Crystal Cathedral files for bankruptcy protection

The glass megachurch in Garden Grove decides to file for Chapter 11 after some of its creditors sued for payment. Church officials said the 'ministry will continue as usual.'

The Crystal Cathedral megachurch in Garden Grove has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (Brian van der Brug, Los Angeles Times / October 17, 2010)

First came the layoffs, then the cutbacks in programming. Now the Crystal Cathedral, the beleaguered glass megachurch in Orange County, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The church decided to file for Chapter 11 after some of its creditors sued for payment, according to church officials. Hundreds of creditors could be owed between $50 million and $100 million, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana on Monday.

"Our ministry will continue as usual," said Senior Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman, speaking under an overcast sky Monday afternoon at the church's sprawling 40-acre Garden Grove campus. She said that if anything, the recent troubles will give the church's messages more meaning.