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Penn Hills church in Anglican Diocese abandons its building
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Another congregation in the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh has decided to abandon its building, saying that it couldn't meet the financial or ecclesiastical demands that the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh made during negotiations for the property.
On Oct. 2 the 104 members of All Saints Church in Penn Hills will begin holding services in nearby Rosedale United Methodist Church.
"We are a poor church. We made the best offer we could possibly make, given our financial resources. Our offer was rejected out of hand," said the Rev. David Rucker, the rector of All Saints, in a statement released by the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.
In addition to asking for more money than the parish could offer, he said, the Episcopal diocese wanted All Saints to disaffiliate from the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.
All Saints is the second parish in the Anglican diocese to abandon its property in the wake of a court decision on ownership of church assets after a 2008 diocesan split. Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph James awarded all centrally held diocesan property to the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, but said that there should be negotiations over parish property.
Rich Creehan, a spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, wouldn't confirm or deny any of the Anglican diocese's claims about the substance of negotiations, saying that the Episcopal diocese considered the process confidential.
He said, "there were back and forth attempts to find a solution. At no time did we force them into the decision that they've come to on their own."
First Published September 1, 2011 3:39 pm
