Sarah Jones wants places of worship to use their space for more than just worship.
“Congregations might use their space on Friday, Saturday, Sunday for worship services, but their space can accommodate more than that, and they want it to do more than that, right?” Jones said on the Rundown podcast. “Helping congregations think about what else could be happening in their space that still aligns with their values is really, really important.”
Jones is the Associate Director of Community Engagement at Partners for Sacred Places), which is utilizing government grants to give artists space in historic buildings of worship, particularly on Chicago’s South Side).
She has a willing partner in Pastor David Black of the First Presbyterian Church in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood.
“I think church buildings are one of the most underutilized resources in American communities,” said Black, who brought in South Side photographer and multi-disciplinary artist Max Li as his church’s first “Art Czar.” “We're all hopeful that this can become a model for other churches.”
On this episode of Rundown podcast, we hear from Jones, Black and Li about the initiative, and why they think combining the arts with spiritual places of worship makes so much sense.
