Historic Churches: Six Cases

By Kirk Petersen tion will acquire the property and continue using it for
worship.

A s attendance dwindles in many historic Episcopal

congregations, so does pledge income, and it be-
comes harder and harder to maintain beautiful old
Historic church buildings tend to give value to the
community beyond the members of the congregation.
Partners for Sacred Places, a nonprofit agency that pro-
buildings with slate roofs and soaring arches in the nave. vides consulting and grants to churches, has identified
Some churches have closed, and more will need to. an “economic halo effect” of historic church buildings.
There’s a special reluctance to close truly historic build- A study published by Partners found that “the average
ings, but saving them often requires resources far be- historic sacred place in an urban environment gener-
yond what a small remaining congregation can provide. ates over $1.7 million annually in economic impact.”
Historic churches in a budget crunch have a number The report also found that 87 percent of the benefici-
of options: aries of community programs and events housed in
• They can secure funding from the diocese, the the churches are not members of the congregations.
broader community, or historic-preservation groups. In addition to Partners, the Episcopal Church Build-
• They can borrow, with the building as collateral. ing Fund also provides consulting for parishes and dio-
• They can sell off assets, if they have them to sell. ceses, as well as providing conventional loans. ECBF is
• They can repurpose part of their church property itself historic, founded in 1880 at a time of rapid Epis-
for rental, thereby preserving a historic structure and copal expansion.
maintaining a downsized congregation. TLC has gathered in these pages the stories of half a
• They can close their doors, give the keys to the dozen historic Episcopal churches throughout the coun-
diocese, and hope that some other religious organiza- try, illustrating the different paths they can choose.

St. Martin’s, Harlem said Barry Donaldson, the architect

Rising from the Ashes, Twice working with the parish and the Dio-
cese of New York. Many of the bells
St. Martin’s is a huge landmark in will have to be removed temporarily.
Harlem, New York, with seating for One of them weighs 2,500 pounds.
3,300. It was built with granite in the The diocese is providing an interest-
Byzantine Revival style in 1886 as Holy free bridge loan to finance the $2.8
Trinity, but that congregation opted to million bell tower project, said the Rev.
move out when the building was nearly Canon Blake Rider, canon to the ordi-
destroyed by fire in 1925. Only the nary, with the expectation of being re-
walls remained standing. paid through the sale of one or more
The building was restored by a new townhouses that the church owns in
congregation, St. Martin’s, only to be the area.
ravaged by fire again in 1939. Rebuilt The tower is just the beginning of
once more under the leadership of the St. Martin’s needs. “The entire roof
Rev. John H. Johnson, the church needs to be redone,” Donaldson said,
flourished for decades with a predom- and the original slate and copper roof
inantly Caribbean congregation. But has been replaced across decades with
weekly attendance has fallen to about residential-grade asphalt and tar. Once
100, said Valerie Daly, senior warden. the roof is stable, the two-foot-thick
The structure is best known in the walls will need to dry out for many
neighborhood for the 42-bell carillon months before extensive interior work
installed in the 1940s. The bells have can be done. Overall, the project may
been silent for several years because go on for a decade, and Rider said it
the bell tower is unsafe. “I’m sure it will will require “several more millions of
involve taking some of the tower apart, dollars of work.”
and then putting it back together When asked if the building is worth
again” after numbering all the stones, (Continued on next page)

February 25, 2018 • THE LIVING CHURCH 17

Historic Churches: Six Cases 1967 riots that left 43 dead. The roof
leaks because of damage from thieves
(Continued from previous page) who tried to steal the copper gutters
and flashings, says lifelong parishioner
the investment, Rider said: “We spent a Alethea Belfon. The parking lot is a
long time looking at that.” The decid- mess, and the kitchen needs upgrading
ing factors were the rich history of the to support the church’s ministry pro-
church and the existence of assets that viding hot meals to the poor and
can cover much of the cost. “We de- homeless.
cided we could not let this parish fail,” “Matty-Joe’s” has room for about 300
he said. He added that Harlem is gen- in the pews, but only 40 to 50 sit there
trifying, which is bringing more on an average Sunday.
money into the neighborhood. The Woodward Avenue building,
The church is historically important which was added to the National Reg-
in the community because of extensive is too small for its real estate, and the ister of Historic Places in 1982, origi-
civil rights activism dating back to the planned renovations are estimated at nally housed just St. Joseph’s. After
1930s, when the church established a $3.2 million. falling on hard times in the years after
federal credit union to make it possible The parish plans a capital campaign the riots, St. Matthew’s merged and
for black members to acquire mort- in the fall and is working with both the moved in with St. Joseph’s in 1971. St.
gages. In the 1940s, the church was in- Episcopal Church Building Fund and Matthew’s was founded in 1846, mak-
volved in the effort to integrate Major Partners for Sacred Places. Livengood ing it one of the oldest traditionally
League Baseball, according to a history is a thankful for the Sacred Places con- black parishes in the Episcopal
of the church by the Mount Morris Park sulting service, which urged St. Paul’s Church. Early parishioners helped
Community Improvement Association. to draw the downtown community slaves escape across the Detroit River
into its planning. The State of New into Canada.
St. Paul’s, Syracuse York also has funds for historic preser- The church was a runner-up last
vation and tax incentives that St. Paul’s year in competition for funding from
Embracing the Neighborhood hopes will help. the Partners for Sacred Places, having
The cornerstone for St. Paul’s in Syra- applied for $250,000 in matching
cuse was laid in 1884, but the congre- St. Matthew’s & St. Joseph’s, Detroit funds. The parish was encouraged to
gation dates to 1827, when it became apply again with a more comprehen-
the third church in the young village. Struggling Despite Rich History sive project plan, Belfon said. Parish-
The current church was built in Gothic St. Matthew’s & St. Joseph’s Church oc- ioners are working on it, but do not re-
Revival style, at a time when railroads cupies a Gothic structure built in 1926, ally have money for professional fees.
and the Erie Canal had turned Syra- when the booming new auto industry
cuse into a booming transportation had turned Detroit into “the Silicon
and manufacturing hub. Valley of its day,” says the Rev. Ken-
St. Paul’s is a large place: the church neth Near, priest-in-charge.
seats about 500, and there is a spacious Now Detroit is arguably America’s
three-story parish house. “We have a most distressed city, and the North
lot more space than we need,” said Re- End church is near ground zero of the
becca Livengood, chair of the task
force for renovating the buildings.
As the downtown gentrifies again,
there’s an increased demand for apart- St. Andrew’s, Dayton
ments for young professionals, and the
church wants to build nine apartments Saying Goodbye
on the second and third floors of the St. Andrew’s in Dayton, Ohio, traces
parish house. That will require in- its roots to 1865. Its white A-frame
stalling an elevator and making other church building opened in 1923, and
handicap accessibility changes, and like as the city grew, so did the parish, lead-
many churches St. Paul’s needs money ing to an expansion in the 1950s. But
for roof repair and deferred mainte- membership and donations have been
nance. dropping for many years, with about
Average Sunday attendance is about 25 worshipers on an average Sunday
130, not including a Dinka-language in 2016, in a church that will seat more
service for South Sudanese refugees. than 150.
That is not a small congregation, but it The church has made the difficult

