Congregants rally to save Fordham Church, get answers about closure
The Fordham Lutheran Church was shut down in June.
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Fordham congregants made some noise during a rally Friday to help save their church and also get some answers as to why it was closed.
The Fordham Lutheran Church was shut down in June. Members of the congregation are frustrated because they say they were told there was a way to keep the church open.
"We deserve dignity and respect. We deserve what we're not getting - God's love," says church council member Patricia Jewett. "Let's have an open dialogue. The community supports this church."
Officials at the Metropolitan New York SYNOD, which runs the church, say they needed to pull their funding because of what they called "administrative concerns and insurance hurdles."
Congregants say they were told the church could still stay open as long as they voted in favor of that plan, which they did in March. They say they even had plans to fund the church themselves and possibly share the space.
Members say on the day they were supposed to elect new church leaders they found the building locked. They say they've tried to reach out to SYNOD but haven't heard back.
They are now passing around a petition in hopes of at least getting a chance to have a conversation with SYNOD.
Congregants say the church's food pantry is still open.
