Getting to evening church services is a smooth ride for 70-year-old Betty Owens and other members of La Prada Drive Church of Christ.
That’s because the Mesquite church recently bought a limousine to help members uncomfortable with driving to services every Sunday and Wednesday evening.
Church Elder Gerald Hanley said it’s not as extravagant as it sounds – the silver 1990, nine-passenger Cadillac Fleetwood cost $1,700.
The purchase is a practical solution for the 185-member conservative congregation, he said.
Mr. Hanley said he came up with the idea about four months ago, when he attended a church seminar in Oklahoma. He saw a couple of limousines at a church there and was told they were being used to transport people to and from church.
The more he looked into it, the more sense it made.
“We’ve got several members who would be willing to drive some of these older members to night services, but most of the younger people drive big SUVs or smaller cars and older people find it hard to get into and out of those vehicles,” Mr. Hanley said.
Mr. Hanley learned that used limousines, usually from funeral homes, are a great bargain. The church located a used limo dealer in Dallas, which had a great-looking silver Cadillac Fleetwood.
The dealer was using the vehicle as a “gate car” to block the entrance to the lot at night, Mr. Hanley said.
“It only had 37,000 miles on it,” he said. “Didn’t have a scratch on it and it runs perfectly; we only had to fix one mirror on it.”