Dear Diocesan Family,
I am pleased to announce to all
in the Episcopal Church in Southern Virginia that after a six year journey
Talbot Hall has been officially sold to Talbot Hall West LLC. As I am sure you
have heard, the new owners of the property are planning on building 12 to 14
small footprint, single family homes there. The LLC is primarily comprised of
local Norfolk families who have a deep love for the area of Talbot Park and who
share a commitment to the wellbeing of the property's unique character.
The
journey that has culminated in this final sale has been, quite frankly, an
arduous one. It has demanded many hours of hard work from members of the
Diocesan Property Committee, the Talbot Hall Task Force, the Standing
Committee, members of the Executive Board, the diocesan staff, and our Diocesan
Chancellors. Likewise, these last six years have been punctuated by events such
as intensive Town Hall meetings in the Talbot Park neighborhood, various
meetings with city officials, and multiple court appearances by both our chancellors
and the Property Committee co-chairs. It has also been a journey that has
received significant local media coverage - both accurate and inaccurate at
times. Needless to say, we have come a long way in the last six years and it
hasn't always been easy or painless.
Yet, from my perspective, I
believe we have arrived exactly
where we had hoped to arrive - and done so in a manner that fully reflects the
initial goals and objectives set by our Diocesan Council in 2012. We have
ensured that the property will be used in a manner that is in keeping with the
nature of the local neighborhood. We have ensured that the waterfront
environment of the property will be well cared for. And we have conveyed the
property with respect for the historic nature of the Manor House. But, above
all, we have accomplished these goals while still being good stewards of a very
important diocesan financial asset. The Talbot property was - from the very
beginning, as a gift of the Talbot family - an asset conveyed in trust to all the people and
parishes in the Episcopal Church in Southern Virginia. To that end, in
conveying the property, we have practiced healthy Christian stewardship across
our entire diocese.
While selling Talbot Hall may be
cause for celebration, it is also - from where I sit as your bishop - cause for
grief. The beautiful live oak trees, the expansive lawn from the Manor House,
the Gunn Center and the Episcopal Residence are all places that are part of a
whole host of wonderful memories shared by so many. Talbot Hall has represented
the stately, established, presence of the Episcopal Church in our part of
Virginia. It has been a symbol of faith experience for earlier generations of
Episcopalians, and as such represents the Church of the past and, perhaps even
for some, the Church in simpler and surer times. To sell Talbot Hall is to lose
something special, to let go of a place that possesses emotional and spiritual
value. This fact must be acknowledged by all of us.
In the years ahead, there will
be those who will continue to struggle with what we have done, and those who
will believe that the sale is an act of responsible stewardship. Most of us
will feel some of both, I suspect. But, regardless, all of us will share in the
same responsibility - the responsibility to answer the high calling of our Lord
Jesus to follow him - to follow him into a new era of faith and mission. With
that in mind, I pray that we can now move forward - and do so with the
assurance that all things can
and will be made holy for those whose hearts remain fixed on him.
Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Holly Hollerith
