Piety Hill Musings

The ramblings of the Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church of Detroit. Piety Hill refers to the old name for our neighborhood. The neighborhood has changed a great deal in the over 160 years we have been on this corner (but not our traditional biblical theology) and it is now known for the neighboring theatres, the professional baseball and football stadiums and new hockey/basketball arena.

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Location: Detroit, Michigan, United States

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Where has the Cathedral of Praise gone?

In the past 7 years or so I have been observing the adventures of The Cathedral of Praise Church. I notice as these local churches pop up and move around, and one that caught me eye these years has been this Cathedral of Praise.

I first noticed them when they were on Mack near the Chrysler Plant on Conner. The sign is still there - called Charlevoix Cathedral of Praise then.

They then became our neighbors at St. John's - they rented the old Unitarian Church up Woodward, the handsome brownstone building on the other side of the Crossroad housing complex and next to the former Presby Church, now the Ecumenical Seminary. It is here that I met a member, who was doing some construction, and got a chance to look in at the dilapitated building.

After a few months there, the moved up Jefferson Ave, into a former Church of God in Christ building near the Waterworks building. They were there at least a year.

They then rented the former St. Columba's Episcopal Church, further up Jefferson near the Grosse Pointe border. I remember from the Diocesan Council notes that we had troubles with them paying their rent.

Last Spring they rented a storefront on the corner of Alter and Kercheval. This is a former bar or bank, that had a short incarnation as a different storefront church - Word of Life.

By Christmas it looks as if this storefront is abandoned again.

Where has the Cathedral of Praise gone? And how do their members know how to find them when they move so often? And did any other landlord have rent collection problems?