Redeemer’s Ambassadors took a Sunday off. We each had personal plans for the day.
Today I was entertaining one of my oldest friends.
She is visiting Philadelphia for only the third time in her life. It was her first visit outside of center city. She came to attend a four-day meeting being held in East Falls.
Having her as a house guest was a little intimidating. Her mother had been my home economics teacher in high school. But my fears that my house-keeping and hospitality would not be up to snuff were groundless.
We met when we were twelve, when my father, a Lutheran pastor, changed parishes. We sang together in church and in school—girl’s trio and choir. We were friends through college. We hadn’t seen each other in more than a couple of passing encounters in nearly 40 years.
We lived in a small town—farming, coal and steel country. We were friends in both church and school. Many of our school teachers were church members, so the lines were always blurry.
We walked a lot of East Falls together during her four-day visit. We walked through the parks, along the Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek, the various campuses (college and high school) and I showed her the churches. Her meetings were being held at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, the church Bishop Burkat helped in ministry at the same time she was trying to take our property. I showed her our locked building. The lights were left on, so it was easy.
As we talked with people we met during her visit, she still identified me as their preacher’s daughter. Some things in life I’ll never be able to shake.
We attended a performance at the playhouse where Redeemer began its ministry in 1891 and where we now hold Sunday morning worship. My friend worked in summer stock theater, so she was interested to see the local theater club. We talked with fellow playgoers. Whenever we encounter anyone from East Falls, the topic of Redeemer comes up. Some things SEPA will never be able to shake!
My friend commented at the sense of community she experienced in East Falls.
We are that. Our people and our history mean something to us. That’s something the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America cannot understand.
For them, East Falls is all about how much money they can get from us. Our people—our history—our passion for ministry—are obstacles to them. We are just in the way.
Pity!
Here’s an idea. We can take SEPA representatives on a similar tour. We’ll walk you around our town. We’ll show SEPA where our members live and where we got our start. We’ll share our history and our personal faith journeys and what has happened to our members since we were locked out of the Lutheran Church. We’ll introduce you to the people SEPA has taken advantage of. We’ll share our mission plan—yes, we still have one!
Maybe then, you’ll know something about us. Maybe you’ll see us as people, fellow children of God. Maybe that will prompt some right actions and justice in the Lutheran Church.
Journalism 101: The incoming (not outgoing) leader is the news.
We heard a rumor that Tracey Beasley of Reformation Church in Mount Airy was elected to replace the outgoing Vice President of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We looked for confirmation but came up with a story that said she was one of two candidates.
The story that comes up on SEPA’s web site is all about the outgoing vice president.
The people of Reformation are congratulating Tracey on their Facebook page. It must be true!
What do we know about Tracey Beasley? What can we expect from her leadership?
Tracey Beasley was influential in the creating the mess in East Falls that severely hurt our Christian community and neighborhood and has saddled SEPA with a costly and unnecessary five-year court feud.
She was one of four trustees appointed by Bishop Burkat to make our community wards of the bishop and convey our property and cash assets to benefit the synod, while locking out the Christians that provided this Care Package to plug the Synod’s deficit. She was co-chair, along with The Rev. Lee Miller, who left SEPA Synod last fall for New York’s green pastures.
She visited Redeemer in July 2007 along with the other three trustees. Rev. Lee Miller had demanded the meeting with only a couple of days notice — never telling us why. Only two of our council members could attend. Summer vacation season made getting people together quickly for an undesignated purpose difficult.
The four visitors from SEPA Synod, never identified themselves as trustees nor did they inform us that we were under Involuntary Synodical Administration (a made-up term that does not appear in the constitution, but has taken on legal weight by virtue of it being tossed around often enough). Apparently, we had been under synodical administration for some time. No one told us! Not even the trustees sitting with us in our fellowship hall.
They came to our door and asked for a room where they could meet in private. Odd.
They then sat with us and we told them about the mission plan we were drafting. It was a good discussion. At the end, they thanked us for being candid. I remember commenting, “Yes, we have been forthright, but something tells me you are not being candid with us.”
