Epiphany Conservation Trust, which raises funds for repairs and renovation at historic Church of the Epiphany, a cradle of the 1960 Chicano movement, has an opportunity to raise up to $150,000 for restoration work, and has asked for Episcopalians in the Diocese of Los Angeles for help.
Epiphany is one of 20 historic sites nationwide selected for a national grant competition that launched Sept. 24. Voting continues through Oct. 26.
Produced by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Main Street America, and American Express and backed by National Geographic, the 2018 Partners in Preservation: Main Streets program will provide a total of $1.6 million in preservation funding to projects that receive the most votes.
In the 1960s, Ephiphany was the birthplace of La Raza, a newspaper for the Chicano movement.
“If we succeed, we’ll use the grant funds to rehabilitate the church’s basement, where much of the Chicano movement was organized,” said the Rev. Thomas Carey, vicar.
“The renovated space will house our healthcare and legal clinic programs, our People’s History Project, and community meetings. The grant will also bolster a capital campaign already underway to not only preserve our history, but to keep Epiphany on the vanguard of redefining how the church as an institution can fuel social justice advocacy, service provision, and cultural and artistic expression.”
These are the other historic institutions vying for preservation funds:
- Baltimore: The Arch Social Club
- Biddeford, Maine: City Hall Clock Tower
- Birmingham: Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
- Boston: Roslindale Congregational Church
- Butte, Montana: Wah Chong Tai Mercantile and Mai Wah Noodle Parlor
- Chicago: Bronzeville Cookin’
- Danville, Virginia: Union Street
- Greensboro, North Carolina: International Civil Rights Center and Museum
- Kent, Washington: Historic Morrill Bank
- Leadville, Colorado: The Tabor Opera House
- Memphis: Clayborn Temple
- Miami: The Freedom Tower
- New York City: Hispanic Society Museum & Library
- Nogales, Arizona: Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber Co.
- Pontiac, Michigan: GM Modern Housing Legacy Homes
- Salt Lake City: New Hope Community Center
- San Francisco: The Women’s Building
- San Marcos, Texas: Historic First Baptist Church
- Seneca Falls, New York: National Women’s Hall of Fame
Adapted from The Episcopal News Update, Diocese of Los Angeles
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.