GRAND RAPIDS, MI: Grace Episcopal Church $1 Million+ Endowment Raided for Parish
GRAND RAPIDS, MI: Grace Episcopal Church $1 Million+ Endowment Fund Raided to Keep Parish Afloat
Parish faces immanent dissolution with no reserves
"Your band of rector worshippers [are] running Grace Episcopal Church into the ground and [are] using the Endowment to pay for it" - attorney Robert D. Brower
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
May 9, 2012
In what is being described as a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, the once largest, most powerful and influential parish in the Diocese of Western Michigan that was home to a US president and his wife, is now on the verge of coming apart with stories of a raided endowment fund to maintain the church, fleeing parishioners, a duplicitous priest and broken relationships that may never be healed.
Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, MI, once the flagship parish of the diocese (See VOL's story here:http://tinyurl.com/cpaewds), is now facing pending dissolution due to a $300,000 deficit sustained over the last two years.
To stay afloat, it has taken over the $1 million+ Endowment Fund, a fund set up by parishioners in 1991 for long-range purposes and not operational funds. At that time a group of Trustees was established to administer the Fund. Recently, the Trustees were abolished and replaced by the Vestry appointed by Bishop Robert Gepert. As a result, Grace Church has immediate access to funds that were previously untouchable.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
May 9, 2012
In what is being described as a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, the once largest, most powerful and influential parish in the Diocese of Western Michigan that was home to a US president and his wife, is now on the verge of coming apart with stories of a raided endowment fund to maintain the church, fleeing parishioners, a duplicitous priest and broken relationships that may never be healed.Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, MI, once the flagship parish of the diocese (See VOL's story here:http://tinyurl.com/cpaewds), is now facing pending dissolution due to a $300,000 deficit sustained over the last two years.
To stay afloat, it has taken over the $1 million+ Endowment Fund, a fund set up by parishioners in 1991 for long-range purposes and not operational funds. At that time a group of Trustees was established to administer the Fund. Recently, the Trustees were abolished and replaced by the Vestry appointed by Bishop Robert Gepert. As a result, Grace Church has immediate access to funds that were previously untouchable.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
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