Harrisburg ELCA Congregation Gives Building to Coptic Orthodox Church
HARRISBURG, Pa. (ELCA) -- An Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregation here is breathing new life into its church building by moving out and turning its facilities over to a congregation of another denomination.
Following its worship service of carols and a celebration luncheon Dec. 27, Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church gave its building as a gift to St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church.
This Sunday, Jan. 3, Memorial's members will worship at the James E. Morecraft Christian Education Building, owned by the congregation and directly across the street from the Memorial's former sanctuary. The congregation normally worships during the winter months at the Christian education building to conserve energy. However, it won't return to the sanctuary on Palm Sunday, which has been Memorial's practice, said the Rev. Rochelle E. Lewis, pastor.
Faced with declining membership and a large building to maintain, members of Memorial voted in August to begin transition talks with St. Mark Church.
"When we as a congregation began to speak about the choices we would need to make in order to continue doing ministry on the corners of State and 17th Street, we knew we did not have the resources, physical ability or money to keep the sanctuary from becoming an albatross or a dying weight," Lewis said.
Trustees of the congregation explored a number of options, including merging with another Lutheran congregation. Ultimately, however, the decision was made to give the building as a gift to St. Mark Church.
5 comments:
Finally a church comes to its senses! Buildings are not all they are cracked up to be. All too often they become millstones dragging down the membership.
Don’t worry. I will not hold my breath for LCMS, WELS/ELS to do the same.
The edifice complex was just another form of idolatry. Let it go.
That ELCA church in Harrisburg, PA, is only a hour away from the historic Lutheran seminary at Gettysburg.
This is another example of a large (or once large) Lutheran congregations only thinking of themselves and not the wider Lutheran scene. If they were concerned about correct doctrine or the survival of Lutheranism, they would have sold the church and given the money to a Lutheran outfit, or to pay for a Lutheran seminarian's education. After all, the Copts are Monophysites. Anyway, the very thinking that led to them giving the church to non-Lutherans is exactly why that church was shrinking in the first place!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monophysitism
Monophysitism's theological point of view is also rejected by the Oriental Orthodox Churches, but was widely accepted in Syria, Egypt and the Levant, leading to many tensions in the Coptic period of the Byzantine Empire.
Gettysburg seminary:
http://www.ltsg.edu/about/index.htm
The market for old albatross churches is small.
Perhaps Dr. Jackson or one of the wise blog readers can help me with this, as it has truly been a difficult issue for me over the years, particularly when building projects are proposed.
My conservative nature leans towards understated buildings, not wanting to "waste" money on materials. On the other hand, I can see how so many churches of the past spared no expense to glorify God. Should no grand churches or cathedrals exist?
Wasn't the Temple of Solomon constructed based on specific plans given to King David, by God? Were these plans not grand in every sense? Did God have an "edifice complex", which promoted idolatry, or did it glorify God?
EC
Post a Comment