repair and renovate the sanctuary and parish hall. The
buildings would then be available to my congregation,
and possibly others, to lease for worship. They would
also be made available to other non-profits in the
arts and social services. My husband and I have since
closed on the purchase, and we have visited half a dozen
churches introduced to us by Bob. From Oakland, CA, to
Augusta, GA, we have seen the varieties of adaptive reuse
successfully undertaken to preserve sacred buildings. My
church is fortunate: we have a vision, partners, and hope.
Sally Harris is president of St. James Place, Inc., the nonprofit organization created to spur the restoration and
re-use of St. James Episcopal Church. In addition, she
has been a member of the National Advisory Board of the
Salvation Army for the past twelve years, sits on the board
of the Independent Institute, and is vice-chairman of the
Albert Schweitzer Fellowship.
Funding News
Partners for Sacred Places gratefully acknowledges the
following foundations for their generous support for these
special projects and core services.
• Barra Foundation, $50,000: Performing and Visual
Arts in Sacred Places in Center City, Philadelphia (See
sidebar story on page 9.)
• Frances Beidler Foundation, $2,000: Partners’
Chicago Office Core Services
• Citi Foundation, $20,000: Sustaining and
Strengthening Community-Serving Congregations
• McCormick Foundation, $200,000: Partners’ Chicago
Office Core Services
• Retirement Research Foundation, $60, 000: Partners’
Chicago Office Core Services
• Summerlee Foundation, $10,000: Texas Sacred Places
Project
New Staff
We’re pleased to announce that Carrie Stavrakos is serving
as the new Director of the Pennsylvania Regional Office.
Carrie has an M.S. in Organizational Dynamics and comes
to us from a background in the arts and education, having
worked for the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts &
Sciences as its Associate Director of Programs and Events,
and the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Human Resources,
Membership, and Public Relations departments; she
also helped to produce the first-ever Philadelphia Fringe
Festival. She has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity,
and has served on the boards of the Spiral Q Puppet
Theatre and the Phila