A Message from Our Leadership
G. E d w ard Hu ghes, Bo ar d C hair
B ob Jaeger, President
As Americans we recognize that religion is deeply ingrained in our history and founding. In Philadelphia, where Partners’ primary office is located, the heritage community is excited about our nation’ s imminent Semiquincentennial celebration, including many historic sacred places we have worked with over the years. Many Americans see a church or synagogue as historic if it was built 50 to 100 years ago, as they should. If it is 300 years old, as our colonial religious sites are, it is considered rare and ancient, given how young our nation is. But recently Partners had a chance to learn how a peer organization does parallel work with churches over 1,000 years old!
We have been conferring with the National Churches Trust in the United Kingdom, and the two organizations have found much to admire in each other’ s work. We learned so much from their emphasis on sacred places as heritage sites worthy of public visitation and support. They, in turn, appreciated our creativity in training and resourcing congregations. However, the comparisons made it clear that Partners faces distinct challenges in the United States. Our country is so much larger geographically and more diverse in terms of denomination and faith tradition. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to saving our religious spaces and the civic good they offer. But we also have an advantage in that our sacred buildings remain relatively young. How can we protect them until, God willing, they are as old as Britain’ s?
As you will read in the pages ahead, we have made great strides already. In 2024, we held the first National Convening of leaders with a stake in our older sacred places to discuss the challenges and opportunities they face today. The movement that emerged from that event continues to grow. In 2024, we also accepted one of the largest cohorts ever into the National Fund for Sacred Places and invited a curious public into Philadelphia’ s religious sites for concerts at our first Organ Festival. And with a revamped New Dollars / New Partners program we aim to give more congregations the training and tools to thrive. Our reach continues to grow.
Partners has been devoted to the preservation and active community use of historic sacred places since the 1980s, and we remain committed to that mission. At the same time, we must continue to innovate. In our current strategic planning process we are asking ourselves how best to continue this work ahead of us. How do we sustain treasured sacred places for the long term? We know that religious buildings are often the cornerstones of their neighborhoods, providing not only cultural touchstones but essential services to those nearby. Our goal is to ensure that these places— and the good that they do— continue well into the future.
Thank you for partnering with us in this work. Your enthusiasm and generosity are inspiring and essential to our mission. Please continue to share your energy and ideas with us. We are so grateful to have you with us on this journey!
G. Edward Hughes, PhD Board Chair
Bob Jaeger President
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