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Last Schullers Leave Crystal Cathedral Leadership by Steve Eastman, Faith Issues It was a possibility Dr. Robert Schuller may never thought of until recently. This past weekend he and his wife Arvella announced they were stepping down from the church's board. She put it this way, "We cannot continue to serve on the Board in what has become an adversarial and negative atmosphere, especially since it now seems that it will not be ending anytime soon." The two had been disputing with the board over alleged copyright infringement and back pay for services, tied to bankruptcy issues. This puts the...

On Sunday, the Hour of Power television show opened with characteristic optimism, encouraging people who needed a lift to watch the program. But when Senior Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman began her sermon, she acknowledged that she doesn't always practice the positive thinking that she preaches. "For instance this past week, my attitude was a little down, a little negative," she told the congregation, "making life miserable for people around me, most of all moi, myself." Schuller Coleman is Robert Schuller's daughter, and she, along with the entire Schuller family, is cutting ties with the Crystal Cathedral. Robert Schuller founded the...

GARDEN GROVE (CBS) — The Rev. Robert H. Schuller and his wife, Arvella, have resigned from the board of the Crystal Cathedral, the mega-church he founded more than 55 years ago. Their resignations, announced Saturday “with great sadness,” come less than a week after three of their relatives – including a daughter – were ousted amid ongoing financial squabbles, declining donations and suspension of production on the church’s signature television program, “Hour of Power.” “We cannot continue to serve on the board in what has become an adversarial and negative atmosphere, especially since it now seems that it will not...

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller and his wife, Arvella, announced "with great sadness" their resignations Saturday from the Crystal Cathedral board of directors. "We cannot continue to serve on the Board in what has become an adversarial and negative atmosphere, especially since it now seems that it will not be ending anytime soon," Arvella Schuller was quoted as saying in a news release. Robert Schuller grew the ministry from a congregation that met in a drive-in theater in Orange in 1955 to a thriving megachurch that attracted thousands to its striking building in Garden Grove. Schuller's "Hour of Power" television...

The Diocese of Orange has closed on its purchase of the shimmering Crystal Cathedral and surrounding 31-acre grounds, putting the iconic building seen as a testament to televangelism in Catholic hands. The diocese said Friday that escrow proceedings had closed on its $57.5 million purchase of the property, which will become the site of a long-sought cathedral for Orange County’s nearly 1.3 million Catholics. ..“Our goal is to preserve an already cherished religious landmark and to enhance its worship use for Orange County Catholics and all people of faith who may be inspired by this wonderful, now Catholic, cathedral,” Bishop...

An email sent out to the Crystal Cathedral's congregation requested meals for founder Robert Schuller's wife, Arvella, who is sick with pneumonia. Crystal Cathderal Ministries, a glass-walled Orange County church known for its "Hour of Power" broadcasts, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Oct. 18. The Schullers, church administrators, have come under fire after court documents revealed they may have taken nearly $10 million from the church's endowment funds. The email sent by Pastor Jim Kok asked parishioners not to send cards, because church staff and the Schullers want to keep her illness "under the radar." "However, they would appreciate...

The bankrupt megachurch is to be sold to the Diocese of Orange.GARDEN GROVE – Crystal Cathedral's head pastor spoke optimistically about the future of her iconic megachurch at Sunday morning services, telling a congregation of about 400 that it was not too late to ask God to intervene and stop the church's impending sale to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. Senior Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman, the daughter of the church's founder, offered a prayer thanking God for "intentionally delaying" a miracle, and indicated that the bankrupt church would continue to pray and wait for God to reveal His final...

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County, California is buying Robert Schuller's celebrated Protestant Crystal Cathedral megachurch for $57.5 million, the LA Times reports. The spacious, light-filled house of worship is a "a monument of 20th century modernist architecture," the Times writes.

