For Sale by Auction

(with special conditions)

330-seat Church with Parsonage

Webster Street near Turner Ave.

 

Notice by Order of United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Shenandoah

 

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE:

 

​Exquisitely maintained historic church of gothic design and stone construction, built 1895 (the “Church Building”), and associated structures are being sold at auction under auspices of a Bankruptcy Trustee to satisfy judgment creditor in wrongful death claim.

 

Main sanctuary has a carved walnut altar and pews and seats 280. Separate chapel on the west side of the building seats an additional 50. Stained glass in the sanctuary and chapel were commissioned as part of original construction from Ernst Gerhardt & Co., Munich.

 

Basement in the Church Building houses a finished, 3,000 square foot fellowship hall with cafeteria tables and seating, and a fully equipped kitchen with newer appliances.

 

Attached to the church building (but predating it in construction) is an American Foursquare wooden frame parsonage (the “Parsonage”) with parish office and meeting rooms on the first floor. Fully furnished family living quarters are on the second and third floors. Sold complete with building contents; fixtures, linen, piano, chalices, books, and such, included in the sale.

 

Replacement roofs on the Church Building and Parsonage are constructed of Vermont slate and were installed 13 years ago. Gas furnace and electric air conditioning were replaced 6 years ago. Asbestos and lead have been fully abated from all structures with full “no further action” environmental certifications.

 

Known as the "Bethlehem Church" and colloquially as the “Hoosier Cathedral,” the properties subject to auction (collectively, the “Auctioned Properties”) are the founding structures and administrative seat of the United Episcopal Congregational Church, the 11th largest Protestant denomination in North America.

 

Shall be sold to the highest bidder by auction.

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Special Conditions

 

Sales proceeds after deduction of trustee fees and other costs of administration shall be applied for charitable purposes in satisfaction of the wrongful death judgment in Rodriguez v. Bethlehem E.C. Church, Hamilton County Superior Court, in accordance with agreement of the parties. Settlement of the underlying judgment claim, duly approved by this Bankruptcy Court and Trustee upon prior notice published to all parties, also carries the following special conditions, which shall be duly recorded in the Trustee’s Deed and to which the successful bidder and the Auctioned Properties shall be bound and subject to in perpetuity:

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1. The Auctioned Properties may never again be used for a religious purpose.

2. A lettered plaque constructed of durable materials shall be constructed, installed and continuously maintained on the exterior of the Church Building, immediately adjacent to the main public entrance, conspicuously bearing the following inscription:

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May these buildings be a solemn monument to the memory of Maria Rodriguez and her infant son, Manuel, from whose steps they were cast into a winter’s night.

Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy 10:19      

 SO ENTERED:              /s/        U.S. Bankruptcy Judge

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("For sale by auction" first appeared as a story by Eddie Roth in the 2021 edition of the River Bluff Review).

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