Brooklawn School Superintendent John Kellmayer has a simple wish list for his crowded, one-building Camden County district: more space.

Kellmayer hopes that he has made a strong-enough case to persuade voters Tuesday to approve a $1.9 million bond proposal to convert a nearby former Catholic church into a middle school.

The district spends thousands of dollars annually to send its special-education students outside the district because it has no space. At Alice Costello Elementary School, a classroom is inside the gym. The art and music programs share a classroom, and music lessons are taught on the stage.

"We're basically out of room," Kellmayer said.

The district enrolls about 360 students, compared with 222 in the 2000-01 school year.

If the bond is approved, the district would buy the vacant St. Maurice Church and rectory. Both would be renovated and house five classrooms, small-group instructional areas, and office space.

"We just see it as a win-win situation for the school, the community, and, frankly, for the church," Kellmayer said. "It's a great opportunity."

In March, voters rejected a similar proposal by 12 votes. But that proposal did not include state assistance, Kellmayer said.

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Brooklawn to vote on bond to convert church into school

By Joel Schipper, Reporter Last Updated: Monday, January 27, 2014, 5:47 PM ORLANDO --

An Orange County church said they are not happy with what the city of Orlando says the house of worship is worth.

Now the city says they are ready and now have the option to take legal action if needed.

Faith Deliverance Temple, located at 625 W. Church St., is in the middle of property the city is going to buy to place a new soccer stadium.

The church property is valued around $700,000. The city has offered to pay $1.5 million.

While that may seem like a tempting offer, the church isnt budging. Instead, members said the city should pay $40 million, which is up from the initial counter offer of $35 million.

The city voted Monday to approve taking action of eminent domain, which would allow a city or government to legally buy a property for what it is value if the property would be for public use.

Its a public use, absolutely, said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. It would house many different events.

Eminent domain lawyer Stumpy Harris said the church should take the offer.

Double the offer is a pretty good deal, Harris said. Double the appraiser but then I would have to know what my appraiser says. If he says about the same thing, then thats a good deal.

Continued here:
Church battling city of Orlando over land for new soccer stadium

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January 26, 2014|11:02 am

A constructions crew was preparing to demolish a California church last week when it uncovered a piece of history a time capsule from 1948.

The box, which is made of copper and was soldered shut, was discovered behind the cornerstone at St. Paul's Church in Berkeley, Calif., according to Berkeleyside. It was found after developer Bill Schrader Jr. told his construction crew to save the cornerstone so it could be included as part of the new apartment building that will be constructed on the site.

Instead of opening the box himself, Schrader gave it to Leonard Nielson of the Presbytery of San Francisco, the organization that previously owned the church. Nielson, who serves as the pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in San Leandro, also works with other churches in the presbytery and oversaw the sale of St. Paul's.

Nielson openedthe time capsule on Monday. Inside were, among other things, a Bible from 1875, programs from the church's groundbreaking ceremony in 1948 and a brief history of the founding of the church.

The box also contained fliers from the temperance movement that were written by the church's founding pastor, Frank Shunk Downs. In addition to leading the church, Downs also served as the president of the California Temperance League.

Nielson says the church was probably built by people who settled down in Berkeley after World War II, and at the time it wasn't uncommon for people from the community to gather together to construct their own church building with the presbytery's financial support.

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"It's a story about a particular time that doesn't exist anymore, how people lived in neighborhoods," Nielson told Berkeleyside. "The church was a big social connection in those days. You can look at the time capsule and realize the whole story of how that little teeny church got started. These little churches were built with enthusiasm and a very, very local connection."

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1948 Time Capsule Discovered in Calif. Church Before Demolition; 1875 Bible Found Inside

The number of total permits issued by the citys building department took a jump last year compared to the previous year.

There were 282 permits issued in 2013 for an estimated construction cost of $20,055,450. That is compared to 217 issued in 2012.

There has been growth in the number of permits issued since 2009, according to information issued by the building department.

In 2010 there were 186 permits issued, and 188 permits issued in 2011.

Of the permits issued in 2013, 26 of them were for single-family homes with an estimated construction cost of $3,703,220.

That is up slightly from 2012 when there were 22 of those permits issued.

There has been a major increase in the number of single-family attached home permits from 2012 to 2013. There were 83 permits issued last year, which is up 53 from the previous year.

Single-family attached permits include apartments and duplexes. The estimated construction value is $7,734,870.

