Ten congregations begin Partners for Sacred Places program
by Anne Clarke Brown
Mountain Echo, October 2009

Teams from ten Vermont congregations came together Saturday, September 12, at Trinity, Rutland, to begin a journey with Partners for Sacred Places (Partners) in their training program, “New Dollars/New Partners for Your Sacred Place.” Tuomi Forrest, associate director at Partners and Senior Trainer Sarah Peveler led the first of four full-day sessions.

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 New Dollars/New Partners training is intended to give congregations tools to be better stewards of their buildings, resources for creating community partnerships, methods for fund-raising, both within the congregation and in the community, and tools for ongoing stewardship of buildings and financial resources. Many of the participating congregations will use the training to launch capital campaigns.

Each of the four training days has a specific focus: 1) making the case for your sacred space; 2) developing community partnerships using an asset-based approach; 3) internal fund raising; and 4) community-based funding. Forrest stressed that, “The real work happens in between the sessions. Those congregations that do the work make progress.”

In an initial exercise, “Meet the Governor,” Forrest asked each congregation to spend a few minutes creating a one-minute pitch, or elevator speech, for a chance meeting with Governor Douglas, for whom he acted as a stand-in. What makes the congregation unique? Is there a connection that can be made with the governor to further draw his interest? What does the congregation want? One member of each group then had a minute with the governor/Forrest.

Dick Mansfield of Christ Church, Montpelier, said of the exercise, “Thinking through this sort of speech is a great stewardship and outreach tool for congregations—to have it embedded within the congregation.”

The remainder of the day included presentations on the various tool kits for the “making your case” phase of the training. The heritage tool helps answer, “Who are we?” and is more than a simple history. The building assessment tool addresses, “What do we have?” Architect Jeremiah Parker demonstrated the tool by leading the group on a tour of the facilities at Trinity. “Understanding your building,” he said, “is the beginning of your master plan for whatever it is you want to do.”

The public value tool helps in understanding and quantifying “What do we do?” Forrest noted that an early Partners’ study found that 81% of people entering churches are not members but are there because of the many community ministries offered. The congregational teams will work with all three tools over the next two months to craft an effective case statement that can be adapted for different audiences.

When asked for a word that described their experience of the day, congregational teams offered: hopeful, challenging, exciting, enlightening, overwhelming, and enthusiastic.

Participating congregations are St. James’, Arlington, St. Peter’s, Bennington, Our Saviour, Killington, St. Peter’s, Lyndonville, Christ Church, Montpelier, Trinity, Rutland, St. Luke’s, St. Albans, St. Andrew’s, St. Johnsbury, Grace Church, Sheldon, and St. Paul’s, White River Junction.

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