 Islamic symbol replaces cross after sale of PCUSA church Officials spurn offers from Christian groups By Gary Miller Special to The Layman Volume 39, Number 5 Posted November 27, 2006
That property consisted of a sanctuary building, office space, a fellowship hall and an educational wing. The congregation gained $350,000. Their asking price was the appraised value of $375,000. According to its co-pastor, Rev. Beth Sentell, they rejected two other offers. Both offers were from Christians. One buyer wanted to house an outreach program to the poor and homeless, the other needed space for worship and evangelistic outreach to the community. The pastor of the former First Church and the pastor of John Knox Church became co-pastors of Trinity Church. The pastor of First Church was, at the time, the moderator of the presbytery and the pastor of John Knox Church was then the acting stated clerk of Pines Presbytery. The presbytery voted to approve the Plan of Union brought by its stated clerk and moderator. Rev. Joe Hill, general presbyter, defended the actions of the congregation by citing the property exemption which was properly filed by both congregations in June of 1985. Hill says, “The two churches requested a merger, it was referred to the stated clerk and a final document was presented. I am not aware of any rubric that mandates presbytery involvement.” The Plan of Union, which resulted in the merger of these two congregations, was approved by the presbytery on October 9, 2004. It contained a declaration of their intent to dispose of their property. It reads, “The Trinity Presbyterian Church shall be housed in the facilities currently housing the John Knox Presbyterian Church. There shall be an intentional attempt to sell the facilities currently housing the First Presbyterian Church, with the proceeds of the sale becoming the property of Trinity Presbyterian Church. All property and assets of both churches shall become the property of Trinity Presbyterian Church.”
She and her husband, Dr. Web Sentell, have since attended a lecture on Islam at the former Presbyterian facility and they plan to invite the Islamic congregation and its imam to a church supper where the imam will field questions. Dr. Sentell said, “We worship the same God, the God of Abraham.” He claims the sale was part of God’s plan to help advance mutual respect. The imam has offered to teach him Arabic. Dr. Sentell, a psychologist working at Barksdale Air Force Base, is “seriously considering” his offer to learn the language of the Koran. Rev. J. Daniel Hignight is the co-pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church and the stated clerk for Pines Presbytery. Hignight conferred on several occasions with Mark Tammen, associate stated clerk of the Office of the General Assembly. Tammen guided him regarding the merger and confirmed that Trinity Church had the right to sell the property without presbytery’s approval. Hignight could not recall if he had mentioned to Tammen that the buyer was an Islamic Association. Hignight thought they could not legally refuse any offer on the basis of religion. He recounted a meeting with the imam where they agreed it was “providential” they came together as buyer and seller. When asked if he would ever seek to lead a member of the Islamic Society to Jesus Christ, Hignight said, “I don’t feel a particular need to convert them to Christianity.” He declared they are each “children of Abraham,” a view the 2006 General Assembly rejected. The spire of the former First Presbyterian Church of Bossier City, Louisiana once lifted high the cross. It now makes visible the symbol of the star and crescent which was once a central emblem of Islamic conquest. Gary Miller is the pastor of Minden (La.) Presbyterian Church, a Confessing Church congregation. |
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