From New Orleans-
Grace Episcopal Church, a fixture on Canal Street in Mid-City for nearly 60 years, will close next month, Episcopal Bishop Morris Thompson said Monday.
The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana hopes the closure is not permanent. It may be able to reopen the church in a year or so after rethinking its mission and gathering new resources, Thompson said.
Thompson said he informed Grace’s small congregation of his decision Dec. 4. He said there were fewer 15 people in the pews at one of the two services that morning.
A final “service of suspension” will be Jan. 5, he said.
Like other mainline Protestant congregations around Mid-City, Grace was in gradual decline when Hurricane Katrina delivered a hammer blow to the building and its little congregation.
At its peak in the 1950s the congregation numbered more than 1,000, said Betty Zachary, a lifelong member and volunteer who keeps the church going today.
Zachary said the congregation is financially stable. It owes no debt and enjoys steady rental income by leasing its fellowship hall to several contractors building the nearby Veterans Administration hospital.
More here-
http://www.nola.com/religion/index.ssf/2011/12/grace_episcopal_church_on_cana.html
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