Church Closings

I know I said that I would stop with the finance related posts, but we all knew that I was probably going to do at least one or two more. So here it goes:

In yet another sign of the current financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports that churches across the country are being forced into bankruptcy because of falling donations:

During this holiday season of hard times, not even houses of God have been spared. Some lenders believe more churches than ever have fallen behind on loans or defaulted this year. Some churches, and at least one company that specialized in church lending, have filed for bankruptcy. Church giving is down as much as 15% in some places, pastors and lenders report.

In an interesting aside, the article discusses the considerate reaction of one Presbyterian Bishop to the bankers that foreclosed on his church:

Last February, the church couldn't meet its monthly interest payments. The lender, Talbot Bank, a unit of Shore Bancshares Inc., foreclosed in August, seeking $950,000, including principal and unpaid interest. It was one of five properties Talbot foreclosed on this year, but the only church, says W. David Morse, a vice president at the bank.

At the auction's end, Bishop Johnson shook hands with Mr. Morse. "These people are not Wall Street bandits, for crying out loud," the bishop said of his bankers. St. Andrew's congregants will likely stay in the building for several more weeks while the bank seeks a buyer.

Though, as is to be expected, some of the people involved in the foreclosure process weren't so happy about what they had to do:

The transaction gave James C. Andrew, the auctioneer, some pause. He was married in the building in 1997 when it was a Catholic church and his two children had been baptized there. "I'll probably wind up with coal in my stocking for Christmas," he said.

Just another sign of how bad things are out there.