Partners for Sacred Places Supports Preservation of St. John’s Episcopal Church

This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.

BELLEFONTE — For more than 150 years, St. John’s Episcopal Church has stood as part of the architectural and community fabric of Bellefonte.

Now, an effort to preserve the historic church is receiving support from an organization that believes sacred places can be just as important to a community Monday through Saturday as they are on Sunday.

St. John’s is among the rural Pennsylvania churches receiving support through the Pennsylvania Faithful Fund, a program administered by Partners for Sacred Places. Individual grants range from $50,000 to $100,000 and recipients also receive training aimed at helping congregations plan for the long-term use and sustainability of their buildings.

Partners for Sacred Places President Robert (Bob) Jaeger said the national nonprofit was founded in 1989 as congregations across the country were beginning to shrink while remaining responsible for large, aging buildings.

The organization helps congregations find ways to preserve those buildings while expanding their use within their communities.

“We love the buildings, but we also love how they use those buildings to serve people in need,” Jaeger said.

That community role is one reason St. John’s stood out among applicants.

Jaeger said the Bellefonte church is architecturally and culturally significant, including its distinctive steeple, but its importance extends beyond the building itself.

St. John’s opens its space to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, youth activities, cultural events and other community uses.

“It’s a place for culture and performance. It’s a place for self-help groups like AA. It’s a place for kids and seniors,” Jaeger said.

Partners for Sacred Places has studied the economic impact of congregations in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania. Jaeger said research has shown that nearly 90% of those benefiting from programs housed in an average church are not members of that congregation.

“These are de facto community centers,” Jaeger said.

The challenge is keeping those community centers standing.

The Rev. Ruth Ferguson said St. John’s was built in 1871 and consecrated in 1872. Like many historic churches, maintaining a building of that age has become increasingly difficult for a congregation to handle alone.

The need became particularly apparent after a storm in April 2025 damaged the church’s steeple.

Ferguson said she had already recognized that the property needed attention before the storm.

“I remember walking around the building thinking, ‘Oh, this church needs some TLC,’” Ferguson said.

The storm provided a clear priority and helped propel efforts to seek outside funding. Ferguson said church members learned about the Pennsylvania Faithful Fund through grants team leader Sze Wing Yu shortly before its application deadline and quickly assembled an application.

Beyond the immediate steeple work, Ferguson said St. John’s hopes to eventually have a professional assessment completed to prioritize future preservation needs across the church, parish hall and rectory.

The goal is to move away from simply reacting when something goes wrong and toward long-term planning.

That philosophy is central to Partners for Sacred Places.

Jaeger said deferred maintenance can eventually lead to water intrusion and other problems that make portions of historic churches unusable. The organization encourages congregations to work with architects familiar with historic structures to determine which repairs are most urgent and develop plans spanning several years.

For St. John’s, preserving the property also means preserving space that continues to serve Bellefonte.

Ferguson said the parish hall is used for youth programming, meetings and other activities, while the congregation has worked to maintain an outward focus on the surrounding community.

“It’s always been a place that strengthens the community, not just on Sunday mornings,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson views the current congregation as one generation in a much longer history of caring for St. John’s.

“Every generation here that’s gone before us has taken responsibility for keeping the place standing,” she said.

Jaeger said Pennsylvania is particularly important to Partners for Sacred Places because the organization’s main office is in Philadelphia. The Faithful Fund represents its first program specifically focused on rural churches.

“We hope this is just the beginning,” Jaeger said.

For Ferguson, the investment represents more than repairing an aging piece of architecture. It is about making sure St. John’s can continue serving Bellefonte for generations to come.

“We’re not seeking this grant money to be preserved,” Ferguson said. “It’s because we and the community and Partners for Sacred Places recognize that what we do here is worth investing in for the next generation.”

More information about Partners for Sacred Places and its preservation programs is available at sacredplaces.org.