Bricks and Mortals (based at New York City’s historic Judson Memorial Church) and collaborators Hartford Seminary and Partners for Sacred Places propose sustainable solutions to the persistent concerns of congregations about their buildings. Sustainable Solutions for Sacred Sites demonstrates adaptive, revenue-producing, and sustainable uses for sacred sites. Through this program, congregations and communities increase the resources they have to survive and thrive. The program raises the consciousness of sample congregations in ways that spark their alternative uses and inspire the wider American Christian community. They also learn how to survive to pray another day and to capture the possibilities in online worship, even as they maintain their real estate. Through the Congregational Learning Process (CLP), a key part of this program, congregations develop an understanding of the many adaptive reuse options available. The results of the program will include 25 congregation success stories and replicable studies on adaptive reuse of sacred sites. The program includes 25 teams of congregational leaders (from the CLP), coursework for long-term capacity building for clergy, a congregational Toolkit on Adaptive Reuse suitable to a wide array of needs, a website, and consciousness-raising in the American Christian community on adaptive reuse. In this program, congregations learn how to use and leverage their property as mission-central assets rather than debilitating burdens.
Sustainable Solutions for Sacred Sites
New York, NY
National