Historic Calvary United Methodist Church at 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places.

The church building, which was erected in 1906, now provides space for several community, cultural and religious groups and organizations, including Cedar Park Neighbors community association, Curio Theatre Company, Crossroads Music, Kol Tzedek Synagogue, West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship, and more.

Calvary Church will receive a matching grant of up to $250,000 to support an ambitious capital campaign to be launched in early 2022 by the Calvary Center for Culture and Community (CCCC), a nonprofit organization established by the church 20 years ago to manage the building. Backed by an additional $500,000 Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) matching grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, awarded to the Calvary Center last year, funds raised will enable major repairs and renovations of the building.

Together, the Calvary Church building, congregation, and Center serve over 5,000 community members yearly.

“We are honored and thrilled to be among the churches selected to receive this award,” says Calvary’s pastor, Rev. Tim Emmett-Rardin. “Our congregation has a rich legacy engaging the intersection of spirituality and justice, and our building has long served as a vibrant center of community activity.”

“This grant, together with our recent RACP grant, forms a solid basis for funding to make the Calvary building safer and more structurally sound, more versatile for multipurpose use, more energy efficient, more accessible, and more comfortable for the variety of user groups we host,” said Rich Kirk, CCCC Board President.

The National Fund for Sacred Places is a highly competitive program that supports congregations with buildings that have historical significance and architectural character and that play an essential role in meeting the larger social, economic, and spiritual needs of the communities they serve. The Fund is managed by Partners for Sacred Places, based in Philadelphia, in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.