They glossed over the observation and assured us that they were there to help. We were unaccustomed to SEPA showing any interest in our ministry, so even that was odd.
The four trustees then did nothing to help us. We didn’t see or hear from them again until November 2007, when our congregation council met with the Bishop. This is when they told us about the synodical administration — some five months after it was supposedly imposed.
Tracey Beasley did not attend this meeting. The other three trustees were present. Larry House and Ray Miller said nothing but took copious notes. Lee Miller seemed to be excited by our reports of our ministry and said “I’m with you guys.” Closing the church was never mentioned at this meeting. We gave Bishop Burkat a copy of our 24-page mission plan and a resolution to call one of the ELCA pastors who had spent seven months helping us draft and implement the plan.
We were excited by the progress our congregation had been making. The meeting was concrete proof that our membership had grown steadily in the last ten years, during which SEPA was largely absent. Bishop Burkat promised that we could work with the newly appointed Mission Developer, Rev. Patricia Davenport.
Four months of silence from SEPA followed. Repeated phone calls to the Synod from our leadership, who were eager to follow up on the promising meeting, were ignored.
We were not to see Tracey Beasley again until February 2008. She was with the bishop and her party when they came to our church one Sunday afternoon with a locksmith and lawyer waiting behind the church, out of sight. She was instrumental in spreading the gossip that we tried to have the bishop arrested at this encounter. This is untrue.
We objected frequently to this false representation, but it continued to appear in court documents for five years.
Tracey Beasley spent no time with our congregation outside of that first encounter in which she lied by omitting her true purpose. She presented a report to the 2008 Synod Assembly about our ministry that was wholly inaccurate. Some of the information was just plain false. Some was so outdated that it created a false impression. And that’s what the trustees needed to sway the Synod Assembly—a false impression.
In 2008, Redeemer immediately asked for the record to be corrected. We followed up with detailed monthly reports of our growing mission and ministry. All of these were copied to Tracey Beasley and all the trustees, as well as the bishop.
There was never any response to any of our letters.
Tracey Beasley read the same fabricated report, unaltered, to the 2009 Synod Assembly.
The next time we were to see Tracey Beasley was on Mother’s Day 2009, just hours after the close of the 2009 Synod Assembly. This is the Assembly at which Redeemer appealed Synodical Administration. The Assembly never voted on our appeal. Synod leaders substituted a question allowing the Synod to take our property—a topic our appeal had not addressed. The vote was predictable. Almost everyone voted to take our property. They have NO constitutional authority to vote on congregational property.
Tracey Beasley came to our worship that Mothers Day with Larry House. They sat through the worship service and before the service concluded they walked to the front of the sanctuary and announced, “We are in control now.”
What happened next was beautiful. The people of Redeemer rose united from the pews and surrounded the two trustees who had represented themselves as working with Redeemer but had done nothing. There had been no plan, no strategy. It just happened. I watched from the back of the church, talking to the visitors. (Redeemer had visitors almost every Sunday.)
Redeemer members confronted the two trustees about their behavior. Most notably, someone pointed out that Synod’s interference in our ministry had cost us a 25-year relationship with Ken Crest. This interference had not only cost our congregation a strong source of income, it had deprived our neighborhood of an excellent service.
Tracey Beasley claimed that Ken Crest did not leave because of them. We pointed out that Ken Crest had just signed a five-year lease with us but abruptly whited out their names. We had a letter from Ken Crest stating that they were leaving because they didn’t want to be in the middle of a property dispute.
Tracey Beasley claimed to know nothing about this and demanded to see that letter. The letter indicated that she had, in fact, been copied.
The courts ordered the property given to SEPA — not under the law, but under Separation of Church and State. They couldn’t get involved in church matters. They did not order that the church members be locked out, but Synod accepted the court win as entitling them to do exactly as they please. There is no authority in the church or out of the church to stop them (unless SEPA Lutherans follow their constitutions).
We were suspicious. Suddenly, we are open again! A public announcement. No effort to tell Redeemer’s members.