SANTA ANA, Calif., Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The Roman Catholic diocese of Orange County has promised to honor Robert Schuller's legacy if it acquires his Crystal Cathedral in Southern California. A bankruptcy judge is scheduled to decide on the future of the complex at a hearing Monday, The Orange County Register reported. At a hearing Wednesday, a lawyer for the diocese said it was adding $1.8 million to its offer for the cathedral, bringing the total to $55.4 million. The cathedral board has said it would prefer an offer by Chapman University, an institution affiliated with the Disciples of Christ....

Some members of a bankrupt Orange County, Calif. megachurch are expressing outrage after fielding an email request for congregants to deliver food to waiting limos so that it can ferried to the founder's sick wife. The appeal comes weeks after a lawsuit charged that the founder of the Crystal Cathedral house of worship, Rev. Robert Schuller, and his family had been paying themselves lavish salaries and other benefits while the church was in financial straits. "They've completely depleted the church's funds," one member, Bob Canfield, told the Orange County Register. "But they have shown that they have absolutely no remorse...

Chapman University has increased its offer to purchase the 40-acre Crystal Cathedral property by $1.5 million, taking the total offer to $51.5 million. The university also has the blessing of the church's creditors committee, which in court documents filed Monday named Chapman as the preferred buyer. In addition, the university was selected over the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange by the cathedral's board, despite the diocese's higher offer of $53.6 million. The Chapman offer includes a 15-year leaseback and buyback option that would allow the cathedral to continue its ministry and iconic "Hour of Power" broadcasts, which have a worldwide...

Crystal Cathedral Ministries has chosen Chapman University to purchase its 40-acre Garden Grove, Calif., property as the megachurch tries to pull out of an estimated $50 million debt. Chapman was among several interested buyers, which included Hobby Lobby and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. The university, which offered $50 million for the campus, will reportedly allow Crystal Cathedral to "continue serving its mission," by letting it lease, and eventually buy back its core buildings, The Los Angeles Times reported. “Chapman University is pleased and honored by the Crystal Cathedral Ministry Board’s decision to select the University as the buyer...

Leaders of Crystal Cathedral have announced that selling the California church, laden with nearly $50 million in debt, is no longer an option and say they believe that God is going to turn the church’s situation around for good. Surprising even church founder Robert H. Schuller, Crystal Cathedral Ministries Board Member Walt Kallestad revealed Sunday that church leaders had done a one-eighty, deciding that the Orange County church “is not for sale” after all, no matter what the Creditors Committee tasked with settling the church's debt have in mind. The Creditors Committee is responsible for ensuring that Crystal Cathedral's debt...

Leaders of Crystal Cathedral have announced that selling the California church, laden with nearly $50 million in debt, is no longer an option and say they believe that God is going to turn the church’s situation around for good. Surprising even church founder Robert H. Schuller, Crystal Cathedral Ministries Board Member Walt Kallestad revealed Sunday that church leaders had done a one-eighty, deciding that the Orange County church “is not for sale” after all, no matter what the Creditors Committee tasked with settling the church's debt have in mind. The Creditors Committee is responsible for ensuring that Crystal Cathedral's debt...

Apparently it could happen, according to Spero News:The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange (Calif.) has made an offer to purchase the iconic Crystal Cathedral, built by evangelical personality Rev. Robert H. Schuller.  The $50 million offer could pull the megachurch out of bankruptcy by the end of 2011.  ...Calling it a "pragmatic alternative to construction of a new cathedral, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange has submitted a formal bid for the Crystal Cathedral, adjacent campus property, buildings and memorial grounds,” said Catholic Bishop Tod D. Brown of Orange in a July 22 statement. After the Crystal Cathedral Ministries Board of Directors reviews...

Concern over keeping Southern California’s Crystal Cathedral as part of the “liturgical landscape” has the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County considering the purchase of the church property. The announcement from the diocese came around the same time that Chapman University, an Orange County, Calif. college, offered $46 million for the landmark church that hosted the Rev. Robert H. Shuller’s “Hour of Power.” Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which has its roots in the Protestant denomination, has been looking for an exit strategy from its debt of tens of millions of dollars ever since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last October....

