Seemingly forsaken, the mega-church Without Walls in Lakeland, Florida, has lain idle since at least August 2011. Its beautiful grounds with stands of majestic oaks with cascading beards of Spanish moss and its 14-story prayer tower overlook Lake Gibson. Originally the property was the home of retired members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, dedicated in 1928; that home was closed in 1976.
In 1985, the First Assembly of God Church built its huge sanctuary and named it Carpenters Home Church. It has a capacity for 9,000 people. Karl D. Strader was the founder and senior pastor. If services were held at full capacity, the sanctuary would rank among the eight largest churches in Florida.
The church's congregation split in two in 1989 and never again had a congregation large enough to fill the sanctuary. The church closed after attendance dwindled to 1,000, making it impossible to maintain its large facilities. A large part of the loss in membership has been attributed to a financial scam perpetrated by Karl Strader's son Daniel, who stole $3 million from investors, mostly from Carpenters Home members; Daniel was convicted in 1994 and is serving a 45-year term.
The remaining members of Carpenter's Home Church now meet in two smaller churches: Ignited Church pastored by Stephen R. Strader, Karl Strader's son, which built a new facility a mile north of the old building on US 98, and Auburndale Life Church, pastored by Karl Strader's son-in-law Shane Simmons, which is in neighboring Auburndale.
Without Walls International bought the property in 2005 for $8 million, renaming it Without Walls Central. The church struggled to attract a large congregation, and in 2008, Without Walls International put the sanctuary in Lakeland and another one in Tampa up for sale.
The mortgage holder, California-based Evangelical Christian Credit Union, began foreclosure proceedings later in 2005. It claimed that the church had defaulted on a $1 million line of credit. Without Walls reached a settlement with the credit union in 2009, thanks to the sale of two parcels to the City of Lakeland for $1.38 million.
Lakeland Electric discontinued electrical service to the property in August, 2011. At the time, Without Walls owed more than $50,000 in unpaid bills. Lakeland Electric applied the church's deposit of $51,180.
Information for this short history of the Carpenters Home Church was drawn from Wikipedia and the December 26, 2011, article in The Lakeland Ledger by Gary White. Read his update, Without Walls Faces Huge Challenges in Reviving Lakeland Site, from The Lakeland Ledger, December 12, 2012:
www.theledger.c...
The photographer of this video walked the property in November 2012 with a friend who said, "This is the loneliest place I've ever seen." Indeed, the abandoned church with its mildewed windows and its acres and acres of deteriorating parking areas impart an atmosphere of quiet desolation. It's as if nature is retaking the land; the quiet solitude of the place is stunning.
Soundtrack: Prelude to Rain by Vadim Kiselev, Pond5
Video and photography ©2012 by Johnson ArtWorks
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16 окт 2024
