tion from St. Stephen’s at each key
meeting to keep attention on the pro-
tection of all of our downtown historic
The Rev. Susan McGary, rector of St. Ste-
phen’s Episcopal Church. Photo: Trent
Campbell
Since 2014, Partners has worked
with congregations in Vermont to
help them meet the challenges of ag-
ing, historic buildings, dwindling
congregations, and the lingering ef-
fects of local economic downturns.
Via a statewide interdenominational
model of SISP, Partners—led by Tuomi
Forrest, Executive Vice President and Co-sponsored by the Episcopal Dio-
cese of Vermont and the Vermont
Conference of the United Church of
Christ, the program focused on con-
gregations anchored near or at the
center of small and medium-sized
towns. Participants in the program—
United Church of Dorset, First Con-
gregational in Brattleboro, United
Church of Underhill, First Congrega-
tional in Morrisville, Bethany Con-
gregational in Montpelier, Good
Shepherd in Barre, Christ Episcopal in
Montpelier, St. Stephen’s in Middle-
bury, and St. Paul’s in Vergennes—s-
panned the entire state. Equipped
with strategic planning tools provided
by SISP, these nine churches are writ-
ing the next chapter of their church’s
history through community partner-
ships and creative programming.
The goal for small congregations
was to begin thinking and acting “big-
ger” by reclaiming their roles as cen-
tral meeting places and organizers
within their communities. Through
Joshua Castaño, Senior Program
Manager—has provided training and
mentorship to nine congregations to
help evaluate and maximize the
community value of their churches. partnerships, outreach services, and
leasing space, churches are energizing
their mission, supporting their budg-
ets, and renewing their presence as
hubs of social connection. Partners
College, St. Stephen’s continues to
work to help mitigate the disruptive
effects of construction as the project
moves in phases over the next few
years. “St. Stephen’s became active
with the Town of Middlebury to safe-
guard our building and to help organ-
ize the community so we can face the
upcoming disruption with as much
positive energy, safety, and continued
success as possible,” said McGary.
“Our participation in SISP helped in
all these ways.”
Divine Intervention
buildings,” said McGary. Using SISP
funds and support from Partners, St.
Stephen’s organized four town hall
meetings with 11 different commu-
nity agencies to create and implement
a preservation plan and commercial
strategy that would circumvent com-
plications caused by the town-wide
disruption. The partnership, called
Neighbors Together, helped trans-
form the church from a small, local
ministry into an influential commu-
nity participant. “The Neighbors To-
gether program certainly gave us a
higher profile with community lead-
ers and brought many people into the
church who received both a voice and
hospitality,” said McGary. “We were
gratified that so many local institu-
tions brought their support to bear on
the project.”
Collaborating with the Chamber
of Commerce, Better Middlebury
Business Association, and Middlebury
SACRED PLACES • AUTUMN/WINTER 2017-18 • 11