I’ve posted previously about the copious problems facing the Schuller family and  California’s Crystal Cathedral .
…Now the financial pain has spread to vendors involved with the “Glory of Easter” and “Glory  of Christmas” pageants, elaborate productions that attract thousands of spectators.
“They simply quit paying us,” said Sharon Crabtree of Murrieta. “We’re all astounded by this.”
For 25 years, Crabtree said, she has designed props, decorated sets and provided wigs and special makeup for the productions. She said church officials have yet to provide an explanation regarding the nearly $20,000 owed to her.
“At the very least, we should have been treated with a little more respect,” she said.
Church spokesman John Charles could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon. But in January, he told The Times that the ministry was battered by the recession and suffering from declining television viewership and a drop in contributions from its aging congregation.
Kristina Oliver of Hemet has provided camels, donkeys and sheep for the Christmas play for about 14 years, as did her mother for a number of years before that.
Since January, Oliver said she’s been trying to collect $57,000 in back pay. “They weren’t telling me what was going on,” she said.
Finally, Oliver said, she received an e-mail several days ago from church officials saying that they would try to pay her sometime in the future when they reach financial stability. But vendors are not optimistic.
“It doesn’t look good,” Crabtree said.
LA Times via: Religion News Blog
Heh. Just goes to show that Corporate Christianity is subject to the same laws of mammon that the rest of the world is. What it really boils down to is every receipt-issuing church being a business that stands or falls on the almighty dollar. Such a weak god….