When a church is no longer a church

On Friday, January 6, 2017, Dave and I drove down to the former Rader Memorial United Methodist Church building. It was built in 1951 and in it's prime had hundreds of attendees every Sunday for two services. "We had to put chairs in the aisles on Easter!" was a familiar rallying cry, especially in 2006 when we had lost 2/3 of our membership to death or migration to other cities or churches. Hurricane Wilma and (as a result) tripled insurance costs forced us to make the decision to close and merge with Fulford UMC in North Miami Beach, FL. It wasn't a decision that any of us took lightly, especially those of us who voted in favor of closing. Having been born into that church in 1954, been married there in 1975, and returned several years later (1984) to become the minister of music (until closing), it hurt like no one could imagine.

I was vilified for my vote and people who I had loved and respected since childhood never spoke to me again. After we closed the property was sold to the Catholic Archdiocese, but never reopened as the Village of El Portal blocked them at every turn. They wanted to wall in the property for a sect of cloistered nuns. They were told no. They eventually sold to a Haitian congregation but that, too, was short lived. The property upkeep was horrific and in the intervening years the wires had been stripped by vagrants for their copper content. It closed again.

It has been sitting empty ever since. A year ago the property was purchased by a young-ish entrepreneur who hopes to use the building to house an arts community and a restaurant. It is to be called "The Sanctuary at El Portal" in deference to its original purpose. I was thrilled because it wasn't going to be torn down and replaced by something awful. But then you'll see in the photos how it looks now.

I took photos from the outside, and through the windows that were accessible. One window in the fellowship hall was broken so I carefully stuck my hand/camera in and took a few photos that way. I will try and caption each one as best I can. Some are nearly duplicates as I took some on my phone and some with my camera. I should also note that at our final service there in 2006 we had a formal de-comissioning as part of our service. Afterward, it was no longer considered a United Methodist Church. Also, had we not voted to close and held our ground the "church" could have come in, demanded our keys, and then closed it for us. As it was, we were able to keep the proceeds of the sale and eventually refurbish the entire education wing at Fulford UMC. I would like to think that the founders would be proud of us for carrying on their legacy.

Photo Album, Rader Memorial UMC 2017