The Crystal Cathedral, Orange County’s landmark megachurch, now faces an online petition launched by senior members alleging nepotism and a doctrinal shift by founder Robert H. Schuller’s daughters. “It is time to rise up and take our church back!” says the petition, soliciting signatures of Crystal Cathedral members, former members, friends and viewers of Schuller’s Hour of Power weekly show. The petition, which had received over 330 signatures as of Sunday, seeks “a truly independent board,” meaning “no family member, no paid staff, and no paid contractors.” The board of trustees of the Crystal Cathedral currently includes salaried employees apart...

The two lines begin forming outside the Crystal Cathedral before 9 on Sunday mornings. It is a mostly immigrant crowd - Mexicans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, among others - and they stand patiently, unfurling umbrellas against the sun. When the doors open for the 9:30 English-language service, the lines don't budge. It isn't for a lack of seats inside - so few people are there that cameramen have trouble finding crowd shots for the "Hour of Power" television program, which has been broadcast from the Garden Grove megachurch since 1970.

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller has been ousted from Crystal Cathedral Ministries, the Ocean County Register reports. Schuller, 84, who began his ministry in an Orange, Calif., drive-in theater more than 50 years ago, was voted off the board of the Crystal Ministries, which has been plagued by financial problems and familial discord, according to the paper. Schuller’s son, who was forced from the board three years ago, says his father wanted to enlarge the board, a move that did not sit well with others. "It's a very sad day and unfortunately, I know how that feels," the younger Schuller...

GARDEN GROVE – The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, who started his ministry in an Orange drive-in theater more than five decades ago, has been voted off the board of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which has been torn apart by debt and familial disharmony for the last several years. The church has not released information about the board meeting where Schuller, 84, was ousted, but his son Robert A. Schuller, who was himself forced out of the cathedral by his sisters and brothers-in-law three years ago, confirmed it Sunday. He said his father wanted to enlarge the board, which was not received...

GARDEN GROVE – The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, who started his ministry in an Orange drive-in theater more than five decades ago, has been voted off the board of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which has been torn apart by debt and familial disharmony for the last several years. The church has not released information about the board meeting where Schuller, 84, was ousted, but his son Robert A. Schuller, who was himself forced out of the cathedral by his sisters and brothers-in-law three years ago, confirmed it Sunday. `He said his father wanted to enlarge the board, which was not received...

The Crystal Cathedral, seeking a way to resolve its debt woes, will sell its church and 40-acre campus for $46 million to an Orange County developer, according to the federal bankruptcy plan filed Friday. Greenlaw Partners of Newport Beach will buy the property in Garden Grove, Calif., and plans to build apartments on the land, the Chapter 11 exit plan filed at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana disclosed. The real estate developer will lease the property back to Crystal Cathedral for $212,000 a month and guarantee exclusive lease rights for 15 years, according to the reorganization plan. The church...

The Crystal Cathedral is being put on the market as the church seeks a way out of its crippling debt. The Orange County church is hoping the sale of its imposing glass building will generate enough revenue to save it from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and make good with some 550 creditors. It has been looking for an exit strategy from its financial woes ever since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last October. The reorganization plan includes the sale of the 40-acre campus to a real estate group with a guaranteed option of leasing it back for 15 years. After...

GARDEN GROVE Crystal Cathedral Ministries will sell its gleaming glass sanctuary and tower that have been an Orange County landmark for decades as a way to emerge from bankruptcy, pay its creditors and erase its $36 million mortgage, officials said Thursday. The church plans to sell the campus to a real estate investment group with a guaranteed 15-year leaseback and an exclusive four-year, fixed purchase buyback option on the core church campus, which includes the iconic glass sanctuary and Tower of Hope, according to a news release posted on the church's website. Marc Winthrop, the attorney representing the cathedral in...

On 18 October 2010, Southern California's landmark Crystal Cathedral, the prototype of all late 20th Century American Megachurches, filed for bankruptcy. I drove up the following Sunday to get a look at the place while it was still in operation. The Crystal Cathedral proper, a spectacular glass structure designed by Philip Johnson and completed in 1980, dominates a landscaped campus that includes the congregation's original church building, designed by Richard Neutra, Richard Meier's "Welcoming Center", and a variety of other buildings, reflecting pools and religiously themed statuary. A German tourist prevailed on me to take a picture of him and...

