TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 Update on Partners; New Dollars/New
Partners Success Story; Arts in
Sacred Places Success Story
15
20
22
FEATURE STORY:
Artistic Heritage and Historic
Preservation at Newport
Congregational Church
Professional Alliance Spotlight:
LimeWorks.us
Professional Alliance Directory
ABOUT PARTNERS
Partners for Sacred Places is the only
national, nonsectarian, nonprofit organization
dedicated to the sound stewardship and active
community use of America’s older religious
properties.
Partners’ Programs and
Services Include:
•
Training. New Dollars/New Partners for Your
Sacred Place is an intensive program that
gives congregations with older buildings the
skills and resources to broaden their base of
support.
•
Regional Offices. Partners offers training,
workshops, and technical assistance through
its Pennsylvania, Texas, and Chicago Offices.
•
Workshops and Conferences. Partners’ staff
speaks at national and regional conferences
on a variety of topics. Additionally, Partners
offers consulting services on fundraising and
adaptive re-use options for congregations and
community organizations.
•
Information Clearinghouse. This web-based
resource provides information related to the
care and use of older sacred places.
•
Advocacy Initiatives. Partners works with
civic leaders, funders, and policymakers,
urging them to adopt policies and practices
that provide new resources to older religious
properties.
•
The Economic Halo Effect. Partners
documents and articulates how congregations
positively contribute to the economic health
and vitality of their communities.
•
Making Homes for the Arts in Sacred Places.
Partners pairs historic sacred places and arts
organizations in ways that benefit both groups.
COVER PHOTO: East view of the sanctuary
at Newport Congregtional Church, Newport,
RI. Courtesy of LaFarge Restoration Fund:
Aaron Usher, photographer.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
W
hen I first saw the cover photograph for
this issue of Sacred Places magazine, I was
astounded! Only a few blocks away from the
famous summer “cottages” in Newport, on Rhode
Island’s coast, is a church with an interior no
less magnificent. Covered with the brilliant hues
and exotic patterns invented by John LaFarge –
Tiffany’s primary competitor in the opalescent
glass department, by the way – the sanctuary of
Newport Congregational Church is one of the great treasures of the city,
and indeed of the nation.
It seems very fitting that – in the midst of a holiday season infused
with joyous music, festive food, twinkling decorations, and heightened
spirituality – we focus for a moment on the magnificent beauty, artistry,
and transcendency of religious architecture.
Here at Partners we talk a great deal about how we can help congregations
increase their vitality by funding their buildings in innovative ways,
sharing their space with new partners, and engaging with the community
in new ways. We are sharing our emerging findings on the enormous
economic value of sacred places and how they contribute to the health and
vitality of neighborhoods. We are matching sacred places with arts and
food or nutrition programs and we are helping congregations develop new
funding sources.
All of this is essential and at the heart of Partners’ reason for being. But we
can never forget that sacred places are also enormously important because
they enrich our cultural life and anchor our streetscapes like no other
building. They embody the best craftsmanship and design of their era, the
likes of which we will never see again. Someday, the world will come to see
our great churches, temples, synagogues, and meetinghouses, just as they
do in Europe and Asia.
Until that time comes, we are inspired by the story of congregations like
Newport Congregational, which wanted to ensure the good stewardship of
its building for decades to come.
This season – and every season – is enriched when extraordinary sacred
places are preserved and open for the public to enjoy. We should enter and
marvel at what they have given us.
BOB JAEGER
THUMBNAIL PHOTO: Members of Theatre
Y sit in front of the entrance to their new
theatre space at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church
in Chicago, Il. Photo credit: E. Aaron Ross for
Chicago Reader.
Sacred Places • Fall 2013 • 2