ROCKAWAY TWP. Christ Church expects to begin holding two services on Sundays by the end of March in a 1,067-seat temporary sanctuary, church officials said Wednesday.
Originally scheduled to open in December, the sanctuarys debut was delayed as the church waited on a shipment of seats that arrived only recently, Christ Church chief operating officer Rupert A. Hayles Jr. said while touring site construction.
Hayles described the temporary sanctuary as nearly complete.
The only thing left is the lights need to be put in, said Hayles, as he guided a visitor toward the pastoral suite and other temporary sites including a fellowship hall where teenagers and children will attend Sunday services.
The township authorized building the temporary sanctuary as Christ Church awaits final state approvals for its mega-church plan, anchored by a 2,512-seat sanctuary, private elementary school and recreational facilities.
Pastor David Ireland, working Wednesday at the church site on 140 Green Pond Road, predicted that the full mega-church would open by March 2012.
Ireland, who founded Christ Church in Montclair in 1986 and oversaw its rise from a small congregation to more than 5,000 worshipers, said the temporary sanctuary will host Sunday services at either 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., or 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Christ Church also will continue holding services at its cathedral in Montclair four services on Sundays and a single Saturday service, Ireland said.
Ireland added that he will personally host four live weekly services, with the other three services conducted via videotape. He said it is possible that videotaped services will be offered in the Rockaway Township.
Though the church is not yet offering services and a guard is stationed in the parking lot, Ireland said that people are dropping by and expressing an interest in Christ Church.
We do have about ten visitors every day, said Ireland, who was named last Friday to the state Advisory Commission on Faith-Based Initiatives by Gov. Jon S. Corzine.
While the church has not divulged its projected construction cost, Ireland said Wednesday that it is halfway through a $12 million fundraising drive began in 2007. In 2003, Christ Church unveiled a separate, $14 million campaign aimed at paying for the mega-church.
Christ Church acquired the 107-acre, former Agilent Technologies site for $10.25 million in 2005.
The town planning board approved the mega-church in 2007, following more than three years of public hearings.
Something is very un-holy about the above statement. We are used to hearing about our Churches and Synagogues through people who hold titles like Father McDermott or Rabbi Cohen. COO (Chief Operating Officer) just shows that this un-holy affair is just a business.
In fact, paying homage to this business is a violation of the second commandment which says:
"Thou shalt have no other god before Me,"
I have to wonder if the stupid members of this orgainization will ever come to the realization that they are worshiping a business and not G-d and that it is tantamount to commiting a sin.
Nah!
Reverend Rat, Ph.d
(yes, I really do have those credentials {although in my real name} - - - what a hoot!). I am both a Ordained Minister and I have a Ph.d in Theology. Took me an hour on the internet to secure both titles.