The news that the Crystal Cathedral had filed for bankruptcy protection made for an instant sensation. The church established by Robert Schuller, the very prophet of “Possibility Thinking,” was now forced to seek protection from its creditors, listing $55 million in debt, including a $36 million mortgage. The Los Angeles Times ran “Cracked Crystal” as a headline. The New York Times reported that the “landmark megachurch” would continue, even as it sought protection from its impatient creditors. From coast to coast, the news traveled fast. A statement posted on the church’s website dated October 18 was titled, “A New Chapter...

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – Crystal Cathedral, the megachurch birthplace of the televangelist show "Hour of Power," filed for bankruptcy Monday in Southern California after struggling to emerge from debt that exceeds $43 million. In addition to a $36 million mortgage, the Orange County-based church owes $7.5 million to several hundred vendors for services ranging from advertising to the use of live animals in Easter and Christmas services. The church had been negotiating a repayment plan with vendors, but several filed lawsuits seeking quicker payment, which prompted a coalition formed by creditors to fall apart. "Tough times never last, every storm...

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, founder of Southern California's Crystal Cathedral megachurch and host of the "Hour of Power" televangelism broadcast, announced Sunday he will retire after 55 years in the pulpit and his daughter will take over. The 83-year-old Schuller told his congregation that Sheila Schuller Coleman will become sole lead pastor, after sharing that role with her father for the past year. Coleman previously served as principal of a private Christian school run by the cathedral and head of the Orange County church's family ministries division. She was ordained just a month before she...

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, founder of Southern California's Crystal Cathedral megachurch and host of the "Hour of Power" televangelism broadcast, announced Sunday he will retire after 55 years in the pulpit and his daughter will take over. The 83-year-old Schuller told his congregation that Sheila Schuller Coleman will become sole lead pastor, after sharing that role with her father for the past year. Coleman previously served as principal of a private Christian school run by the cathedral and head of the Orange County church's family ministries division.

Mark Driscoll, the pastor of Seattle-based Mars Hill Church, will preach at the famed Crystal Cathedral in Southern California Sunday, June 14, and will appear on the “Hour of Power.” Crystal Cathedral is home to the Rev. Robert Schuller and his successful television ministry but has seen some decline in size and influence in recent years. Financial difficulties have caused the church to lay off staff and sell office space. Mars Hill, on the other hand, is among America’s booming churches. Driscoll preaches a “masculine” form of Calvinist theology that emphasizes the toughness of Jesus and Christianity. He also regularly...

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – A man shot and killed himself in front of a cross inside televangelist Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral on Wednesday as a nearby volunteer told a group of visitors about the church's suicide-prevention program, police and church officials said. The man handed a note and his driver's license to two ushers, walked to the cross and then shot himself in the head as he appeared to be praying, Senior Pastor Juan Carlos Ortiz said. The Orange County coroner's office identified the man as Steve Smick, 48. Church spokesman Mike Nason said there was no record of...

Man kills himself in Schuller's Crystal Cathedral The body of an apparent suicide victim is loaded into a coroner's van at televangelist Robert H. Schuller's … GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – A man shot and killed himself in front of a cross inside televangelist Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral on Wednesday, police and church officials said. The man handed a note and his driver's license to two ushers, walked to the cross and then shot himself in the head as he appeared to be praying, Senior Pastor Juan Carlos Ortiz said. The man's identity was not released, but police Lt. Dennis...

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Once one of the most popular televangelists in the U.S., the Rev. Robert H. Schuller is watching his life's work crumble.His son and recent successor, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, has abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. The shimmering, glass-walled megachurch in Southern California is home to the "Hour of Power" broadcast, an evangelism staple that has been on the air worldwide for more than three decades.The church is in financial turmoil: It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County property to pay off debt. Revenue dropped by...

