Historic houses of worship share in $2.4M in grants
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Seventeen congregations statewide will receive more than $2.4 million in grants from Indiana Landmarks’ Sacred Places Indiana Fund to fund church building improvements.
The awards mark the second round of grants since the fund was established last year with a $10 million grant from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. The first round of grants was announced in February. Seven congregations received more than $2 million.
“We continue to receive calls for help from congregations who need assistance in maintaining their historic facilities,” David Frederick, director of Indiana Landmarks’ Sacred Places program, said in a news release. “By offering this critical funding, we hope to help congregations and parishes continue to thrive as spiritual centers and make vital contributions to their communities.”
Congregations eligible to receive Sacred Places matching grants to pay for improvements to historic churches must have identified significant capital needs, have the support of their judicatories and be ready to undertake a capital campaign.
The following are the congregations that received funding in the second round of grants:
- Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Indianapolis: $60,000 to restore stained glass at the 1927 church.
- First Christian Church, New Castle: $125,000 for repairs to the 1958 church’s bell tower.
- Gobin United Methodist Church, Greencastle: $260,000 to replace the original slate roof on the 1928 church.
- Irvington Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis: $180,000 to repair exterior masonry and heating and cooling systems at the 1929 church.
- Mount Zion Baptist Church, Indianapolis: $100,000 to replace the roof and repair heating and cooling systems at the 1960 church.
- New Circle Church, Indianapolis: $50,000 for roof, masonry, and other exterior repairs at the 1921 church.
- Roberts Park United Methodist Church, Indianapolis: $75,000 for roof repairs at the 1876 church.
- Sisters of Providence, Terre Haute: $150,000 to replace the fire suppression system in the 1891 Church of the Immaculate Conception at the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods campus.
- Saint Benedict Cathedral, Evansville: $200,000 to replace a heating and cooling systems air handler in the 1927 church.
- Saint Joseph Catholic Parish, Mishawaka: $400,000 to replace the original slate roof on the 1891 church.
- Saint Mark’s United Church of Christ, New Albany: $67,000 to repair masonry on the church’s 1968 education building.
- Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, New Albany: $70,000 to repair the foundation of the 1895 church.
- Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church, Haysville: $135,000 for repairs to heating and cooling systems and boiler piping in the 1948 church.
- Saint Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Indianapolis: $80,818 to rehabilitate the 1929 church’s bell tower.
- Saint Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Catholic Church, South Bend: $125,000 for structural repairs under the 1900 church’s sanctuary.
- Trinity Episcopal Church, Fort Wayne: $275,000 for masonry and structural repairs at the 1866 church.
- Trinity United Methodist Church, Lafayette: $100,000 to restore the 1872 church’s stained glass.
Applications for the next round of grants from the Sacred Places Indiana Fund will be accepted in mid-January 2025.
Indiana Landmarks and Philadelphia-based Partners for Sacred Places founded Sacred Places Indiana in 2015 with funding from Lilly Endowment. The endowment last year provided the $10 million gift to create a more robust matching grant program over the next three years, Indiana Landmarks said.
Sacred Places Indiana now offers planning grants of up to $25,000, capital grants of up to $500,000, and emergency grants of up to $250,000 to qualifying congregations.