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Diocesan news briefs

ESS building valued at $1.3 million
Episcopal Social Services will get $1.3 million for its building in downtown Wichita, thanks to a ruling Feb. 2 by a court-appointed panel of three appraisers. That is more than twice the initial offer of $500,000 made by Sedgwick County to clear the property to make way for a sports and entertainment arena. ESS rejected that offer, saying it would cost at least twice that to find a suitable replacement location for the social service agency.

That price dispute sent the matter to the courts, and the appraiser panel was appointed by a Sedgwick County judge to decide the fair market value of the property. After hearing from ESS and the county, the panel decided on the $1.3 million price.

That was good news to Sandra Lyon, the agency’s executive director. Now she can turn her attention to moving the agency to an interim location and looking ahead to long-range plans. ESS already is working to purchase a new building not far from its current location. The new facility is much smaller, but Lyon said the price was right and offers much of what they need in a new home, especially ample volunteer parking and a location right on the bus route for easier access for clients.

Staff members will have to really squeeze to fit into the new space, but Lyon said it should work for the two years or so ESS likely will be there. By then she hopes the agency has raised enough money through a capital fundraising campaign to either construct a new building or buy a larger existing one and refurbish it.

Out of the $1.3 million it gets from the county, ESS will have to pay costs associated with its court fight, but Lyon said they should end up with enough to make a sizable start on a fundraising effort. She said the county hasn’t given the agency a deadline to vacate the property it has occupied since 1988, but she thinks it will be soon.

The move will be hard on staff and clients alike, but Lyon said she is relieved to have the matter settled so ESS staff can spend their energy providing services to the poor. “We had the best outcome possible,” she said. “It has been a hard journey.”

Wichita church sold to art school
The former St. Alban’s church in Wichita has been sold to a group that plans to use it as the site for an art school. The St. Alban’s property was deconsecrated on Dec. 29, the day the sale was final, to return it to secular use. A brief service to do that was performed by the Rev. Jim Mitchell, the priest who last served St. Alban’s, on behalf of Bishop Dean Wolfe.

The congregation that worshipped in that building merged last year with St. Stephen’s, and the combined ministry conducts services in the St. Stephen’s property, which provides a larger and more functional space for the expanded parish.

Proceeds from the sale of St. Alban’s will go to the merged parish to support its ministry. Normally, money from a sold church returns to the diocese, since it is the final title holder on all property within its jurisdiction. However, the Council of Trustees of the diocese voted last spring to make those funds available instead for the ongoing ministry of the new parish.

The art school, operating under a franchise from the Monart firm, will be called Art Park.

Topeka deacon gets business honor
Deacon Harry Craig was inducted into the Topeka Business Hall of Fame in ceremonies Jan. 17. He was one of four people honored this year, joining 18 others who have received the award since its creation in 2003.

Craig, who has served at St. David’s, Topeka, since his ordination in 1986, is chairman of Martin Tractor Company. Among the company’s businesses are Martin CAT, the second oldest Caterpillar dealership in the world. The company has more than 470 employees in 10 locations throughout Kansas. As head of the company Craig works to help employees reach their potential. “My job is to get the road as smooth as I can get it, so employees can become all they can be,” he said.

Craig long has been active in the business community, serving on the Chambers of Commerce for Topeka and for the state of Kansas, the Topeka Community Advisory Board, the board of Bank of America and various professional associations. His family is an integral part of the company, with three of his four children, and one son-in-law, serving in various aspects of Martin Tractor Company’s holdings.

At St. David’s Craig is involved in pastoral care, especially calling on people in the hospital and in nursing homes.

Past Hall of Fame inductees include Episcopalians Henry A. Bubb, J. Hambleton Abrahams, John C. Dicus, Balfour Jeffrey and Cyrus K. Holliday, a founder of the city of Topeka and of Grace Cathedral in the 1850s.