[Magdalen] Need to blow off steam

[Marion Thompson]

Omigosh, that's quite  a story.  Generally speaking, you couldn't do 
that in this diocese, because, barring a couple of exceptions,  all 
churches belong to the diocese when it comes down to it and so do their 
holdings  They can't just sell stuff independently and pocket the 
money.  The diocese is watching!

Marion, a pilgrim
On 10/27/2014 2:17 PM, Jim Guthrie wrote:
> From: ROGER STOKES
>
>> This can be a major problem for some C/E parishes where the priest 
>> has to live in the provided parsonage house.  One was let during a 
>> vacancy to the local >prison chaplain.  I gather some of the locals 
>> were surprised at the language the (female) chaplain used to them 
>> from the Vicarage.
>
> Christ Church Bay Ridge has a Rectory next door once upon a time. When 
> a long-term Rector retired in 1979,  he demanded that the Rectory be 
> given to him as a retirement gift! They refused, and then sold the 
> property before calling a new Rector ("He can find his own place and 
> we'll pay the rent").
>
> When they sold it, the Diocese stepped in and required them to put the 
> money into an investment fund, which they were not allowed to tap 
> without the permission of the diocese. That's because the parish had 
> owned 8 or 11 properties (not sure which -- told 11 but could only 
> find 8 in the minutes) --  all but one donated in estates, and all 
> sold by a real estate agent on the vestry netting far less than the 
> market price (hence the diocese stepping in) and then rather than 
> setting up an endowment, used the cash for operating expenses so they 
> "wouldn’t have to talk about money all the time."  Even better, they 
> didn’t need any "new members" to crash the party.
>
> The most interesting piece of property, I think -- was the 50 acres in 
> Staten Island that was used as a Parish Summer Camp. Part was 
> developed and part became part of a greenway after abandonment of 
> expressway plans.
>
> In any case, I learned an awful (emphasize AWFUL) lot about parish 
> finance and dysfunctional "mission" while on that vestry and as warden 
> -- long after all that happened.
>
> Some of the old-timers (mostly widows of long-dead vestry members, 
> along with a few others longed for those halcyon days. That's one of 
> the main reasons I just chucked it all and walked away after a few years.
>
> Cheers,
> Jim Guthrie
>
>
>