Worldwide Church of God: Pasadena Goodies Up For Sale

The Painful Truth About The Worldwide Church of God

Pasadena Goodies Up For Sale
Mark 10:21 WCG paraphrased:
"Sell whatsoever you have blackmailed from the members and use it for your
retirement, and you shall have treasure in your Swiss bank accounts."

Evangelist's property to be sold at auction

November 04, 2000

By Janette Williams
Staff Writer
Pasadena Star News

PASADENA - The late evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the fundamentalist Worldwide Church of God, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle at his mansion on the Ambassador College campus.

The self-proclaimed apostle of God who preached against medical treatment, celebrating Christmas and makeup and short skirts for women and who believed Jesus would return to reign on the throne of England spent 50 years surrounding himself with the finer things in life.

Now some of them his Louis XVI giltwood armchairs, Meissen urns, St. Louis crystal, Sevres porcelain, Minton china, a pair of Steinway grand pianos and a silver model of the Mayflower will go under the gavel 6:30 p.m. Monday in Ambassador Auditorium.

The 350 auction lots, expected to fetch from $100 to tens of thousands of dollars each, can be previewed from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday inside the mansions on the church's Orange Grove Boulevard property.

"These are terrific things," said Pasadena auctioneer John Moran, who will conduct the sale. "They've had four auctions already, but they were all lesser things. They've actually saved all the good things for this sale."

Armstrong, whose 100,000 adherents worldwide originally donated 10 percent of their annual income to the church, philosophized that Ambassador College students should be educated beyond "narrow subjects and academics," said Bernard Schnippert, Worldwide Church of God treasurer and director of finance and planning.

"It was part of his belief that students should be helped to appreciate the arts, that it would help build character into them," Schnippert said. "So the surroundings at that time were in accordance with that philosophy."

Most of the things haven't been used for years, Schnippert said.

Moran said he'd been told graduating seniors were once invited to dine with Armstrong off the finest china, linens, silver and crystal.

"It was a setting of high quality and beauty," Moran said. "I believe they entertained many world-class musicians there, too."

The church was based in Pasadena from 1947 through 1990 and at its height had an annual budget of $200 million. It provided $5 million annually for Ambassador Auditorium, where performers from Luciano Pavarotti to Count Basie entertained. The famed concert series ended in 1995 when the subsidy was withdrawn.

Armstrong, who died of heart failure in 1986 at age 93, traveled the world, hobnobbing with royalty and heads of state and enjoying his estates in Pasadena, Tucson, Ariz., and Bricket Wood, England.

In the 1970s, however, there was a bitter falling-out with his son, Garner Ted Armstrong, and some members of the church sued officials for misuse of funds. They alleged that about $70 million had been siphoned from church coffers for personal use.

In 1979, the state attorney general appointed an auditor to look at the books, but dropped the case after a law was passed prohibiting the state from becoming involved in church matters.

In the years following Armstrong's death, the church fought to survive through doctrinal conflicts that split the membership, ended mandatory tithing and brought a slew of financial problems.

The 50-acre Ambassador College campus was sold for development to Legacy Partners for an undisclosed amount in January last year, nine years after the college moved its operations to Big Sandy, Texas. Escrow is expected to close in early 2001.

Four mansions on the site including Mayfair, the Tudor revival house in which Armstrong lived will be restored as private homes each costing upward of $2 million.

Schnippert said the gifts Armstrong received from church members and heads of state over the years including an ornamental peacock from Queen Sirikit of Thailand will not be sold. They will be kept for display at a new site the church may soon move to in San Dimas, he said. The auction proceeds will go into the general fund that originally provided the money for Armstrong's purchases, Schnippert said.

A complete list of items in the auction can be seen at www.johnmoran.com.

- Janette Williams can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4436 or by e-mail at janette.williamssgvn.com