It ended up to be not so much a worship service as a gloating fest. The service, never to be repeated, was conducted by the Rev. Lamont Anthony Wells, pastor of Reformation in Mount Airy, where both Tracey and her predecessor are members. The watchful eyes of East Falls reported that about seven people showed up and seemed to be very uncomfortable in their presence.
There was never any real intent to “open Redeemer.” The group that seemed to be from Reformation marked their territory, locked the doors behind them, and moved on.
Tracey Beasley, as a trustee and as a member of synod council, was in a position to represent the interests of the congregation. She demonstrated no inclination to do so.
She was clearly an extension of the bishop. Now she is an official leader of all congregations. Will she do so with independence? Will she now represent the interests of the congregations—as her position suggests? Will she check the power of the bishop — as is the responsibility of synod council?
If past behavior predicts future behavior, your leaders are comfortable in their view that congregational property is theirs for the taking. Because Synod Assembly seems to be powerless in enforcing their own rules, there is nothing to stop them.
Small churches (and most SEPA churches are already small or getting there) should be alarmed. You now have leadership that has shown they are capable of plotting to take your property. They have a track record using secrecy, intimidation, and deceit in doing so. They have demonstrated a clear sense of entitlement. They will not hesitate to attack lay people in court if they dare to oppose their views within the constitution.
You elected them!
When they knock on your doors, remember—we warned you.
Redeemer and 2×2 takes SEPA’s recent request for congregations to make multimedia presentations about their ministry seriously. It is a goal of 2×2 to conquer video for use on its website, so it was a welcome challenge.
We learned basic recording techniques and syncing sound tracks to slides. We added transitions. We’ve got a lot to learn, but we are happy with our start and will soon share our experiences with others.
Tons of property now stand empty in the greater Philadelphia region.
Episcopal Bishop Bennison says, Where is the Gospel in this?
Good question, Bishop Bennison. The question should have been asked long ago!
The article deals with the stones and mortar problem church leaders are facing.
It barely mentions the lives of the people who have been affected.
The Church misplaced its priorities long ago. They point to a changing economy and demographics. Where were the experts on change when the changes were happening?
The neglect of God’s people is the real problem.
Most of the church leaders quoted in this article are from Roman Catholic and Episcopal traditions where church property is owned by the denomination.
One person quoted in this article, Bishop Claire Burkat, comes from the Lutheran tradition, where property belongs to the congregations. Her actions, in one neighborhood (East Falls) defied the rules of the church she serves. Courts have refused to hear the case the congregation brought. They want churches to settle their own problems, citing separation of church and state.
The Church does not have a good record of solving its own problems!
Now, they, like the hierarchies modern Lutheran leaders emulate, have a problem. They have successfully acquired property they cannot support or have any use for! Each denomination is competing for few willing buyers.
Costs are rarely discussed openly. This article states the realistic cost as $55,000 per property. No figure like this appears in the regional Lutheran church budget!
The real problem began years ago. The Church fled neighborhoods and considered the people left behind or newly moving into those neighborhoods as demographically unsuitable for their investment in ministry. They paid experts a lot of money to support their decisions.
They sought short-term solutions that would one day be someone else’s problem—presumably the laity’s.
They routinely, assigned part-time, minimal effort, caretaker pastors to see how long they might keep money flowing without actually ministering to the community.
Reliance on demographic studies is not helpful. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America analyzed Philadelphia’s demographics and found only one zip code in the city worthy of mission investment—Chinatown.
Eventually, they officially quit trying and started helping congregations close. Initially, in the Lutheran Church, they allowed the congregations to dispose of their assets as is Lutheran law. But regional bodies were struggling, too. They started imposing new “rules” which would make the assets of congregations go to them. Any such new rules are in defiance of the ELCA Articles of Incorporation and cannot be changed by fickle, expedient bylaws. Only Redeemer is challenging this, although the practice will one day affect many.
The plan is backfiring. Even suburban churches face serious challenges.
Regional bodies are looking for any way to put properties they now manage to work. They would rather work with hot dog vendors and theater troupes than people in the neighborhoods who profess the same faith.
