Two from the NY Sun:The Catholic Diocese is closing three of its churches, and: In Church Restructuring, Some Suspect Hand of Developers
Also, people are getting on the train at stops they hadn't before: Surges in Ridership at Stations Reflect Neighborhood Dynamism
Photo from NYCSubway.org
6 comments:
I guess after all of that "buggering" that's been going on (what with mounting legal fees and expensive victims' settlement claims) the Diocese is selling off its houses! These happen, however, to be houses of worship! They are the places where people come to bring their joys and sorrows and renew their faith! Speaking as a Catholic I find this to be shameful ! Selling out to developers is selling out "The Faith" itself! Cardinal Egan (forgive me) strikes me as a "cold" man, who is, in fact, "a church attorney". I guess we should all go over to St. Peter's (one of the first churches to sell out to a builder) in the shadow of the City Corp. Building (53rd St. & Lex. Av.) and worship the "almighty buck"!
Surges in "dynanism"! Is that a new one to replace terms like "vibrant or bustling"? Why don't we stick with the old ones : "OVERCROWDED, CHOKED- UP" or just plain "OVER-DEVELOPED"! That doesn't fit the "new-speak" spin that New York's real estate Moguls like to put in their advertisements !
Hey, what a great idea for that church group in Queens that is sooo concerned for our borough. What was their name? Can someone call them away from their new bibles, the Book of Blueprints?
Stop using your churches is the tip of the spear for development!
You might want to tailor your sermons to what the public wants and needs so offerings cover costs (like the competition seems to be doing as congregates leave you and go to them, but that is another issue) or even throw in the towel, and admit defeat and sell to those that have won over your flock. After all, your resources were GIVEN to you for a purpose. If you can no longer serve that purpose, then hand it over to someone who can.
Let your communities know of your problems and explore publicly with them alternative solutions. If you have the time to sit behind closed doors with the developers and politicians, you have time for the public, right?
If you decease your church work, and increase your real estate holdings, then you should lose your status as a non-profit religious organization. After all, to all the churches of NYC: if real estate is your new lord and master, then make Donald Trump your new Pope.
The thing that catches me about the politicians is how they squeal with delight when they talk about all these new projects. Like a kid going to camp ... or, perhaps after a little ‘private’ meeting with a developer, a kid after his first makeout session. Look guys, get real. We are not stupid. Stop the carefully scripted hearings at 10 AM (you know, the ones where the public cannot attend). Get rid of your city cars and ride the rails with us. Mix it up with the real people. When you are on the crowded subway car, on a line where a 45 minute commute has becomes a 70 minute commute, start your pro-development rant. Record your constituents response. Oh yes, bring along some cops. We don't want anything unpleasant to happen to your carefully combed toupee.
I like that thought! Bibles versus blueprints! Perhaps, the former meaning G-d and the latter being the Devil? I thought that religious institutions are supposed to be not-for-profit! Well, it doesn't look that way! Does it?
The next time that I put a donation in the basket on Sunday morning, maybe I should ask for a tally of how much of it goes into the church's real estate concerns! Better yet, maybe Internal Revenue Sevice should! I'm tired of hearing that relentless phrase, "poor as a church mouse"! The Cardinal lives pretty well. How come St. Patricks Cathedral isn't torn down for development. You could build another Olympic Tower with that kind of zoning. No, only mid-town churches that are out of the tourist-corridor and further west get that fate! I think that I'm going to convert!
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