Community Development Director Joseph Graves said more rooftops bodes well for attracting retail and industrial developments.

The city of Union continues to be the fastest-growing community in Franklin County, Graves said. I believe that is due to the proximity to the interstate, low real estate costs and the superb quality of life.

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Residential Permits In Union on the Rise

Mega construction minecraft (Church)
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By: Andrea Rossi

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Mega construction minecraft (Church) - Video

CLARKSVILLE, mo.

When Kirk and Mary Ostertag first saw the inside of the church, vines were growing through the windows, water was leaking in and it smelled of mildew. It was like a scene from Jumanji, the movie, Mary Ostertag said. But my husband and I looked at each other, and we just smiled. We fell in love with it.

At the time, Grace Episcopal Church had been vacant for three years. It closed after the congregation dwindled to four and had been on the market for $115,000.

The couple, who were living in Ladue, looked at property in Clarksville a decade earlier. Kirk Ostertag, a contractor, was interested in the architectural history, and Mary Ostertag, a painter, in joining the artist community there.

But the timing hadnt been right. Their children, Tom and Kari, were still in school, and they were concerned about the potential for flooding in the tiny Mississippi River town of 442.

Things were different in 2011. Their children were grown. The church, at the corner of Howard and Third streets, was out of the flood plain. And despite its deterioration, the place had good bones.

A lot of the water issues were because of deferred maintenance, Mary Ostertag said. They werent cleaning the gutters out, but its got a great drainage system.

When the Ostertags closed on the property about eight months later, they painted over the robins egg blue walls and pulled out the 22 pews. The former sanctuary is now one big room with several sitting areas and an artists studio. They converted the lower level what had been the meeting hall into their bedroom.

Theyve lived in the home full time for about seven months. They declined to disclose the sales price or the cost of their year-long renovations.

The church was established in 1869, but the current structure didnt go up until 1940. Dr. Malvern Clopton, a St. Louis surgeon with strong ties to Clarksville and the Episcopal church, paid for its construction.

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Old Episcopal church is now home for former Ladue couple

Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered intricate mosaics on the floor of a 1,500-year-old Byzantine church, including one that bears a Christogram surrounded by birds.

The ruins were discovered during a salvage excavation ahead of a construction project in Aluma, a village about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Tel Aviv, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Wednesday (Jan. 22). Excavator Davida Eisenberg Degen said the team used an industrial digger to probe a mound at the site, and through a 10-foot (3 meters) hole, they could see the white tiles of an ancient mosaic.

Much of the church was revealed during excavations over the past month. The basilica was part of a local Byzantine settlement, but the archaeologists suspect it also served as a center of Christian worship for neighboring communities because it was next to the main road running between the ancient seaport city of Ashkelon in the west and Beit Guvrin and Jerusalem in the east. [See Images of a Byzantine Mosaic Discovered in Israel]

"Usually a Byzantine village had a church, but the size of this church and its placement on the road makes it more important," Degen told LiveScience.

Remarkable finds

The excavators plan to keep working on the site for another week, but one of the most remarkable finds so far was a mosaic containing a Christogram, or a "type of monogram of the name of Jesus," Degen said.

At the time, Byzantine Christians wouldn't have put crosses on their mosaic floors so as to not step on the symbol of Christ, Degen explained.

The Christogram in the mosaic may look like a cross, but it's actually more like a "chi rho" symbol, which puts together the first two captial letters in the Greek word for Christ, and often looks like an X superimposed on a P.

There is an alpha and omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet) on either side of the chi rho, which is another Christian symbol, as Christ was often described as the ""the beginning and the end."

Four birds also decorate the mosaic, and two of them are holding up a wreath to the top of the chi rho.

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Symbol of Jesus Graced Ancient Church Mosaic in Israel

Cosmic Log

Alan Boyle, Science Editor NBC News

12 hours ago

Jim Hollander / EPA

Davida Eisenberg-Degen, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority, shows Greek letters and a decorated "Christogram" that are part of a mosaic from a Byzantine-era church uncovered in Moshav Aluma, Israel. Stylized birds appear to be lifting the cross from the floor.

A 1,500-year-old mosaic floor with colorful images of animals, botanical and geometrical designs has been brought to light during the excavation of a Byzantine-era Christian church in southern Israel.

"The church probably served as a center of Christian worship for the neighboring communities," the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a news release about the find, issued Wednesday. The floor and other remains of the basilica were found over the past three months during preparations for the construction of a new neighborhood at Moshav Aluma, the agency said.

