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Church Building On eBay
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The auction site eBay is a popular place to buy and sell clothes or computers, but a church? That was the hot ticket item recently, when some Indiana church members sold their unused building to raise funds for hurricane relief. Reed Galin has a report about how this real estate deal is doing good for those in other states. |
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SCRIPT:
(Locator: Redkey, Ind.)
It's a long way from the cornfields of Indiana to the Gulf Coast, but
members of a church in the small town of Redkey wanted to reach out and
help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The Rev. Randy Davis: "Compassion knows no distance."
The 7,000-square-foot North Meridian United Methodist Church was vacant
for nearly a year, after members merged with another congregation. The
locked doors started opening when one member suggested selling the
century-old building on eBay as a joke. But then the talk got serious.
Jeff Miller/Church Member: "We had to start it at a dollar. Otherwise,
people wouldn’t have thought we were serious."
For ten days, church members logged on to their computers, watching the
bidding rise.
The Rev. Randy Davis: "I couldn’t wait to get up in the morning and turn
it on. I would get up sometimes in the middle of the night, and there’s
just a great excitement about it all."
With its 29 stained-glass windows and bell tower, the church auction
became one of the most-watched items on eBay, with 81 bids.
Church members watch screen: "Amen. There it is. Alright." (Applause)
The final auction price: $40,600. The memories here are priceless.
Becky White/Church Member: "This was the church that my son was saved
in. And it turned his life around."
The Rev. Randy Davis: "Just the saints that have been here, and the good
times."
The unique fundraiser benefits the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
The Rev. Randy Davis: "We’ve learned just again how wonderful God is and
how we need to think out of the box, because He doesn’t live in a box."
TAG:
The winning bid for the church came from Douglas Fleck, a financial
consultant who lives in Stuart, Florida. Fleck wants to turn the church
building into a second home. He says he can sympathize with Katrina
survivors because he's been through three hurricanes himself in Florida
in the last 18 months.
For more details about this unusual story, see:
Indiana church raises Katrina funds by selling
building on eBay.
You can also contact
www.methodistrelief.org for more
information about helping those affected by the hurricanes.