It’s time to start looking at more than property. 2×2 will examine the more important question.
What happens to the people and neighborhoods when churches close?
A basic message of the Bible is “love one another.” It’s so simple. Why is it so hard, even for the people who are supposed to be experts?
The East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia may have an unusually strong experience with church hierarchies and how they can ignore their own teachings.
East Falls is a working class neighborhood that has enjoyed a strong quality of life even through decades of urban turmoil. Its well-kept properties have become valuable. Others covet what East Falls has.
The local Episcocal Diocese moved in on St. James the Less a decade ago in a dispute with a bishop.
In 2008. the bishop of the local synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America decided she knew what was best for Christians in East Falls.
Now the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church has decided that the best economical decision for the faithful of East Falls is for them to send their children to school in another neighborhood.
These are management decisions and are made with hierarchical interests in mind — not neighborhood interests.
When parishes lose their schools, they lose their lifeblood. The schools create a hub of activity in the community. They train the faithful. They create passion and loyalty. They foster love, faith and mission. Similarly, when neighborhoods lose their churches, they lose a strong source of hands-on leadership and labor, working with the interests of the community in mind.
If non-members of neighborhood churches think these decisions made by outsiders don’t affect them, they are wrong. People move to neighborhoods because of schools. People remain in neighborhoods because of church community. The economic value of church can be measured and it is impressive.
In both Catholic and Episcopal traditions, property is owned by the diocese. The Lutheran tradition is that property and its management belong to the people. Lutherans reference the practice of the more hierarchical churches in court as if they are part of their own governance. They are not — but the courts don’t want to sort this out.
Land and asset grabs by church hierarchies are making regular news. The economy tanked. Offerings dropped. Hierarchies must find new sources of revenues. Developing programs and ministries that create revenue are a lot of work. Those nice, paid-for properties in desirable neighborhoods like East Falls become awfully attractive. It becomes so easy to set aside the 10 Commandments. 8, 9, and 10 go out the window right away and some of the earlier commandments are hurt in the process.
Debt-free churches are the most-attractive.
The Redeemer situation is prime. This congregation was experiencing exciting growth despite the fact that the “hierarchy” had not supplied it with pastoral services in years. We had a healthy endowment and solid plan for the use of our property.
But synod practiced an intentional policy of neglect which made considerable efforts of the lay workers futile. Do not waste time and resources on small churches that may die in ten years. This is the published philosophy of Bishop Claire Burkat.
Ten years! That’s more than enough time for dedicated people to turn things around if you try. There are many churches of the same size and resources as Redeemer so she will be able to practice her philosophy of neglect again and again.
After locking East Falls out for more than two years, they are approaching the community for ideas on how to use the buildings that are vacant.
They are vacant because they made them vacant.
How would any organization feel if the community were invited to weigh in on how to use the resources that were seized by force without regard for the well-being of the people who provided the resources? The people of Redeemer can tell you. It feels like violation.
We suspect our Catholic neighbors are feeling the same way this weekend. We hope the community helps them fight.
08 Jan 2012
Undercover Bishop: A Parable for Today’s Church
Join Bishop Ruby Kinisa as she visits small churches "under cover" to learn what people would never share if they knew they were talking to their bishop.
Undercover Bishop will always be available in PDF form on 2x2virtualchurch.com for FREE.
Print or Kindle copies are available on Amazon.com.
For bulk copies, please contact 2x2: creation@dca.net.
Contact Info
You can reach
Judy Gotwald,
the moderator of 2x2,
at
creation@dca.net
or 215 605 8774
Redeemer’s Prayer
We were all once strangers, the weakest, the outcasts, until someone came to our defense, included us, empowered us, reconciled us (1 Cor. 2; Eph. 2).
2×2 Sections
Where in the World is 2×2?
On Isaiah 30:15b
Be calm. Wait. Wait. Commit your cause to God. He will make it succeed. Look for Him a little at a time. Wait. Wait. But since this waiting seems long to the flesh and appears like death, the flesh always wavers. But keep faith. Patience will overcome wickedness.
—Martin Luther
