SACRED SPACES
The Tie that Binds Us All
Many of Europe's once grandest cathedrals are now restaurants, hotels, or simply abandoned. Same may now be said of sacred spaces in New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia. And those economic pressures, caused by falling attendance in our mainstream Protestant religions, aging congregations, and diminished attendance, are now in South Carolina. Since churches, no matter how historic, cannot receive government money, options are limited.
In 2018, Preservation South Carolina kicked-off its Sacred Spaces program with a large and ambition project to save Trinity of Abbeville, no easy task given the complexity of the preservation and the need to raise over $3M dollars. While more work is ahead, the future of the building is no longer in doubt. Other successes have followed.
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Should your historic church be in transition, please free to call us. For general information, our resource page should be helpful.
SAVED
Good Hope Baptist Church
Eastover, Richland County
Listed in the National Register 1986.
The church, which had been dormant for years, was donated to Preservation South Carolina with the stipulation that the structure must always remain intact. In less than a month, a buyer was found, a large nearby Black community eager to find a permanent place of worship for their congregants.
Mt. Carmel Presbyterian
Abbeville county
Listed in the National Register 1982.
Mount Carmel, formed in the 1880s, soon became a flourishing village. But in the 1930s those good times disappeared. Today, its historic district contains a number of buildings built during the town’s early days, including Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church. Due to a generous donation, the church is now restored.
Trinity Episcopal Church
Abbeville
Listed in the National Register 1971.
This Gothic Revival masterpiece had been shuttered for years prior to Preservation South Carolina being accorded a five-year lease by the diocese to both raise significant funds and perform the necessary repairs. More work remains, but the church is once again safe and secure and open for worship.