St. Paul's Awarded $300,000 National Fund for Sacred Places Grant
St. Paul's has received a $300,000 grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places to restore our historic building. We were one of 30 congregations selected from 466 applicants, and the only one in Minnesota. Learn more at fundforsacredplaces.org.
Raising Our $300,000 Match
The grant requires a 1:1 match raised after October 1, 2026, so capital campaign gifts don't count toward it. National Fund staff say congregations in our position often raise the match successfully. Here's how we plan to raise it:
- Grants and foundations: National Fund staff will help us apply to preservation funders. They're also giving us a $20,000 planning grant to hire marketing help.
- In-kind donations: Up to $60,000 in staff and volunteer time counts toward the match.
- St. Paul's Foundation: A proposal to make more Foundation funds available for the building is coming soon.
- Designated giving: Special offerings and part of our 2027–2028 general fund giving can go toward the match. Additional pledges to the capital campaign received after October 1, 2026 and gifts to the campaign above the previously pledged amount can count towards the match.
How the Funds Will Be Used
The grant covers different repairs than the capital campaign, so we need both.
The capital campaign will fund:
- Exterior sealants, tuck-pointing, and stone and brick repair
- Window lintel and entrance steps repairs
- Installation of safety rails
- Sealing an underground wall that leaks
- An architect to oversee the work
This work will begin, as planned, in the Spring of 2027.
The grant and match will fund:
- Restored exterior entrance lighting
- Roof replacement and coating, including the Bell Tower and hail-damaged shingles
- Sanctuary plaster, leak repair, and painting
- Attic insulation replacement
- Exterior sign replacement
- Other exterior repairs the campaign doesn't cover
- All other need repairs likely to be revealed during the restoration process
Grant funded work starts once we raise $75,000, which releases the first $150,000. We'll get the second $150,000 when the full match is raised.
Thank you for your support. Please keep this effort in your prayers.
St. Paul's Leadership Team Andrew Petersen, President · Todd Walsh, Vice-President · Calli Ekblad, Treasurer · Courtney Snyder, Secretary · Pastor Amy Larson
Worship Times:
In-person Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
The 9:30 service is also live-streamed.
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Reconciling in Christ (RIC)
St. Paul’s is a Reconciling in Christ congregation.
This means that whatever your sexual orientation, gender identity,
gender expression, ethnic background, age, political leaning (if any),
economic status, marital status, issues with life, faith struggles,
questions, and needs for support YOU are welcome here.
You are invited, encouraged, and welcomed to worship,
to participate in all aspects of life at St. Paul’s,
and to become a member and leader of this family of Christ
where we seek to live out hospitality and racial equity.
