Built in 1953 along what is now a busy stretch of 87th Street, Hometown Christian Church is starting to reveal its age, especially in portions of its roof.
“The roof needs to be replaced,” said congregation member Shuron Waller, who was tasked by the church’s leader with helping to find grant funding for repairs. “Because we have leaking into our fellowship hall, which caused damage to our floor, we have floor tiling that needs to be replaced as well as ceiling tile.”
Recently, the congregation learned that their prayers had been answered in the form of a $5,000 Preservation Heritage Fund grant from Landmarks Illinois, one of nine projects awarded by the nonprofit organization.
“When we (learned) we got it, there was a burst of excitement,” Waller said.
Hometown Christian Church received the news from Suzanne Germann, director of reinvestment at Landmarks Illinois.
The building’s iconic look is one reason Landmarks Illinois decided to present it with a grant, said Germann, who’s been director of reinvestment for four years but worked for the organization for almost 21 years, always in grants.
“It was built in the middle of the century, but this one does have the iconic mid-century modern church (look) with that huge room and that A frame. It’s a beautiful building,” she said. “The sanctuary is really cool. I’ve only seen pictures. It’s beautiful.”
The other reason Hometown Christian received a grant is the congregation itself. “From the staff perspective, the congregation was very involved,” Germann said. “They really are committed to repairing this church and have a really good congregation that they’re working with and they need this building to complete their mission. That’s why the staff approved it.”
Bishop Mansa Kenyatta assigned Waller the task of looking for grants to fix the roof and said the problems with it began at least five or six years earlier, before he became pastor at Hometown Christian.
Kenyatta, who was pastor of City of Refuge International Ministries before being hired four years ago to lead Hometown Christian Church, said the two ministries merged following the pandemic. Hometown Christian now has about 25 active members. It was previously made up of mainly older adults on fixed income, and City of Refuge had members in their 30s and mid-40s.
Although the merger blended two different types of denominations – conservative Protestant and Pentecostal – Kenyatta said it’s going well so far. “I think we arranged the service where everyone is being ministered to,” such as one group used to singing hymns and the other more accustomed to praise music.
The grant is a matching one, and Kenyatta said the congregation is close to coming up with its $5,000. “We’re having a roofer come out and see if we can take the grant money with the matching funds and use it as a down payment to get the roof repair started,” he said. “We definitely need to get the roof fixed first before we repair the fellowship hall.”
Landmarks Illinois awards Preservation Heritage Fund grants to “significant structures or sites in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or reuse evaluation or need to be evaluated for landmark eligibility,” its website states.
When considering an application, the reinvestment committee – made up of planners, developers, architects and contractors – looks at the building itself as well as “the commitment by the owners to do the rehabilitation and repairs necessary. We look at the mission of the organization,” Germann explained.
“The way we evaluate the significance of a building is how significant it is to its owners and community. Obviously, this building is very important to this congregation and the community with the mission they have,” she added.
Germann said the organization receives lots of applications from churches. Since 2005, the Preservation Heritage Fund has awarded about 40 grants to churches.
“A lot of congregations come up against the cost of repairs, masonry. This is not uncommon for us to hear,” she shared. “What really came through for me is the commitment of this congregation. They really stayed in touch with me.”
Once a grant is awarded, the church has one year to get the work done. The money is sent once they show they have the matching funds and a plan in place. “They’ll get there. I’m not worried,” Germann said.
In addition to grant programs, Landmarks Illinois also acts as “a resource to them in guiding them through their rehabilitation, restoration and repairs. So reaching out to us for resources and not just money is an option,” Germann explained.
The church had created a GoFundMe page, but it has only raised a few hundred dollars. “When I heard we received a grant, that was very, very encouraging,” Kenyatta said
In the meantime, Waller is continuing to look for other grants to apply to roof-related repairs and to allow other things to get done, and she’s optimistic about her chances of success. “This has become something I’m good at and something our body as a church needs, and the fact that the bishop trusts me with it and I trust myself is making a difference,” she shared.
Waller said her favorite part of the building is the sanctuary “because when you come in, the entire place is beautiful. It reminds me of a cathedral. It’s a reminder of the leadership the bishop and his wife had put down in that place. It reminds me of a family, like a home. We depend on each other.”
The bishop said the church is “well-kept in most cases” and he would like to use the rooms downstairs once roof repairs are finished. “It’s my vision in the future to have a women’s support group, women who have dealt with domestic violence. A drug (addiction) program and possibly a day care facility. So the fact that we have these rooms downstairs, they’ll play a role in that,” he said.
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
