Crystal Cathedral goes up for sale

(RNS) The Crystal Cathedral has announced plans to sell its iconic
glass-walled church in Southern California to pay back creditors and
overcome bankruptcy.

Senior Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman, daughter of founder Robert H.
Schuller, said the church will remain as a tenant and will have the
option to buy back some of church's campus in Garden Grove.

"We are thankful to the vendors for their patience and we are so
sorry for any pain that they have incurred," Schuller said in a
statement on Thursday (May 26).

The church campus is expected to be sold to an unnamed real estate
investment group with a 15-year leaseback plan. The megachurch known for
its `Hour of Power" television broadcast filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection from its creditors last October.

At the time of the filing, the church owed $7.5 million to
creditors, and has cut back staff, reduced airtime and halted its
extravagant holiday pageants.

Under the plan, the worship services and broadcasts are expected to
continue without interruption, the church said. The Crystal Cathedral
has been torn by controversy since the 2006 departure of Robert H.
Schuller as pastor.