Televangelism empire in chaos over family split By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer Saturday, January 31, 2009 Once one of the nation's most popular televangelists, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller is watching his life's work crumble. His son and recent successor, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, has abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. The shimmering, glass-walled megachurch is home to the "Hour of Power" broadcast, an evangelism staple that's been on the air for more than three decades. The church is in financial turmoil: It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County...

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. A tagger etched the characters "B1R" with a sharp tool on 11 glass and granite surfaces at the Crystal Cathedral, causing about $30,000 in damage to the Garden Grove landmark, officials said Tuesday. Police were called to the cathedral at 12141 Lewis St. Monday to investigate defaced areas including glass walls of the original chapel and prayer room, granite areas of floors and the memorial wall, said Garden Grove police Lt. Travis Whitman. Police said the damage occurred sometime between Friday and Saturday nights, Whitman said. The damage consists of the etched characters B1R, and initial investigation...

Jan 2, 5:18 AM EST Schuller's Son to Run Crystal Cathedral GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (AP) -- The Crystal Cathedral didn't have to look far to find its next senior pastor. Robert H. Schuller, head of the famed all-glass church southeast of Los Angeles, told his congregation Sunday that his son, Robert A. Schuller, will succeed him. As founding pastor of the church, the elder Schuller, now 79, is considered one of the most influential religious leaders in the country. He plans to remain chairman of the board of international ministries and stay active in the church. Robert A. Schuller, 51,...

A new Islamic advocacy group in Boca Raton is under scrutiny for its ties to William W. Baker, a former chairman of the neo-Nazi political party of presidential candidate David Duke who was run out of town last year when he attempted to speak at Florida Atlantic University. Local Jewish and civic leaders said Friday they were alarmed that the Assadiq Islamic Education Foundation, whose headquarters are listed at 831 E. Palmetto Park Road in Boca, had invited Baker back to Boca as featured speaker at an April 30 banquet at the Boca Marriott. Invited by Muslim students to speak...

... Johnnie Carl, 57, shot himself to death in the pre-dawn hours Friday in a basement bathroom, leaving behind both the manic-depression that tortured him but also the church, community and family that adored him. "He was such an incredible, caring person," Linda Carl said Friday, her words fighting her tears. "He never felt he was worthy of all the praise he got. He would be totally amazed and disbelieving of what people are saying about him now." ...[snip]Carl spoke openly about his illness, according to friends and colleagues, many of whom expressed sadness - but not surprise - at...

Here is a sad UPDATE, from www.crystalcathedral.org: Press Release Friday, December 17, 2004 Garden Grove, California Dr. & Mrs. Robert H. Schuller are deeply saddened this morning to learn that Crystal Cathedral Orchestra conductor, Johnnie Carl, 57 years old, has taken his life. Mr. Carl has been in the employment of the Crystal Cathedral for nearly 30 years and is internationally renowned as a conductor and as a composer and arranger of over 3,500 musical pieces. “Johnnie was a beloved member of our church family and close personal friend,” said Dr. Schuller. “He was a creative genius whose beautiful arrangements...

Gorbachev and GodIn visit to the Crystal Cathedral, former Soviet leader won't say he doesn't believe.By David Neff | posted 10/20/00 In a broadcast to be aired Sunday, October 22, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev talks with veteran religious broadcaster Robert Schuller for nearly 30 minutes about religious freedom, human dignity, and the presence of Christian belief in his childhood home. He also reminisces about the end of the Cold War and the beginnings of perestroika for the Hour of Power broadcast taped last Sunday before 4,500 people at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.Speaking through a translator, a...

Report: Shots Fired In Crystal Cathedral GARDEN GROVE — A gunman fired shots inside the Crystal Cathedral on Thursday, police said, but it wasn't immediately known if anyone was injured. The shooting happened about 4:45 p.m., said police Lt. Paul Prince. He said people within the cathedral grounds in Orange County were able to leave unharmed. The gunman, meanwhile, was believed to be loose somewhere on the cathedral grounds. Police quickly sealed off the area "It is a fluid situation. We have officers on scene," Prince said. The shooting took place shortly before two scheduled presentations of the world-famous cathedral's...