A Tale of Two Churches:
Lancaster Churches Address Spiritual,
Social, and Environmental Needs
By John Hershey, RGS Associates
and Ruth Ayn Hocker, Manager,
Bureaus of Stormwater and Wastewater Collections,
City of Lancaster
T
Arcade and courtyard at St. James Episcopal Church, Lancaster
Photo: Marotta/Main Architects
wo historic churches in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
demonstrate how a sacred
place can be maximized as a civic asset
that advances the vitality and
environmental health of the larger
community. Saint James Episcopal
Church and Community Mennonite
Church are both serving their respective
congregations while simultaneously
providing their neighbors with social
and environmental benefits.
Established in 1744, Saint James
Episcopal Church recently developed a
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SACRED PLACES • WINTER 2019
master plan that prioritized facility
needs, including a more welcoming
approach to the building, expanded
interior and exterior gathering spaces,
and greater accessibility to all facilities.
To accomplish these goals, a building
addition and new courtyards were
constructed in 2012, with a “green”
infrastructure that captures storm water
runoff from the expanded structure.
Because Lancaster City is located
within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed,
city fathers adopted measures
established by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the U.S. Department
of Justice, and the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental
Protection to reduce and ultimately end
the discharge of untreated sewage and
other pollutants into local waterways
via aging storm infrastructure. Even
before these measures were adopted, a
team of church leaders, the City’s
progressive administration, and local
design professionals began to
proactively address these same clean
water challenges.