CRCs Afterlife of Sacred Spaces

Origins & Vision

Harold D. Morales

Greetings, my name is Harold Morales, I am a son of Rene y Esther Morales-Arriaga, partner of Veronica Morales-Diaz and father of Jakob & Max. I am also an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and executive director of the Center for Religion and Cities at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD.

When I first visited Baltimore as a prospective faculty member of Morgan State, I was struck by the number of vacant row houses and also the mural art that often covered them. What had been homes for hopes and dreams became reminders of longer cycles of decay. And from this decay canvases emerged for new dreams in the form of artistic storytelling.

These vistas inspired a community engaged learning project in which I had students study relationships between the mural art and the neighborhoods in which they were located. That project was one of the inspirations for the Center for Religion and Cities (or the CRC), which was founded in 2018 with support from the Henry Luce Foundation with a focus on social justice, collaborative, and community led and engaged work.

I met, began working with, and became familiar with Katie Day’s work on congregations on Philadelphia's Germantown Avenue and through it, I also learned of Ram Cnaan’s Halo Effect studies of congregations in Philadelphia and other cities.

This work inspired us at the CRC to help map direct aid services being provided by particular congregations in Baltimore - with the hope of fostering greater awareness of these and to inspire collaborations between them.

I was especially interested in collaborations between congregations and 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. I worked closely, for example, with the Black Church Food Security Network, while maintaining a more personal relationship with Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in which the non-profit operated out of and collaborated with. The collaboration was led by Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III, who was identifying gardening and farming as a form of prayer, as a hope and commitment to a future harvest, a healthy congregation, and a life well lived.

Around the same time, several of us at the CRC also became interested in what would happen to religious buildings as congregational numbers continued to decrease, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the rise of nones, i.e. those who identify with no particular religious tradition and/or community.

Our questions began to take shape:
when a city and its religious communities undergo drastic change, what will happen to its sacred spaces and buildings?
Will they be acquired by developers and for what purposes?
Or will communities embrace the change and transform themselves, offering prayer in new ways, ministering in radically different formats in a changed context (like praying through gardening)?
What challenges and difficulties might emerge from such transitions;
and what rituals might we nurture to help us move more gracefully through these?
What will be the afterlife of our cities’ sacred spaces and buildings?

Thank you to Dr. Marquisha Lawrence Scott for leading the CRCs efforts to nurture a space for vital and hopefully ongoing conversations on:
The Afterlife of Sacred Spaces in our Cities

Webinar

Thank you for visiting,
we hope that you’ll help us provide & improve future programs
by filling out our brief feedback form here:

On January 11, 2024 at 11am EST, the Center for Religion and Cities will be sponsoring a free webinar for clergy, congregational members, and leaders affiliated with religious congregations.

This webinar will walk through various needs of religious congregations with a specific eye toward their building improvement, creative uses of space, and the future of their ministries within their current locations. If you or any congregational leaders you know are interested in having discussions, join us for the Reimagining our Sacred Spaces: The Future of Religious Buildings in Changing Cities webinar.

The webinar is free, but registration is required: https://religiousbuildings.eventbrite.com
…

Webinar Description:

Is your congregation or one that you know of having a hard time maintaining their building? Are you concerned that the building’s resources and history may be undervalued or lost? Demographic and aging facilities make it difficult to address these questions and often lead to paralysis, underutilized space, and building deterioration over time.

We invite you to hear issues facing congregations are facing in cities across the US, learn what to avoid, and identify proactive steps your community can take to align your vision and resources in a rapidly changing environment. This webinar is organized and co-sponsored by Harold Morales at Morgan State University’s Center for Religion and Cities, Marquisha Scott at University of Denver and the CRC, Cailin McGough at Cap Ex Advisory Group, and Katie Day at Partners for Sacred Spaces. The panel will include invited guest speakers from Baltimore’s Lovely Lane United Methodist Church who recently completed a first phase of renovations.