Blakeney has received an additional, chilling detail to the story of Trinity Church in Montclair.
The parish had been borrowing money from the diocese in order to remain open, so the diocese did have the right to the parish down. However, according to an active parishoner, the Diocese gave the parish exactly one week's notice.
If this person's account is correct, the Diocese planned to simply shut the parish down, without any attempt to memorialize it or continue its ministries. The parish was a strong and faithful supporter of the North Porch, a shelter for battered women and their children, which is a charity of the Diocese, in company with several other Protestant churches.
We hope that other Trinity parishoners can corroborate this story, or provide more details. We can absolutely confirm that the whole thing occurred with indecent haste, and that the Diocese insisted on inventing a new procedure, in order to avoid a formal merger.
The current occupant of the former parish is Petra Baptist Church, who had previously rented the sanctuary from Trinity. We have been told, however, that the Diocese is planning to sell the building to a commercial developer. We'll be watching this one.
