Bob and Marie Sherman have been holding back for years but are now speaking up against their former church.
The Kelowna couple were members St. Paul’s United on Lakeshore Road. It was torn down a few years ago to make way for an arts and cultural centre called The Sanctuary. But the project collapsed.
The Shermans joined other parishioners in donating money to equip the new centre. Now they want the $1,600 returned or given by the church to another charity.
“If the Arts and Worship Centre isn’t going to be built at the location as specified we should have the opportunity to have this money back, even with tax consequences,” Bob Sherman said.
But he said the church has no intention of doing that.
Sue Goodwin speaks for St Paul’s. She said tax laws forbid it from giving the Shermans or any other donors a refund.
“We can’t redirect a donation outside of the United Church. So we gave the Shermans many options on where it could be redirected within the United Church’s wider church family,” Goodwin said.
Marie Sherman said the church is still accepting donations from its members even though the arts and cultural centre project isn’t happening. She believes the church has a moral obligation to stop accepting those funds, accusing it of taking advantage of its members.
“Ethically, everything should have been stopped and (they should) have said ‘no, just hang on to your money until we do another project and we’d love for you to donate.’ But it was not,” Sherman said.
The church says it’s reinventing itself and the donation money will come to good use.
“There is a reinvention there for St-Paul’s, we don’t know what it is yet, but there is going to be a new vision for St-Paul’s and the congregation is going to be a big part of that. So they’re (donors) willingly engaged in this process,” Goodwin said.
St. Paul’s is currently using the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Springfield Road until it finds a new home.
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