The church was part of a major Byzantine settlement located next to the main road running between Ashkelon on Israel's Mediterranean coast and Jerusalem to the east. Previous excavations along the road had found traces of other communities from the same period, but no churches.

The mosaic that was in the church's main hall features 40 decorative medallions. Some of the medallions depict animals including a zebra, a leopard, a turtle, a wild boar and various types of birds. Three medallions contain Greek inscriptions that commemorate two church leaders named Demetrios and Herakles.

Archaeologist Daniel Varga said another mosaic features "a 12-row dedicatory inscription in Greek containing the names Mary and Jesus, and the name of the person who funded the mosaic's construction." Inside a pottery workshop, archaeologists found jars, cooking pots, bowls and oil lamps.

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Marvelous mosaics revealed inside 1,500-year-old church in Israel

A 1,500-year-old church complete with a sophisticated mosaic was uncovered by archaeologists in southern Israel.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) say the Byzantine-era structure "probably served as a center of Christian worship for neighboring communities."

The discovery was made during a routine salvage excavation conducted by the IAA prior to the construction of a new neighborhood in the area.

The building is approximately 72 feet long by 40 feet wide and consists of a central hall with two side aisles divided by marble pillars. An open courtyard at the front of the structure is paved with a white mosaic floor and a cistern.

Directly off of the courtyard is a rectangular hall with another more intricate mosaic floor with colored geometric designs.

Including among the finds are five inscriptions, one of which mentions Mary and Jesus.

"At its center, opposite the entrance to the main hall, is a twelve-row dedicatory inscription in Greek containing the names Mary and Jesus, and the name of the person who funded the mosaic's construction," archaeologist Daniel Varga said in a press release.

The main hall has a mosaic with depictions of a variety of animals including zebra, leopard, turtle and wild boar. The designs also include Christian symbols.

Archaeologists also discovered glass vessels, oil lamps, amphorae, cooking pots, kraters, and bowls. These finds "indicate a rich and flourishing local culture" during the Byzantine period.

In order to preserve the site, it will be covered with dirt and the IAA is making plans to remove the mosaic floors to be put on display.

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Byzantine church uncovered

A bible from the 1800s and anti-liquor pamphlets were among the contents of a time capsule found in Berkeley last week. Photo: Leonard Nielson

A time capsule discovered last week during the demolition of a Berkeley community church included a carefully wrapped 1875 family bible from one of the churchs founding members, newspaper articles about the church groundbreaking in 1948, and several other related records, such as a church history and roster, published sermons related to the founding pastor, and an architectural flier about the building. Several pro-temperance fliers written by the pastor, seemingly in support of an election coming up around the time of the churchs construction, were also among the contents.

Pastor Leonard Nielson, of the San FranciscoPresbytery which is based in Berkeley, oversees about 77 Bay Area churches, and was the former property owner of the church opened the time capsule Monday after it was given to him by developer William Schrader Jr. Schrader is constructing a new apartment building on the site ofSt. Pauls Church, at2024 Durant Ave., where the time capsule was discovered by construction workers last week.

Schrader has plans to put the box, with modern contents, back into the new Durant apartment building behind its original cornerstone from the church.

Have ideas for what to include in the new time capsule? Share them in the comments section below. Schrader says he will consider all suggestions.

In addition to the reburial of the time capsule, Schrader said he plans to install the historic church cornerstone on the site of the new apartments. He also plans to incorporate the churchs large copper steeple as public art, part of the landscaping on the property. He hopes those efforts will serve as a way to help carry some of the past forward, he said.

Ijust think you should connect the past to the future if you can do it somehow, he said. That building didnt have anything really distinctive other than this beautiful copper steeple. I dont want to just sell it and see it get melted down.

The copper box, measuring 10 inches long by 8 inches wide and 8 inches tall, had been soldered shut to be completely air- and watertight, said Nielson. He took the box home and opened it carefully so as not to damage it, he said.

In addition to the items described above, Nielson said the box also includeda 1926 book of government for the denomination, a bulleted short historyfrom the churchs founding in 1945 until its groundbreaking in 1948, bylaws of its incorporation, and some programs from the groundbreaking ceremony itself, which mentions the time capsule and its contents.

Its all just a bit of local history, he said, via email. Very homey.

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Berkeley time capsule contents unveiled: historic bible, anti-liquor pamphlets, more