As part of its continuing mission to help save valuable historic buildings, WHALE, in conjunction with the Interchurch Council of Greater New Bedford and the City, is planning a Historic Religious Properties Workshop for congregations and parishes in New Bedford that own historic buildings. There are at least 56 such properties in the city.
Historic religious buildings are beloved by their congregations and their neighbors. They provide critical community services and support for their neighborhoods and the city at large. These magnificent structures are a priceless part of New Bedford’s heritage. Their irreplaceable architectural character helps to define New Bedford’s neighborhoods and cityscape, with steeples, domes and towers punctuating the skyline.
Unfortunately, the maintenance and upkeep of historic churches and synagogues is challenging and expensive. With little financial and technical resources, congregations struggle with how to manage, maintain and preserve their treasured buildings.
The Historic Religious Properties workshop will provide congregations with information on assessing their historic structure’s condition, prioritizing and managing preservation work and discovering avenues of funding that may be available to them.
We encourage WHALE members who are involved in the religious community to spread the word about the workshop to religious and lay leaders. We will keep you posted on the details as the information becomes available.
