Crystal Cathedral Could Cut 'Hour of Power' to 30 Minutes
Will the classic televangelist show "Hour of Power" produced by Crystal Cathedral Ministries become reduced to 30 minutes?
Reports emerged that the signature televised service created by Crystal Cathedral Ministries might cut its airtime in Canada and possibly some areas in the United States due to financial difficulties.
Following the bankruptcy of the ministry itself – its Garden Grove, Calif., property was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange on Feb. 4 – financial woes are now apparently weighing in on this legendary Christian broadcast. The main reason being that Canadian donations declined when the church's bad financial standing became obvious and after the ministry's founder, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, stopped participating in the broadcast services, Crystal Cathedral's senior pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman, the founder's daughter, told the Edmonton Journal this week.
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The donations pay for airtime on Global and Vision TV to broadcast the "Hour of Power," the Canadian publication reported.
"I want to assure you the 'Hour of Power' will remain on television as an avenue for bringing hope to the world," Coleman reportedly said.
Coleman temporarily overtook the church's pulpit as well as hosting the show since, as she expressed in a recent episode of the "Hour of Power," the Rev. Robert Schuller has been too upset to even attend church.
The ministry has been struggling financially for years. The final stage of its bankruptcy case that dragged on since Oct. 2010 attracted much publicity and upset the Crystal Cathedral congregation, which was very unhappy with the signature property being purchased by the Roman Catholic Church. The escrow on the property closed on the sale value of $57.5 million, and the ministry is allowed to remain on the location for the next two years, before congregants have to vacate the campus.
The "Hour of Power" has been on air in its current form since 1970. It was launched and originally hosted by Robert H. Schuller. The show reportedly attracted at one point 1.3 million viewers from 156 countries.
