By Matt Micucci
The Church of John Coltrane was established in 1968 and served its congregation by focusing on the jazz artist’s work and religious beliefs for nearly five decades. The institution preaches “global unity, peace on earth, and knowledge of the one true living God,” through the words and music of John Coltrane and throughout its existence has taken part in food drives and other examples of public outreach.
Last week, it was announced that the institution was given a three-day notice to vacate its space in the West Bay Conference Center, San Francisco where it had been based for the past 10 years, thus facing threat of immediate closure.
Archbishop Franzo W. King, who founded the church, says his church is being evicted to make way for the Sun Reporter, a newspaper that serves the black community. This means that the service held this past Sunday and performed in front of its largest crowd ever, might have been its last.
During this service, King told the audience he has been trying to pay his monthly nut of $1,600 but Floyd Trammell, director of the center, has refused to accept it. He also said that lawyers are trying to negotiate a settlement to stay in this storefront, a former photography studio that the church has occupied for 10 years, and announced that if a settlement is not reached, a demonstration will be called on March 20 to protest what he sees as the injustice being rendered on the Church of John Coltrane and the larger community.
A petition on the church website, demanding the church be left alone, has more than 2,000 signatures.