Windows Restoration Project News
Photos of the monumental windows to be restored.
December 15, 2022 (update 2)
Big things are happening at the Old Groton Meeting House…or should I say, monumental? As we announced a few weeks back, the Buildings & Grounds Committee has embarked on a Windows Restoration Project and construction will begin in the next few weeks. The goal of this project is to restore the monumental windows in our beloved sanctuary.
This approximately $180,000 project is led by Trustees Co-chair Holly Estes and Charles Faucher representing First Parish Buildings and Grounds Committee. So far, they have raised $140,000 funds – a $70,000 Grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission and a matching funds commitment of another $70,000 from the First Parish Building Reserves Fund.
First Parish is also fortunate to have the support of the Old Groton Meeting House Preservation Fund (OGMHPF). This fund is a 501(C)(3) organization led by citizens of Groton and dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the Meeting House. The fund operates in collaboration with, but independently of First Parish.
The Windows project is exactly the type of project that the OGMHPF tells us it was created to help support. Consequently, the good news we have to share is that the Preservation Fund has now committed to support this Windows project to the tune of at least another $35,000.
Our Intern Minister, Li Kynvi, has this to say about those amazing monumental windows in the sanctuary and the generosity of time and money that is well on its way to making this project possible:
“Our sanctuary is an exquisitely grace-filled sacred space, thanks in no small part to the amazing windows–both the light they facilitate and the visual connection they afford.
The room itself, the future congregants whose experiences of sanctuary will be held by the room, and those who will carry this town into the future are all so well served by this generosity and by all your efforts at restoration. Brava!!”
Stay tuned for more detailed information about the project and feel free to contact Holly or Charles for more information.
Gratefully,
Holly Estes, Co-chair, Board of Trustees
On behalf of the Board of Trustees: Co-chair Alison Chase, Jackie Frey, Melissa Wood, Kristin Moffat
December 15, 2022 (update 1)
Celebrating $35,000 in Contributions to the Old Groton Meeting House Preservation Fund Windows Project
The Old Groton Meeting House Preservation Fund (“the Preservation Fund” or “the Fund” for short) views the current Windows Restoration Project (WRP) as a perfect example of the kind of preservation project that the Fund was built to support. Consequently, the OGMHPF board has taken several specific steps in recent months to contribute to the WRP.
1) The Fund granted $10,000 from its accounts to the Windows Project.
2) The Fund raised $8,000 from local Groton businesses this Fall for the WRP.
3) Since summer a total of $1,315 has come in from Groton citizens who are not First Parish Members. These funds will be directed to the WRP.
4) With encouragement from the Fund, 11 FPC members made recent donations or pledges totaling $15,800 specifically for the Windows Restoration Project.
Together these contributions towards the WRP total $34,815:
Fund Raising for Windows Project
OGMHPF Grant $10,000
Business Total 8,000
Community Total 1,315
First Parish Total 15,800
GRAND TOTAL $34,815
Finally, all funds contributed as a result of the Preservation Fund’s end of the year mailing will be applied to the Windows Project.
We encourage all those reading this newsletter to consider the Windows Project in your end of year giving. For those connected with First Parish, the easiest way to do this would be write a check to First Parish with Windows Project in the memo line, or to give online and include Windows Project in memo line.
The Preservation Fund is delighted that it can contribute to this important project and build on all of the excellent work and fund raising accomplished by First Parish. The Fund looks forward to great success on this project and the prospects of many collaborative efforts in the future.
Steve Lieman
Liaison between First Parish and the OGMH Preservation Fund
November 18, 2022
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I’d like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope your homes are filled with abundant love and plentiful food during the holiday.
As the Board’s liaison to the Buildings & Grounds Committee, I have been able to see some of the inner workings of our historic Old Groton Meeting House. The B & G Committee members work hard to maintain the Old Groton Meeting House and the Parish House while keeping the cost of the repairs at a minimum. As one would expect with historic buildings, some of the repairs are quite costly. Fortunately, the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has an annual grant program that funds historic restoration projects.
This year, First Parish was awarded a $70,000 matching grant from MHC to restore the monumental windows in the Old Groton Meeting House. We are working with the architectural firm Spencer Preservation Group to bring this project to fruition. The Old Groton Meeting House Committee (which is not affiliated with First Parish but supports our efforts to maintain the historic value of the building) is doing some fundraising of its own to help with the restoration project and we are grateful for their work. I’ll be adding more detailed information about the window restoration project to our website in the near future. In the meantime, feel free to contact me if you would like more details about the project.
Gratefully,
Holly Estes, Co-chair, Board of Trustees
On behalf of the Board of Trustees: Co-chair Alison Chase, Jackie Frey, Melissa Wood, Kristin Moffat