ST. PAUL, MN (June 25, 2010) – The Evangelical Covenant Church of Hudson, Ohio, was honored with the Living Legacy Award today during the 125th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Great Lakes Superintendent Richard Lucco praised the 40-year ministry of the church, noting that the closure of any church is a sad experience. However, sale of the Hudson property will support conference church planting initiatives for many years to come. Click here for video coverage.

When a church decides to close and become a Living Legacy church, the remaining assets are sold and the proceeds donated to the planting of more congregations. The church, which closed last fall, had a 16,800-square-foot building that was sold to Redeemer Presbyterian Church for $860,000.

Proceeds from the sale already have contributed significantly to the ongoing ministry of the Great Lakes Conference, said Superintendent Richard Lucco. In addition to supplying money to plant more churches, the funds enabled the conference to hire Steve Armfield as director of church vitality.

“We would not have been able to hire him without the funds from the sale of the church,” Lucco said.

The church was formed in 1962 and the building was constructed in 1969. The congregation had an average attendance of 58 when they voted to close.