I am in a parish that is in the process of consolidating with the adjacent Episcopal church, located in the same town. As a result of this merger, we are going to have valuable real estate to sell, since we will have much more land than we need.
The Diocese is insisting that any proceeds from the sale be held in the Diocesan Trust, which is an investment vehicle under their control. This money will then be doled out, contingent on approval from the Standing Committee of the Diocese, for construction and improvement projects. In the event of a failure of the combined Parish to endure, the money will revert directly back to the Diocese.
This leads to a number of problems, the primary of which is that now we are worth much more to the Diocese dead than alive. It will be a long, long time before our fair share pledge adds up to the amount of money we are talking about, here. If the ship sinks, they get all the money right away. I am not saying that is the plan. Up to this point, I would ascribe their behavior, which is beyond ineffectual and bordering on destructive, to incompetence, rather than malice. But once that big pile of cash is sitting down there in their bank accounts, the scale may tip to out-and-out hostility.
Have you thought of using a long lease instead of selling. A 999 year lease is almost as good as a sale and would yield almost as much. I’m pretty sure the diocese would not attach the income stream which the parish earns.