CHURCH OF JOHN COLTRANE UNDER THREAT

[Hardbopjazz]

I didn't know there is a church based on Trane's religious beliefs. 

 

 

San Francisco's unique Church of John Coltrane, which has served its congregation by focusing on the great jazz artist's work and religious beliefs for nearly five decades, is under threat of immediate closure.

SFGate reports that the church has been served with an order to vacate its rented space within three days, which means that tomorrow's (Sunday) service could be its last. The institution preaches “global unity, peace on earth, and knowledge of the one true living God,” through Coltrane’s words and music, and has taken part in food drives and other examples of public outreach.

The church was established in 1968 as the jazz listening club the Yardbird Temple, using the nickname of another of the genre's heroes, Charlie Parker. It later became affiliated with Coltrane's widow, Alice, and the African Orthodox Church.

For the last ten years, the church has been based in Fillmore Street, and has been in the Fillmore area since 1971. The church has started a petition to lobby public support to stay in its current location, which you can view, and sign, here. The petition states that the landlord, the West Bay Conference Centre, has doubled its rent, and that its lease is up.

http://www.udiscovermusic.com/church-of-john-coltrane-under-threat

[bluenoter]

Many apologies; even after a Google search, all I could find was a remotely related thread from 2004. That's where I posted about the church's current housing crisis. My post was followed by a post by l p (a third post, by Hardbopjazz, consists of the "St. John" portrait that appears in #1 here).

Please take a moment to visit those two posts, which contain additional info. (I would have quoted them here, but I couldn't get the quotes to appear in a different thread.)

Edited February 28, 2016 by bluenoter

[bluenoter]

http://tinyurl.com/March-1-update

 

 

So far, the church's website hasn't been updated with post-petition info., but it has a page for general donations.