Responding to COVID-19
Sacred Places were designed and built to be active centers of community as well as places for congregational life . When social distancing during COVID-19 forced congregations to vacate their buildings , life was turned upside down for all of us . We knew that sacred places would be needed more than ever , but we didn ’ t know how congregations would respond , or how Partners could continue to serve sacred places remotely .
100 90 80 70 60 50
Building Use at Sacred Places During Pandemic as of June / July 2020
Active Projected by the end of 2020
SOME OF OUR ADAPTATIONS INCLUDED :
2 Surveys on Building Use 166 respondents informed Partners ’ work over the past months and provided evidence of the contributions that U . S . congregations make toward resilient communities . There were no plans to resume 38 % of community-serving programs , foretelling the dangers faced by communities if sacred places close .
6 Webinars Three webinars were organized by Partners ( with 341 participants ), two with the CEEP Network ( Consortium for Endowed Episcopal Parishes ), and one with Bricks and Mortals . Topics included sharing space safely , returning to the building , fundraising in times of crisis , and communicating during COVID-19 .
Translation of Workshops and Tools into Virtual Formats This included Partners ’ first fully virtual delivery of the New Dollars / New Partners program to a group of 10 congregations in the Philadelphia area that maintain programs for the materially poor .
40 30 20 10 0
Office Administration
Community Serving Programs at Sacred Places During Pandemic as of June / July 2020
Active Anticipated to resume later in 2020 No plan to resume
Community Programs
CONGREGATIONS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRST VIRTUAL NEW
DOLLARS ( in Philadelphia , PA , unless otherwise noted )
First Church Worship Center ( Baptist ) Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church Historic St . George ’ s United Methodist
Church Bethel Presbyterian Church The Lutheran Church of the Holy
Communion
Worship
Pastoral Care Committee Education or or Governance Fellowship
Meetings Activities
38 % 34 %
28 %
St . Vincent de Paul Catholic Church Open Door Ministries ( Assembly of God ) St . Francis de Sales Catholic Church Christ Lutheran Church ( ELCA ) St . Katharine Drexel Catholic Church ,
Chester , PA
Page 5