[MassHistPres] Fitchburg Tiffany Stained Glass

[sceccacci at aol.com]

Keith,Would there be a way to collaborate with the Fitchburg Art Museum and also to find grants, perhaps from a local Fitchburg foundation, that would allow the windows to remain in place and on site but to make them available to the public on a regular basis?  Is there a Fitchburg Arts Council that could also provide some financial assistance in such a collaborative effort?
Not only the architecture of the building, but also its ornamentation by important American artist/craftsmen, such as Tiffany, speak of the wealth that this city had in the late 19th-early-20th-century period.  Although I don't know how large the windows are or what scenes or figures they represent, these windows should be considered to be of high significance as material evidence of an outstanding period in the city's life.  Organizations outside the church congregation itself should be concerned about their eventual loss.  A community effort to keep the windows in Fitchburg should be considered before they are sold off to the highest outside bidder.
The church congregation might also consider consulting Partners for Sacred Places to get ideas about other ways to be able to fund the maintenance challenges that it is facing:
Partners for Sacred Placessacredplaces.org
Partners for Sacred Places is the only nonsectarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to sound stewardship and active community use of older sacred places across America.. We provide capital campaign training and fundraising strategies, along with technical assistance, and grants to congregations and other local organizations across the United States via our National Fund program. 
Susan CeccacciJefferson, MA

-----Original Message-----
From: D. Keith Chenot <kchenot at fitchburgstate.edu>
To: masshistpres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Sent: Sat, Dec 14, 2019 8:06 am
Subject: [MassHistPres] Fitchburg Tiffany Stained Glass

The Fitchburg Historical Commission has been informed thatthe congregation that currently owns the National Register listed CalvinisticCongregational Church (Inventory No: FIT 215) is planning to sell five Tiffanystained glass windows to assist with other upkeep expenses of this grand 1897 “Richardsonian”style brownstone church. Does anyone have experience or suggestions on how wemight alter this outcome? As a backup, we are hoping to make a photographic recordof each if we can secure the funding.Keith Chenot, Fitchburg Historical Commission
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