August 24, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 15 Area Trinity Episcopal Church of Northern Bergen County, owner of the former Church of the Good Shepherd property at 497 Godwin Avenue in Midland Park and the small house next door, has sold both buildings to Saint Stephen’s Malankara Orthodox Church for approximately $1.1 million. Van Houten Parker LLC President Richard Van Houten Jr., the real estate broker who represented the sellers, reported that the 15,000 square foot church building is comprised of a sanctuary and a parish hall. Both sections of the church, which was built in 1963, have classrooms beneath them. Van Houten noted that the new Christian congregation cannot occupy the building until the parish hall has been renovated, since Bergenfield congregation purchases church and house that section of the church was destroyed by a 2009 fire. Officials from St. Stephen’s are working with architects to develop renovation plans for the building, Van Houten said. “The challenge was finding a group that was financially qualified and could raise additional money to restore and renovate the parish hall,” Van Houten said of the sale. “The funds from the sale will be utilized for our mission and ministry,” Father Michael Allen, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, told Villadom TIMES. “(The transaction) has created wonderful opportunities for the buyer and for Trinity Episcopal Church.” Bernie Milano, a warden of Trinity Episcopal Church, added, “I am thrilled that the Midland Park church and adjacent rental house will now house another congregation, St. Stephen’s Malankara Church.” The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd’s building in Midland Park was deconsecrated and secularized on Nov. 13, 2010. The congregation of the Godwin Avenue church, the fifth oldest in Midland Park, joined with the Church of the Epiphany in Allendale in 2010 to become Trinity Episcopal Church of Northern Bergen County in Allendale. Originally, plans called for the continued maintenance of Good Shepherd’s building for two years after the formation of Trinity Episcopal Church. The building in Midland Park would have been used for special functions and for the convenience of the nursery school and community groups that used the building. Those plans changed after the 2009 fire destroyed the original wing of the building that housed the meeting hall and the nursery school. St. Stephen’s has been based in Bergenfield, and has outgrown its current neighborhood church. A real estate listing for St. Stephen’s Church states that the congregation’s current building, based at 52 East Johnson Street in Bergenfield, was built in 1900 and is approximately 4,000 square feet. According to the St. Stephen’s Church website, that congregation was formed in 1984 and held worship services at Clinton Avenue Reformed Church in Bergenfield before the purchase of the church on East Johnson Street. The former Church of the Good Shepherd property. Crossroads (continued from page 7) planning board or the administrative officer of the planning department according to the checklist of items with which any development plan must comply. When Conte was asked that question by resident Michael Richards, who is one of the organizers and leaders of the Committee to Stop the Mahwah Mall, he responded that, according to the township code, a site plan application must contain all the required documents before it would be considered complete. Most of the members of the public who addressed the council voiced their opposition to the mall and their thanks to the council for its action on the referendum and the repealing ordinance. But Jill Hartmann of Sparrowbush Road, a professional planner for several other towns, said she favored the mixed use development and she was disappointed the council wanted to repeal the rezoning ordinances. Another resident, Margaret Tracy Miceli of Indian Hallow Court said she supported the development because there are other less desirable uses for the property and she said her neighbors were looking forward to shopping and going to the movies at the mall. The St. Stephen’s website also notes that the church’s patron saint was one of seven men chosen to attend to the distribution of aid to elderly widows within the church community. Stephen was known as a gifted evangelist, preaching the teachings of Jesus to the people of Jerusalem, including members of the Hellenistic synagogues. Acts of the Apostles describes how Stephen was tried by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy against Moses and God and for speaking against the temple and the law. He was stoned to death by a mob encouraged by Saul of Tarsus, who later became Saint Paul. Saint Stephen is traditionally depicted with a crown of martyrdom, three stones, and the martyrs’ palm. The website notes that, in Eastern Christian iconography, he is shown as a young beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacon’s vestments, and often holding a miniature church building and a censer.