The following message from the Congregation Council was shared during the announcements at our worship service on Sunday, August 10th. At our last congregation informational meeting on Sunday, July 13, 2025, we shared with the congregation that the sale of our property was progressing as expected and that we were actively investigating two very different options for where we would be moving in the near term: 1. Lease space from a local non-ELCA church and 2. Lease space from a commercial property. Since that meeting, we have been approached by the Sampson Morris Group, the intended buyer of our property, to investigate a third option which would potentially allow us to preserve a portion of our existing church building by moving it to a portion of our existing land that they do not intend to use. Most likely that would be in the parking lot area used by Golden Triangle, the contractor that is leasing space from us today. We do not know if this is truly possible and it will take up to 6 months to get a thorough enough proposal/feasibility study from which to make an informed decision. To facilitate the feasibility study, Sampson Morris Group, has sought an additional extension on the original due diligence period from 6 months to 12 months. The feasibility study will be at Sampson Morris Group’s expense.
In simplest terms, what has changed is this:
Our original Due Diligence Period commenced on February 12, 2025, and expires on February 12, 2026. This has not changed. In the original agreement, the buyer had the option to request a 6-month extension to August 12, 2026. This did change. The buyer now has the right to opt for an extension of 1 year, expiring February 12, 2027. The buyer must provide written notice to us on or before February 12, 2026 to enable the one-year extension. This extension was agreed to so the buyer can investigate the church building move near the parking area now leased to Golden Triangle Construction Company.
Here’s what this means for us and our plans for vacating the building:
- It is unlikely that we would be required to vacate the building before the feasibility study is completed – which could be up to six months from now. Assuming no other changes, we would anticipate that the earliest date to vacate would be February/March 2026 as opposed to the original September 2025. However, all dates are subject to change.
- We should be prepared to vacate in 2026 (specific date to be determined once we have more information) as vacating the building in any of the 3 scenarios must happen.
- We must actively continue a downsizing plan for our new space because in any scenario we will have less space in the future than we have today.
To be clear – the only thing that has changed in concrete terms is the timing of our move out and we’ve added a possible third option to where our new home may be. We don’t know yet whether this new option will be viable, but we believed that we owed it to you, our congregation, to consider it seriously while continuing to do the work of transition.
To that end, our Transition Work Stream Teams will need to carry on as outlined in the July meeting. We have some volunteers for the teams and are seeking more. The only thing that has changed is that the date when we must be out will be later than the “worst case scenario” of the original sales agreement with Sampson Morris. It is still necessary but timing is uncertain.
Your Congregation Council continues to work to find the most effective alternative for our future. We know that this will generate more questions – and while we may not have many new answers, we want to hear from you. If you have questions, please submit them using the “Ask the Council” forms that are available in the Narthex or contact the office. The Council and the Transition Team commit to informing you of any new developments.
