Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Many residents throughout the U.S. who are struggling to cope with tough economic times may not even have their neighborhood church to turn to for comfort, given the rate of foreclosures affecting the houses of God.
Like millions of Americans, church leaders last decade couldn’t resist taking advantage of loans offered by banks, in order to expand places of worship. And like many in their flock, church officials now are confronting the fear that they may lose their property to foreclosure.
Hard times for individuals has meant equally lean ones for churches that find themselves collecting fewer donations than before the recession, leaving them short on their monthly loan payments.
According to Reuters, foreclosure proceedings against churches have nearly tripled since December 2007, when the recession began, compared with the previous seven years. More than 100 churches have declared bankruptcy in the last year, and in some cities, the situation is dire.
Memphis reportedly has hundreds of churches fighting foreclosure, and Atlanta has about 200. Thousands of African-American churches across the country are in danger of foreclosure as well.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Special Report:Holy Bubble! Churches Struck Down by Foreclosures (by Tom Hals, Reuters)
Comments