The bankruptcy sale of Crystal Cathedral, the glass-walled Orange County megachurch known for its "Hour of Power" broadcasts, has touched off a bidding war between a Roman Catholic diocese and a local university.
The church's ministry, meanwhile, has announced that its campus is not for sale and launched a pledge drive to keep the cathedral, But that is a show of opposition that could put it on a legal collision course with creditors.
The fate of the towering, 31-year-old church, famed for its 10,000 panes of glass, is playing out in bankruptcy court, following the ministry's filing for Chapter 11 protection in October after falling $50 million in debt.
Schuller went on to become an internationally known televangelist through his "Hour of Power" broadcasts before retiring as senior pastor in 2006.
The creditors' committee on Tuesday filed court papers outlining its plans for resolving the case and detailing the offers received to buy the cathedral, which is located in the city of Garden Grove, about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange has submitted a bid of $53.6 million, the court papers show.
Ministry opposes sale
But meanwhile, the church's ministry has come out in opposition to any sale. At a service less than two weeks ago, church leaders announced that they would try to raise $50 million to erase their debts and keep the cathedral.
"I believe with every fiber of my being that God turned the eyes of the world on Crystal Cathedral because God wants to make a big bold statement," Sheila Coleman, director of ministry at the church and the daughter of Schuller, said during the service.
"He wants the world to know that he is a God who still does miracles," she said.
For the first time in 57 years, one of America's most recognizable mega-churches, the Crystal Cathedral ministry, founded by preacher Robert Schuller, no longer has any ties to the Schuller family. CBS News correspondent Brian Rooney reports.
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