CHRONIQUE DE L'ISLAMISATION DES USA

From Episcopal church to Islamic center

Marcia Segelstein
- OneNewsNow Columnist
- 5/18/2010

Since 1879 the Church of the Good Shepherd stood at #74 Conklin Avenue in Binghamton, NY.

In February of this year, the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York sold the building to Imam Muhammad Affify.

The cross has been removed from the top of the bell tower, the red doors have been repainted green, a windowpane cross has been painted over, and all Christian symbols have been eradicated. That is symbolic in itself considering that the building now houses the Islamic Awareness Center.

But this isn't a story about a congregation that had dwindled down to nothing, leaving the Diocese no choice but to sell church property to the highest bidder. Quite the contrary.

In 2002, the Rev. Matt Kennedy and his wife, Anne, were assigned to take over Good Shepherd Episcopal Church. It was hardly a thriving place at the time, with a small, aging congregation. But over time, under Fr. Kennedy's leadership, the church grew. As he wrote on the church blog: "We'd finally begun to have some impact in the neighborhood, drawing people to church through our soup kitchen and block parties. Our weekly Bible studies were packed with new people and we were, shockingly to us, beginning to draw an increasing number of students from BU [Binghamton University]...by January 2009 Good Shepherd was healthier, younger, larger than she'd been in decades – and she was slowly, steadily, growing."

But as the church grew, so did a rift between the traditionally-minded congregation and priest of Good Shepherd and the hierarchy of the Episcopal Church. Like so many Episcopalians, Fr. Kennedy and his flock watched as the Episcopal Church slowly but surely slid into heresy, culminating in late 2003 with the consecration of a practicing homosexual bishop, Gene Robinson.

In 2007 Fr. Kennedy and other representatives from Good Shepherd met with their Bishop and explained why they felt they could no longer, in good conscience, remain in the Episcopal Church. Despite their theological differences, Fr. Kennedy describes their relationship with the Bishop as very positive. Good Shepherd offered to purchase the property for $150,000 in cash plus a large bequest. A verbal agreement was reached. Several more meetings were held throughout 2008 which were cordial and positive.

Then, as Fr. Kennedy told me, things suddenly changed. The verbal agreement to purchase the property was rejected, and they were slapped with a lawsuit by the Diocese. Even throughout that process, Fr. Kennedy explained, Church of the Good Shepherd made efforts to resolve the issue out of court. But to no avail.

On Thursday, January 8, 2009, the Diocese won its lawsuit allowing them to seize the church and all its property, including the rectory.

That first Sunday without a church building, the congregation worshipped in a nearby gym. On Monday, as Fr. Kennedy and his family were hastily packing, he got a call from a local Roman Catholic priest. As it turned out, two Roman Catholic parishes in the area had just been merged. Monsignor Michael Meaghar, priest-in-charge of the now combined parishes of St. John's and St. Andrew's, had heard that Fr. Kennedy and his family were being forced out of their home, what had been the rectory of Church of the Good Shepherd. He offered them the vacant rectory of St. Andrew's, and within 24 hours the Kennedys had the keys.

As Fr. Kennedy explained it, when the Monsignor made his generous offer to the Kennedy family (telling them they'd work the details out later), he didn't even realize the congregation was also in need of a home. By the following Sunday, Fr. Kennedy's congregation was worshipping at what had been St. Andrew's Catholic Church. They've since bought the building. According to Fr. Kennedy, their new property is four times the size of the old. Perhaps ironically, it's just over a mile and a half down the road, at #356 Conklin Avenue. The congregation continues to grow, currently numbering about 120 people, and they're now part of the Anglican Church of North America.

For the record, the Diocese of Central New York sold -- or perhaps sold out -- to the Imam for a mere $50,000. It is astonishing to note the lengths the Episcopal Church, under the leadership of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, went to in order to keep a "traditional" congregation from remaining in its buildings.

Thanks to them, #74 Conklin Avenue is no longer a house of Christian worship.

Thanks to some good Christian neighbors, Fr. Kennedy, his family and his congregation all have a home again, just down the road.

COPYRIGHT AMERICAN FAMILY NEWS NETWORK 2010

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