18 THE LIVING CHURCH • February 25, 2018

decision to close its doors, said Sally manesque Revival styles.
O’Brien, vice president of the Episco- The church attracts about 70 wor-
pal Church Building Fund, which shipers on an average Sunday. It is
worked with the Diocese of Southern historically a working-class Latino
Ohio to assess the viability of St. An- church, and the larger of two services
drew’s and other churches. The final is in Spanish. There is a smaller Eng-
service is scheduled for April 8. lish-language service that includes
Amanda Romero, a member of the some professionals, “but nobody with
task force pursuing options for the a lot of money, I can tell you that,” said
building, said the diocese plans to keep the Rev. Thomas Carey, Epiphany’s
the building maintained through 2018 bilingual priest. been closed since 2009 because of
so a food pantry and used-clothing Epiphany has already been through earthquake concerns, even though the
shop within it can continue to operate. one major round of repairs, which building survived massive earthquakes
The parish has spent about $15,000 on saved the parish hall from collapsing, in 1906 and 1989.
repairing water damage upstairs, and added a commercial kitchen, and fixed “For some reason the insurance
the building needs a new roof. some stained-glass windows. But the company has only banned us from the
O’Brien praised the parishioners for roof needs repair, there’s a water prob- main sanctuary,” which has room for
the way they are handling the loss: lem in the basement, and leaders want 450 people, said the Rev. Patricia Cun-
“They did not wait until it was too late. to renovate the large basement and the ningham, priest-in-charge. The con-
They are closing as a parish while the offices above it. All this will require up- gregation, which numbers 60 people
building is still in good shape, and dating the 1913 electrical equipment. on an average Sunday, meets in a more
there is still a bank account, and turn- Carey said Epiphany is gathering es- intimate adjoining parish hall “that’s
ing it over to the diocese.” timates, but it will all cost “a lot.” The sort of the right size for us,” she said.
The diocese will confer with local parish received a grant for up to But they want to reopen the main
churches, nonprofit agencies, and civic $250,000 from Partners for Sacred church as a venue for concerts and
leaders to determine the best future Places, but it requires a two-to-one weddings and are moving toward turn-
use for the property. match, so Epiphany needs to raise ing it into a center for the arts. Three
$500,000. Those funds can only be performing groups are headquartered
used for structural repairs, but the or- in the massive building, and they are
gan needs $30,000 worth of work. opening a small art gallery.
Epiphany has received “major help” The seismic retrofit will cost $4 mil-
from the diocese, Carey said, and is lion. The parish already has $1 million
preparing for a capital campaign. in the bank, and Cunningham said it
has borrowing power based on an ex-
Trinity & St. Peter’s, San Francisco pected ability to generate $400,000 in
annual rentals. It has received a
Sustaining an Arts Community $250,000 matching grant from Part-
Trinity & St. Peter’s in San Francisco is ners for Sacred Places, but the future is
the oldest Episcopal church west of the not entirely clear. In a July 2017 report,
Mississippi. It was founded as Trinity Sacred Places said the congregation is
Episcopal during the Gold Rush in not ready for a major capital campaign,
1849 and inhabits a fortress-like Nor- and advised it to work to build mem-
man Gothic structure opened in 1894. bership and increase partnerships with
The sanctuary of soaring arches has the arts community. ❏

Epiphany, Los Angeles

Saving its Structure
Church of the Epiphany, founded in
1886, is the oldest Episcopal Church
still in use in the Diocese of Los Ange-
les. The church building erected that
A Division of
year is still in use as a parish hall. The
current church was built in 1913 with a
West Coast flair, in a mix of Gothic Re-
vival, Mission Revival, and Ro-

February 25, 2018 • THE LIVING CHURCH 19