from the President
SUMMER 2019
Shaking Philadelphia Churches
with Dance and Sound 3
Abundant Communities in
Unexpected Places 6
A New Narrative on Harvard Square 8
Sharing More than Space 10
Religious Buildings and
Lightning Protection Systems 12
FEATURE STORY:
The Nordic Churches Project 14
Professional Alliance Directory 19
P ARTNERS FOR S ACRED P LACES is the only national, nonsectarian,
nonprofit organization dedicated to the sound stewardship and active
community use of America’s older religious properties.
Partners builds the capability of congregational leadership for
building care, shared use, and capital fundraising through training
programs, fundraising assistance, and organizational and facility
assessments. In the process, Partners becomes a trusted resource and
guide as congregations examine and weigh opportunities.
Partners engages with congregations to focus on critical areas such
as:
• Asset–mapping and community engagement—assisting
congregations to develop new relationships with neighbors and
potential community partners.
• Strategic partnerships and space sharing—brokering agreements
between sacred places and arts, food justice, health, education, and
social service programs.
• Planning for capital campaigns to support repairs and renovations
that preserve significant historic features and make spaces usable for
new community programs.
• Collaborative initiatives among unrelated congregations in a
neighborhood to encourage coordinated outreach, space usage, joint
marketing and interpretive events, and coordinated work with public
agencies for lighting, signage, and streetscape improvements.
Cover photo: Hardies Creek Lutheran Church, Ettrick, Wisconsin.
Credit: Joshua Castaño
2
SACRED PLACES • SUMMER 2019
have exciting
news to share
with you…and
everyone who cares
about the future of
America’s older and
historic sacred places!
The National
Fund for Sacred
Places—America’s
largest source of capital
funds for the restoration and repair of important, historic
religious properties—will continue for another several years,
thanks to the generosity of Lilly Endowment, Inc. The first
phase of the Fund, ending later this year, is providing capital
grants and other support to over 50 sacred places, and now the
second phase will continue to provide support to another 50
churches through 2024.
In total, the Fund will be giving $20 million to congrega-
tions to help them carry out critical repair and restoration
projects over the course of both phases. That alone is a monu-
mental accomplishment! However, the Fund is also important
for:
• Underwriting Partners’ work to support each participat-
ing congregation as it plans and carries out a successful capital
project. We work to encourage congregations to broaden their
appeal to the larger community, build their capacity to raise
capital funds, and work with skilled architects and contractors.
• Enabling each congregation to lift its profile and tell its
story, so that it can communicate its importance to a broader
array of potential donors and funders.
• Deepening our relationship with the National Trust for
Historic Preservation, which has collaborated with Partners to
manage the Fund from its inception. The Trust has been a fre-
quent partner with us since our founding in 1989, and that
partnership is stronger than ever.
• Encouraging congregations to think bigger, taking on
larger projects that could enable their buildings to serve their
mission and outreach in important new ways.
• Sending a message to regional and national funders that
congregations and sacred places play a pivotal role in their
communities. Their buildings have an enormous public value,
and so when a congregation needs to repair its roof, restore its
windows, or make its building more accessible to children,
seniors, the hungry and many others in need, we are encourag-
ing civic leaders and funders to be helpful and responsive.
Given the Fund’s pivotal role in Partners’ work and the
life of congregations, we will continue to highlight some of the
congregations that are participating in the Fund. In this issue
of Sacred Places, we are telling the story of Divine Redeemer
Presbyterian Church in San Antonio (see page 10), which is
attracting a remarkable level of support from government and
others. We hope you are as inspired by its story—and the im-
pact of the Fund—as we are!
—A. Robert Jaeger
I
In This Issue