In Vermont, Controversy over a Historic Church Hall

Posted by Kendall Harmon

An inn keeper who hoped to rescue a National Register of Historic Places building in Swanton from demolition says her efforts have failed and the 1876 American Gothic church hall is headed for the wrecking ball.

Jennifer Bright said last week that she is disappointed and sad the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church parish hall that she had hoped to move to her nearby inn is now slated for tear-down.

"I think there is an intrinsic value in the preservation of historic properties," she said. "This is not some shed that was in someone's back yard. This is a church. This is the first Episcopal church in Swanton."

The parishioners of Holy Trinity want the building removed so they can replace it with a new, larger hall that will sit in the same spot and connect to the adjacent marble church where they currently worship. After the marble church was built in 1909, parishioners began using the 1876 church as an auxiliary structure and parish hall for Sunday school, receptions and other functions.

Read it all from the Burlington Free Press.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes

5 Comments
Posted July 2, 2007 at 10:11 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. Jerod wrote:

These stories are so disappointing to read.  There is a Presbyterian church in our town trying to do something similar—gut their historic building in order to assimilate it into a new modern complex.  It is a shame and a tragedy for the church’s public witness when Christians display such disrespect for tradition and heritage, and their importance in human life and society.

July 2, 10:20 am | [comment link]
2. Philip Snyder wrote:

It sounds to me like the existing hall no longer suits the needs of the parish and they want to replace it with a larger hall.  If it does have such intrinsic value to the community, perhaps the community (or the inn keeper) would pay to have it moved from its present location to a new location.  This would save the building and provide the parish with the funds to build a new hall.

YBIC,
Phil Snyder

July 2, 10:52 am | [comment link]
3. Andrew717 wrote:

According to the story, the inn keeper was trying to do just that Phil, but the deal fell apart.

July 2, 10:56 am | [comment link]
4. Jerod wrote:

It seems rather utilitarian to say that because a building no longer suits the needs of a church it can destroy it.  Should not other ends also be held in view?  If, for instance, Christ Church Alexandria were to decide that its needs warranted the destruction or significant alteration of its historic building, would this not have devastating ramifications for the culture of the local community and nation at large?

I dare say that a church has a Christian responsibility to preserve, advance and concecrate culture for the glory of God, and a utilitarian mentality that disregards the worth of tradition and heritage simply cannot do that.  To say that a community (rather than a church) has the responsibility to preserve historic structures denies both the church’s role in culture and local community, as well as the value of historic structures generally.  I find the entire idea harmful to the church’s public witness and incompatible with a right view of the church’s role in society.

July 2, 11:19 am | [comment link]
5. evan miller wrote:

#4
I agree completely.

July 2, 2:03 pm | [comment link]
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