Tuesday, January 20, 2009

ST. MARY'S FACILITY TO RETURN TO LIFE

An abbreviated version of a story from Sunday's Buffalo News....

Deal’s approval would resurrect Gasport church

ROYALTON — A closed Catholic church in Gasport could get a new life if a deal to sell the building is finalized. The Parish Council at St. John the Baptist in Lockport has accepted a bid from Hartland Bible Church to purchase the St. Mary Church building on West Avenue in Gasport. The building has been vacant since St. Mary’s merged with St. John the Baptist Church last year.

Hartland Bible Church has been looking for a new facility to replace its Johnson Creek Road church for several years and had considered constructing a new building, said the Rev. Lowell Gypson, pastor. The closure of St. Mary’s presented a new opportunity for the Hartland Bible congregation. If the sale goes through, the new location would allow Hartland Bible to more than double the attendance at its Sunday services, Gypson said. The St. Mary’s building can seat about 475. Hartland Bible is currently located in a smaller church that was built in the 1800s.

Gypson said the sale has not yet been finalized and church leaders do not know when they will be able to begin to hold services at the new location.

Source: http://www.buffalonews.com/lifearts/religion/story/553000.html