Bankruptcy Docs Reveal Extravagent Expenses at Crystal Cathedral

Oct. 21, 2010— -- The California megachurch founded by television evangelist Robert H. Schuller used to spend the fall preparing for its lavish "Glory of Christmas" spectacular.

But the Crystal Cathedral, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, will likely spend the coming weeks trying to restructure its staggering debt.

"Budgets could not be cut fast enough to keep up with the unprecedented rapid decline in revenue due to the recession," Senior Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman said in a statement. Services and programs at the landmark church will continue, including the "Hour of Power" TV program, she said.

Still, the beleaguered glass cathedral canceled its "Glory of Easter" for the first time this year and could be forced to cancel its popular Christmas spectacular next month. The pageants, which charged up to $45 admission, drew thousands of people.

"It was a very big production," said Juliet Noriega, the wardrobe manager for the pageants, who claims she is owed more than $11,000. "The three wise men rode in on camels. The roman centurions made their entrances on horses. Because the cathedral was such a large venue everything they did there was quite large. There were 200 people on stage and thousands of costume pieces."

Other long-time vendors for the "Glory of Christmas" pageant still waiting to get paid are Kristina Oliver, who supplied camels, horses and sheep; dry cleaner Bruce Johnson, who cleaned the actors' costumes; props manager Sharon Crabtree, and Carin Galletta, whose public relations firm handled the publicity.

"There would be mainly three big camels that the kings would ride and five horses, a donkey, and goats and sheep," said Oliver, who is owed more than $50,000, according to court papers. "It would be two months that I would be down there on the grounds."

In a statement on Monday, Schuller Coleman said the bankruptcy filing was necessary because a small number of creditors chose to file lawsuits and obtained court-ordered writs to attach the church's bank accounts and assets in an attempt to get paid immediately.