Preserving and Strengthening the Cultural Heritage of Sacred Places in Central Appalachia

Background

Since 2019 Partners for Sacred Places’ Preserving and Strengthening the Cultural Heritage of Sacred Places in Central Appalachia program has successfully assisted a cohort of nine, culturally significant, historic sacred places located across four Central Appalachian states (North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia.) Through the project Partners has provided capacity-building training, help engaging community stakeholders, and support for the preservation of their historic buildings through matching funds for restoration and repair. With these resources, the participating sacred places have enhanced community ties through encouraging greater awareness and appreciation of the profound cultural value of the many folk arts and crafts that make their buildings invaluable assets for culture and community in Central Appalachia. To date, the program has helped each sacred place sustain its presence in the community and assisted with preserving their folk art, architecture, and cultural traditions through repair and restoration work with local artists, craftspeople, and artisans.

Opportunities and Needs

This project responds to the shared challenges faced by many of the region’s historic sacred places as their architecture, arts, and traditions are increasingly at risk. Many congregations have smaller memberships and fewer resources than they did in the past. Some even risk closing. In other cases, a nonprofit organization has taken on the care of a sacred place in collaboration with or in place of a congregation. This project will offer new tools and resources to build networks of friends and advocates for these important buildings, develop new sources of revenue and capital funds, and collaborate with artists and artisans to activate and restore these invaluable cultural and historic places for sustainable futures.

Phase 2: 2022-2025

In 2022 the project was renewed for another three-year cycle. For this new phase, Partners for Sacred Places is seeking to identify and invite a new cohort of sacred places across Central Appalachia. The program will help 10-12 congregations (or nonprofit organizations) that own and care for historic sacred places:

• Strengthen their capacity by learning how to tell a church’s story to the community, take better care of historic buildings, and engage with neighbors to develop wide support for an historic sacred place.
• Leverage their assets (such as history, culture, community-serving programs, and more) along with those of their community—artists and arts organizations, public sector leaders, community organizations, local donors, and civic leaders—in order to identify and build new connections that can lead to new programs, partnerships, and funding.
• Access planning grants of $2,000-$7,500 (with a 1:2 in kind or cash match) and capital grants of $5,000-$15,000 (with a 1:1 in-kind or cash match) to support successful repair and restoration projects for their buildings and elements of folk arts and crafts.

In addition to accessing grants, participating sacred places will be selected for the New Dollars/New Partners for Your Historic Sacred Place training program. The training will help develop the capacity of the stewards of culturally significant historic sacred places, and prepare them to successfully implement repair and restoration projects through new fundraising efforts and community partnerships. Partners staff will also work directly with each sacred place in order to engage and convene community stakeholders and leaders on-site for conversations that help further their efforts to restore and enliven their historic houses of worship.

Continuing the Folk Art Tradition

In addition to working with a new cohort of sacred places, this special project will also select approximately four sacred places from the first cohort in order to support the creation of new works of folk art and crafts for their historic buildings. For example, projects could include new iron light fixtures forged by hand, new murals, or even new handmade liturgical furnishings, among many other possibilities. All of the new projects would also involve the community through educational or other activities that allow curious and creative individuals and families to take part in the living tradition of folk arts.