Sacred Places Fall 2009 | Page 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS Update 3 Successon Partners: New Dollars/New Partners Story; Exemplars Profile; Texas Sacred FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Places Project 14 One year ago, Andrew Edwards, the energetic and entrepreneurial director of the National Churches Trust (NCT) in Great Britain, came to America to see how Partners encourages the care and active use of historic religious properties. Edwards spent a day in Philadelphia to meet our staff and see some of the congregations we serve, and spoke to a gathering of Partners’ friends and supporters. FEATURE STORY: Interview with Cardinal George 17 Building Brief: Bell Maintenance 19 Funding Brief: Staying the Course with Capital Campaign Consultants Spotlight: 20 Professional Alliance Sons Steeplejack Francis J. Atkinson & 21 Professional Alliance Directory ABOUT PARTNERS Partners for Sacred Places is the only national, nonsectarian, non-profit organization dedicated to the sound stewardship and active community use of America’s older religious properties. Founded in 1989 by religious, historic preservation and philanthropic leaders, Partners provides assistance to the people who care for sacred places and promotes a greater understanding of how these places sustain communities. Partners’ Programs and Services Include: • Training. New Dollars/New Partners for Your Sacred Place is an intensive program that gives congregations with older buildings the skills and resources to broaden their base of support. • Regional Offices. Partners offers training, technical assistance and capital improvement grants through its Pennsylvania, Texas, and Chicago Offices. • Workshops and Conferences. Partners’ staff speaks on a variety of topics at national and regional conferences. • Publications. Some of Partners’ books include: - Your Sacred Place Is a Community Asset: A Tool Kit to Attract New Resources and Partners - The Complete Guide to Capital Campaigns for Historic Churches and Synagogues • Information Clearinghouse. This webbased resource provides information related to the care and use of older sacred places. (www.sacredplaces.org/information_center.htm) • Advocacy Initiatives. Partners works with civic leaders, funders and policymakers, urging them to adopt policies and practices that provide new resources to older religious properties. COVER: Gianfranco Grande and Archbishop of Chicago Francis Cardinal George share a laugh. Photo by Brian Morowczynski. Copyright 2009 VIAphotos.com He left with a very favorable impression of Partners’ innovative approach to helping congregations sustain their “public value,” i.e., their outreach programs and cultural significance. And we, in turn, were struck by NCT’s work on several fronts. The Trust encourages congregations to undertake repair and maintenance planning, and makes capital grants to some of Britain’s most significant sacred places. NCT also encourages churches to find creative ways to keep their doors open during the week, knowing that when visitors and neighbors gain ready access to historic worship spaces, they become advocates for the preservation of those sacred places. Of course NCT does so much more than I can summarize here, as does Partners. So we are very pleased to announce that Edwards has invited a delegation from Partners to travel to London to compare notes with leaders in the field, and see the results of NCT’s work with historic sacred places. We’ll also be meeting with Canon Reiss at Westminster Abbey, who spent time with Partners’ staff during a recent visit to America. We hope and trust that an enduring crossAtlantic collaboration will emerge from this trip. We have another example of international exchange and learning that is closer at hand: a growing relationship with preservation groups in Canada, including the Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT), Conseil du patrimoine religieux du Québec, Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland & Labrador and the Heritage Canada Foundation. Our connection grows out of conferences held in Toronto, Montreal and Newfoundland over the last several years, where we were invited to present our training approach and other outreach. We, in turn, have been very impressed by their work to inventory sacred places and support the reuse of vacant church properties. We have invited their staff members to “audit” New Dollars, and expect that we will compare notes and learn from each other in the years to come. These new relationships are suggesting that all national organizations with a commitment to helping older religious properties need to find ways to confer from time to time. We have much to share, and much to learn. BOB JAEGER Sacred Places • Fall 2009 • 2