UPDATE on Partners:
New Dollars/New Partners Success Story
The Church of Our Saviour
in Killington, VT – a New
Dollars/New Partners
Success Story. Photo credit:
Anne Clarke Brown
LONG BEFORE KILLINGTON, VT, became a popular
skiing destination, this quiet New England town was
home to a small Episcopal congregation dedicated to
enriching its surroundings. Elizabeth Wood Clement
envisioned that the Church of Our Saviour, built on the
Mission Farm property in memory of her late husband,
Charles Clement, would serve the local community as
a meeting place for social gatherings both mundane
and sacred. Modeled after a common English country
church design, the Gothic revival-style stone building
was dedicated in 1895 and formally consecrated with its
first service in 1897.
Due to its rural location, Church of Our Saviour has
always been a small congregation; in early 2009, it
drew only about 12-18 worshippers each Sunday.
The congregation maintained a strong commitment
to hospitality and inclusiveness – the Mission Farm
property, under the guidance of Reverend Truman
Heminway, opened a guesthouse in 1942. Following
several years of disuse, the congregation reopened the
building as Heminway House in 1996, and guests have
included other church groups, youth organizations, and
5 • Sacred Places • www.sacredplaces.org • Summer 2011
nonprofits. For the most part, however, Our Saviour did
not actively seek any lasting community partnerships.
Rather, the greater community took the initiative to
reach out to the church. As a result, Church of Our
Saviour was left to address its needs largely on its own.
Things changed in September of 2009, when five
congregation members participated in Partners for
Sacred Places’ New Dollars/New Partners for Your Sacred
Place training program, sponsored by the Episcopal
Diocese of Vermont. The team was trained in evaluating
its building and designing fundraising projects.
Since then, several projects have been identified and
completed, including dead tree removal, improved
drainage and protection of the church’s stone
foundation, and, with the aid of a diocesan grant, a new
roof on Heminway House.
Most importantly, the church’s representatives were
introduced to asset mapping as a means of forging
community partnerships. In February of 2010, Our
Saviour’s New Dollars/New Partners team met with
the entire congregation to map out their resources,