Calvary United Church of Christ ’ s stained-glass depictions of Jesus and the children , the Good Shepherd , and the Good Samaritan , top . Interior of Calvary United Church of Christ , bottom left . Exterior of Grace Lutheran Church , above .
With this threat to Reading ’ s sacred places in mind , and with the understanding that these buildings and congregations contribute far more to the community than most people know , the Berks County Community Foundation created the Sacred Places Project , harkening to the name of Partners for Sacred Places , which had agreed to assist the foundation . The heart of the project is to inventory Reading ’ s existing congregations and sacred places , while assessing the condition of the buildings and the stability of the congregations ; learn which ones are of architectural , historical , or community significance ; and preserve those assets by encouraging partnerships between congregations and the community .
Leading up to the project kickoff , the Community Foundation was frequently approached by congregations interested in transferring their endowments to the foundation as they closed their doors and sold their buildings . Congregations wanted to preserve the legacies of their churches and the programs they supported in their neighborhoods .
Many congregations were also transferring and decommissioning their religious buildings and selling off anything that had value . The church buildings held more than just architectural , historical , and artistic assets : they also had community meeting rooms , commercial kitchens , and parking lots that could be used in various ways in the neighborhoods . Assessments had to be made to determine how assets and services could be deployed if a church was sold .
After working with Partners for Sacred Places to ensure the project ’ s feasibility , the Community Foundation recruited three summer interns — an architecture major , a history major , and a business major . The architecture student ’ s skills were helpful for surveying the physical condition of the churches ; the history student brought insight to the importance of the congregations to their communities ; and the business student pulled the data together in an accessible way . Further , one of the interns was bilingual in English and Spanish , which was helpful given the number of Spanish-speaking congregations present in Reading today .
The students began in May 2019 , and Partners for Sacred Places staff provided indepth training on how to conduct extensive interior and exterior surveys of the buildings , as well as how to interview the religious lead- ers and staff who ran the churches . Partners joined the interns at their first sacred place , Christ Episcopal Church , which housed the oldest congregation founded in the city .
Over the 13-week internship period , the students created a comprehensive list of the 80-plus purpose-built religious structures that remain in the City of Reading . The interns conducted in-depth tours and interviews at 24 of the structures , taking photographs and gathering information on the interior and exterior of the buildings . For the remainder , they gathered information about the exteriors only . They created summaries for each church and built a website to showcase their results .
The surveys provided valuable information about available space . Commercial kitchens in particular are of interest to local economic development organizations , who can make connections between food start-ups and churches . The surveys also provided a clearer picture of what churches were doing for the community , information that is usually invisible to local nonprofits . Many of the churches offered food assistance , soup kitchens , clothing , and other assistance for unhoused people in their neighborhood . One congregation was quietly offering a safe space for women who were being subjected to sex trafficking , making sure they had food and basic needs like underwear and sanitary items , and a connection to get help .
The project was paused in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed in the summer of 2022 . A second group of interns talked to 53 congregational leaders and added that information to the website . In addition , they led a tour of several religious buildings for civic leaders interested in learning more about the assets that these buildings bring to the community . Finally , they created a plan to bring together congregational leaders to discuss how to engage the community in new ways to provide financial support to ensure these buildings remain community assets .
Based on the research and interviews , we know that Reading ’ s sacred places have followed a trajectory common for churches across America . After a post – World War II religious boom , a steady decline in religious participation started in the 1960s , spurred by social movements challenging traditional church teachings . This decline of religious adherents led to decreased church attendance
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