Congregations learn about Partners for Sacred Places
by Anne Clarke Brown
Mountain Echo, July/August 2009

Partners for Sacred Places training “changes people’s ways of thinking about their buildings and their relationship to their communities,” said Tuomi Forrest, the group’s associate director. He spoke at sessions at Christ Church, Montpelier, and St. James’, Arlington, May 19 and 20, to representatives of fifteen Vermont congregations who came to learn about the Partners for Sacred Places training program, New Dollars/New Partners for Your Sacred Place.

Partners for Sacred Places is a national 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.

The Diocese of Vermont is considering joining with Partners for Sacred Places to provide training and assistance to congregations in building partnerships with their communities and in developing stewardship strategies for improvements to church properties that will enhance community use of those properties. The goal is to identify a minimum of eight congregations that will commit to participate in a “New Dollars/New Partners for Your Sacred Place” training.

The training takes place in four day-long sessions over the course of a year, and each congregation should send a team of three to four people, including clergy. It will include:
• strategies for building support from congregational members and generating new sources of capital funds from the larger community;
• writing a strong case statement for funding support;
• organizing to carry out a capital campaign;
• developing an action plan to help the congregation meet its fundraising goals after the training is over.

Forrest said the training takes an asset-based view of congregations and communities. While Partners began its work in an urban setting, he said the model works very well in rural areas where “churches are seen even more as centers of town life.” He added that some churches can rally the entire community behind them as they seek to care for or restore their historic buildings.

Asked how long a project arising out of the training might last, Forrest said, “As long as you have a building and a congregation.” Because the training generates new ways of thinking about buildings as assets and tools for ministry, it leads away from reactive to more proactive approaches to building maintenance and assessment. The training provides techniques for ongoing work, not just for a single project.

The Rev. Thomas Brown of St. Michael’s, Brattleboro, said, “I am so excited the diocese, which because of our polity owns our properties, is looking toward this program.” St. Michael’s has committed to participate. Others will make decisions by the end of June. For more information, contact Minister for Stewardship Development Angela Emerson at aemerson@dioceseofvermont.org or 802-359-4059.

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