Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Crystal Cathedral in Calif. Files for Bankruptcy; 10,000-Member Church Debt Exceeds $43 Million

The Huffington Post website reports today that Crystal Cathedral -- the megachurch birthplace of the televangelist show "Hour of Power" -- filed for bankruptcy yesterday (October 18, 2010) in Southern California after struggling to emerge from debt that exceeds $43 million.

In addition to a $36 million mortgage, the Orange County-based church owes $7.5 million to several hundred vendors for services ranging from advertising to the use of live animals in Easter and Christmas services.

"Tough times never last, every storm comes to an end," Sheila Schuller Coleman, the Cathedral's senior pastor and daughter of the founder, told reporters outside the church.

The 10,000-member church -- founded in the mid-1950s by the Rev. Robert Schuller, Sr. -- has already ordered major layoffs, cut the number of stations airing the "Hour of Power," and sold property to stay afloat.

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