The donors and congregation are not amused

It appears that most of the donors, if not all, who gave money for the school project at St. Stephen's are unhappy about the malicious destruction of the little 1912 church. They were misled by St. Stephen's Pastor Wilifred Allen Faiella, who basically lied by omission.

Faiella and her money grubbing group called the little church so many names in the project plans, everything but what it was -- an old, strongly built piece of Miami history. They called it Soper Hall on the plans, so no one would realize what that was. The little church was named Soper Hall in honor of Father Soper who was St. Stephen's first Rector who served for 26 years, from 1915 until his death in 1941. I am sure Father Soper is spinning in his grave today.

The donors and most of the congregation are furious. Because of this, something may be in the works. There are now talks of rebuilding the little church. I don't understand how this will undo the destruction, but I am told that the 97 year old trusses are still there and they are quite strong, unlike what we were told earlier in the week by the desecrators, and that enough of the church is left to save it.

The old wall that surrounds the grounds is still standing in spite of the construction crew. That was only being saved for now to block out the spectators, otherwise, that would be long gone, too. The old Heart of the Grove store has caved in in parts, but the old columns from the early 1900s portico are still standing. Basically the 1912 structure is quite sound despite what was said.

I am told, but this is not confirmed, that church higher-ups are quite furious with the fools at St. Stephen's who allowed this, and they got involved. It's was not only a stupid thing to do, but it is now a public relations nightmare.

Donors want their money back, people are promising a boycott of everything St. Stephen's (including the upcoming Cabaret and next year's Arts Festival) and the other churches, like Plymouth Congregational, up the block, are reaping the rewards by gaining new congregants, who want historical places of worship who appreciate history and don't lie to them in the name of the almighty buck.

More to come.

Part of the on-going St. Stephen's saga