Bennison, Sr., who relocated the diocesan headquarters to the 30 acre site just
off Interstate 94. The newly formed congregation was drawn from existing
congregations in the Kalamazoo area, a move that caused some resentment, as did
Bishop Bennison’s insistence of holding most diocesan meetings there.
“I came to this diocese in 1968 and people have been fighting over the cathedral
for 20 years,” said the Rev. Michael Fedewa, rector of St. Andrew’s, Grand
Rapids, and a member of the standing committee. “I happen to like it, and we
certainly could not afford the visibility which it offers to people of Western
Michigan because of its location. We had to either make a full pledge commitment
to it or just move on.”
“There are a lot of mixed feelings about the cathedral, but I see it as a sign
of refocusing on what we should be about-people not buildings,” said the Rev.
Harold Comer, rector of St. Philip’s in Benzie County. Fr. Comer, a member of
the executive council, said the slumping auto-industry-based Michigan economy is
hitting small congregations hard. More than a dozen of the 60 congregations in
the diocese are now served by part-time clergy, and most of the larger
congregations are seeking new rectors.
“Some of this change has been coming for a while,” Fr. Comer said. “I have seen
when a new bishop comes to a diocese there is frequently a major turnover of
clergy.”
The process leading to the sale of the cathedral was set in motion at the
diocese's annual convention in 2004. A special study committee of the standing
committee commissioned a feasibility study to determine if there was support in
the diocese for a capital campaign to underwrite the cathedral. “Respondents
voiced overwhelming concern that the cathedral has not realized expectations and
aspirations since its inception,” the study report concluded.
The cathedral congregation and all activities will cease by September 1.
Meanwhile, proposals to sell the $2 million building and property are being
sought. Some decisions will have to be made to preserve Resurrection Garden,
where many people are interred. The cathedral also houses a nationally known
Aeolian-Skinner organ, frequently used by music students from Western Michigan
University, and a 47-bell carillon.
St. Paul’s, Walker, closed its doors earlier this year. In 1979 the congregation
voted to leave The Episcopal Church over the decision to ordain women. A legal
dispute followed Judge Woodrow Yared’s ruling in 1981 that the properties be
returned to the diocese. He cited the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Jones v.
Wolf, and the Michigan Supreme Court ruling in Fuchs v. Meisel. The Michigan
Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s decision, and an appeal to the
Michigan Supreme Court was declined by the court.
“St. Paul’s decided it could no longer function as a church, and the executive
council could not see a way to create a new church start and pay the existing
bills,” said council member Anna Cushman. “I see the two decisions as a sign of
growth. The sale gives us the resources we need to plant new churches and help
congregations in financial trouble.”
“I see the sales not as a demise, but the church has to come up with new and
cutting-edge ways of getting the word out about the gospel,” said the Rev. David
Pike, rector of St. David’s, Lansing. “I am saddened by the sale of the
cathedral. It is a real loss, but realistically we’re no longer in the 1950s and
churches have to make changes and be willing to grow. It is a crime that
something didn’t happen out there with St. Paul’s despite the growth in that
area.”
“This is a sad day for the cathedral,” said the Very Rev. Cynthia L. Black, dean
of the cathedral and rector of the Parish Church of Christ the King, which
worships there. “However, the parish will continue to do what it has always done
– be a diverse community that practices compassion and welcomes all – just from
a different location.”
(The Rev.) Joseph Neiman