Sacred Places Summer 2011 | Page 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Update on Partners: New Dollars/New Partners Success Story; Exemplars Profile 14 FROM THE PRESIDENT Making Homes for the Arts in Sacred Places is catching fire! Of course, churches, synagogues, and temples have hosted music, theatre, and dance performances for millennia, but Partners’ work to support and encourage homes for the performing arts in our older sacred places is very new, and is prompting “Hallelujahs” from every quarter! FEATURE STORY: Making Homes for the Arts in Sacred Places Funding Brief: Endowments Now! 19 20 Green Building Feature: Harvesting Rainwater 21 Professional Alliance Spotlight: Levy Associates Architects 23 Professional Alliance Directory ABOUT PARTNERS Partners for Sacred Places is the only national, nonsectarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to the sound stewardship and active community use of America’s older religious properties. 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 web-based 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 PHOTO: Art Sanctuary’s A Shepherd Among Us Community Concert held at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, PA. Photo courtesy of Art Sanctuary. THUMBNAIL PHOTO: Poet Stephen Ferry performs a spoken word interpretation of Staition 9 at West Kensington Ministry’s Stations of the Cross in Philadelphia, PA. Photo courtesy of West Kensington Ministry. When I refer to “homes for the arts” I mean much more than occasional performances, which many, many churches and synagogues host throughout the year. Instead, I’m referring to the full range of an arts group’s activities, including rehearsals, administrative functions, storage, performances, and sometimes even the construction of sets or the production of costumes. It’s space for this full range of functions that many small arts groups need most, and we are finding that congregations can often provide that space, seeing that the arts are an expression of the church’s or synagogue’s mission to serve and support the community. The cover article for this issue delves into the findings of our recent planning study in Philadelphia, as well as the services we will be providing in Chicago and Philadelphia. Having worked with congregations for over 20 years, we knew that many of them would be excited to partner in new ways with music, theatre, and dance – and sometimes painters, sculptors, and other visual artists. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that artists are equally excited about these partnerships, and for the best of reasons. For both congregations and arts groups, it’s not just about financial benefits – that is, creating a new income stream for congregations, and creating a stable, affordable home for the arts. More importantly, it’s also about connecting to new constituencies and stakeholders. Arts groups are eager to engage congregants and neighbors, motivating them to attend a performance or become a donor. By the same token, congregations are eager to invite arts group subscribers and donors to become involved in the life of the church or synagogue. By bringing arts groups and congregations together and supporting their efforts to build sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships, Partners will be doing a great public good. Our preliminary conversations with arts leaders at the national level suggest that we will have opportunities to do this work in many more regions in the years to come. And as a result, both sacred places and the arts will be supported and energized in important new ways. BOB JAEGER Sacred Places • Summer 2011 • 2