NEWS
Essential Support for Historic Houses of Worship
In the last year, the Sacred Places Indiana program awarded over $3 million in planning and capital grants to 30 congregations statewide.
Gifts of Faith
To help ensure the future of historic houses of worship, Indiana Landmarks’ Sacred Places Indiana program offers grants and training supported by funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. In the last year, the program awarded over $3 million in planning and capital grants to 30 congregations statewide.
Through its New Dollars/New Partners program, Sacred Places Indiana provides participants with technical expertise, training, and grants to support congregations as they raise funds and engage with community partners, offering program graduates planning grants to assess their buildings and prioritize restoration work. Last year, New Dollars/New Partners participant Hopewell Presbyterian Church outside Franklin used a $64,667 capital grant to repair masonry when water infiltration threatened the 1902 Gothic Revival/Romanesque church while maintaining the historic crenellations adorning the parapet wall of its 1958 addition.
In 2024, Sacred Places made the first round of grants from a substantial new program, the Sacred Places Indiana Fund, designed to help congregations address even greater capital needs at their historic houses of worship. Seven congregations across the state received over $2 million for historic preservation projects, including Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, which received a $400,000 grant to make masonry repairs on the bell tower and limestone façade of its 1920s Gothic Revival-style church.
The Plainfield Friends Meeting tapped into both programs to address chronic water infiltration at the historic Society of Friends Meeting House on the old National Road. Armed with the results of a study funded by a planning grant from the New Dollars/New Partners program, the congregation leveraged a $60,850 capital grant from the Sacred Places Indiana Fund to reroof the entire meeting house, sealing the building against future water damage.
“We continue to receive calls for help from congregations who need assistance in maintaining their historic facilities,” says David Frederick, director of Sacred Places Indiana. “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.”
If your historic church or parish is eligible, the fund is accepting applications for 2025 grants through June 15, 2025. Learn more about eligibility requirements at indianalandmarks.org/sacred-places-indiana.
This article first appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of Indiana Preservation, Indiana Landmarks’ member magazine.
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