Crystal Cathedral Bankrupted Due To Recession
By Reema, Gaea News NetworkTuesday, October 19, 2010
GARDEN GROVE, (GaeaTimes.com)- The Crystal Cathedral, one of the most well known Protestant Mega-church in Garden Grove, California, is having a hard time coping with its bankruptcy, as a result of recession in the preceding year. Reports said on Monday, that the church had to file for bankruptcy protection Chapter 11.
Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman, Senior Pastor of the Crystal Cathedral said that the church authorities could not keep pace with the unprecedented rapid decline in revenue, as a result of the recession last year. The Church was built in 1950, by Rev. Robert H. Schuller Sr. This beautiful church is marked with crystal glass ceiling that makes that brightly illuminates the interior, when the lights get refracted in every direction. The Crystal Cathedral had a membership of more than 10,000 people, many of whom, slowly terminated their affiliation in the last year. This was because many of them could not comply to the decision of making Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman, the next church authority, after the retirement of her father Rev. Robert H. Schuller Sr.
The financial problems started in the beginning of this year, when the creditors started filing lawsuit lawsuits to collect money, as they were involved in activities like providing goods, social and educational services and broadcasting “Hour of Power”, a weekly TV show. A board member reported that their debt amounted to $5 million, for which it had to resort to legal protection under Chapter 11, that would protect it against bankruptcy. Yesterday they had to seek $43 million in debt including a $36 million mortgage and $7.5 million in other debt. When writs of attachment were granted, the church had to declare bankruptcy yesterday. The Crystal Cathedral also had to terminate about 50 workers, and sell of a huge fraction of their property before, in order to deal with the crisis
Tags: Bankruptcy, California, Chapter 11, Crystal Cathedral, Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman, Garden Grove, Hour Of Power, Protestant Mega Church, Rev. Robert H. Schuller Sr, United States