We are delighted to announce that the National Fund for Sacred Places has awarded a $250,000 matching grant to the United Parish in Brookline! We are one of 16 congregations out of over 370 applicants to receive the grant this year. Special thanks to our Assistant Treasurer Lietza Molloy for her invaluable leadership in preparing and submitting our application, along with help from former Treasurer Doug Johnson, Financial Planning Co-Chair Mark Jones, Moderator Jennifer Rodine, Deb Hall, David Rockwell, Holly VandeWall, the Brookline Food Pantry, Thrifty Threads, our staff and pastors.
This grant is one piece of an overall, long-range planning strategy that we are creating to meet our building’s capital improvement needs and ensure the future of our congregation’s mission and ministry in Coolidge Corner. This strategic planning follows up on our Purpose Clarification process from this past winter and spring.
This grant will help us address the expensive and immediate safety and structural challenges of our building’s deteriorating facade. Specifically, we will repair our bell tower so we can reopen the main doorway to the sanctuary and provide better access for our congregation and visitors. This project will also ensure our community can safely enjoy the area around our rainbow Adirondack chairs which are a symbol of our radical welcome and have become a beloved gathering space for our town. Plus, with safer access to the tower, we will soon be able to hear the tower bells ring once again throughout the neighborhood!
The grant requires that we raise $500,000 in matching funds. If you’d like to help us reach our goal, please donate here.
The National Fund for Sacred Places grant program will provide us with training, hands-on technical assistance and capacity-building support in addressing this preservation project. As a first step, our Senior Pastor Kent French, Lietza Molloy, and Emily Reed will attend an initial required workshop in Philadelphia in mid-November for an orientation to the program and training in fundraising and project management.
If you’re as excited about this as we are and would like to get involved, please contact Lietza at assistanttreasurer@
About the National Fund for Sacred Places
The National Fund for Sacred Places is a part of Partners for Sacred Spaces, in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This highly competitive program supports vibrant faith communities that have buildings of historical significance and architectural character and that play an essential role in meeting the larger spiritual, social, and economic needs of the wider communities they serve. This year’s grantees represent some of the most important and impactful houses of worship in the country. With these grants, the National Fund recognizes their contributions and seeks to support their efforts.
To learn more about this program and this year’s grant recipients, visit fundforsacredplaces.org.
