NEWS
Grant Allows Peru Church to Offer Warm(er) Welcome
Indiana Landmarks’ mission to save meaningful places encompasses buildings large and small. A grant from our Sacred Places Indiana program recently helped the congregation of a modest church in Peru save its historic windows.
Answer to a Prayer
Wayman A.M.E. Church, a spiritual support to its community since the 1870s, built its current structure in 1949 after a flood swamped the original house of worship. The crisp-white frame building on an elevated foundation shows little ornamentation save for a golden stained-glass window.
As with many churches, membership is lower today than it was a generation ago. On an average Sunday, only half the pews are filled at Wayman A.M.E. “Many members of our congregation are elderly and on a fixed income. We want to be good caretakers of our property, but funds tend to be limited,” says Reverend Mindy Mayes, recently installed as pastor.
With a big gas bill for heat – the church’s largest monthly expense — the congregation considered replacement windows to reduce energy costs. Paul Hayden, director of our Northeast Field Office, convinced the congregation that snug-fitting storm windows would be a better solution, less expensive and more suitable for the building’s historic character. A $5,000 grant from our Sacred Places Indiana program helped pay for the new storms. Reverend Mayes smiles as she recalls a recent winter service after the new storm windows were installed, “I actually had to ask to turn down the heat in the sanctuary because I wasn’t used to it being so warm! The help from Indiana Landmarks has been like an answer to our prayers.”
To learn more about the Sacred Places Indiana program, contact David Frederick, program director, 317-822-7952, dfrederick@indianalandmarks.org. For more information about preservation work at Wayman A.M.E., contact Paul Hayden, 260-563-7094.
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