Historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in downtown Burmingham has received a $2.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. which will support the church's "Preservation and Expansion Project."
The Lily Endowment's Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative will be use expand a new Education and Visitors Center as "a living sermon" - a place for gathering, learning, connecting, and committing to making the world a better place.
The church has developed a comprehensive strategy for incorporating religion into its historic exhibitions and programs, aiming to explore major religious traditions, ideas, themes, and questions and proposes to expand its programs and share them with a larger audience.
As part of the Birmingham Civil Rights District, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, an active house of worship, has been a venue for community gatherings and events. The church is committed to serving the Birmingham community, as well as the thousands of tourists who visit each year. It has redesigned its educational spaces and re-purposed its parsonage to create multi-media museum experiences for visitors, focusing not only on the 1963 bombing of Church and its aftermath, but also on the aesthetic significance of the Church designed by African American architect W. A. Rayfield.
Rev. Arthur Price, pastor of the church, has said, "the church aims to create an educational and inspirational experience that will strengthen its capacities and make a transformative impact in demonstrating how religion can be incorporated, and influence decisions made in daily life. By delving deeper into the religious aspects of its history, the church seeks to empower individuals, challenge prejudices, and inspire action towards a more inclusive and just society."
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church is one of 33 organizations from across the United States receiving grants through the latest round of the Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. Its aim is to support museums and other cultural organizations as they strengthen their capacity to provide fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of the role religion has played and continues to play in the United States and around the world.
"The United States is widely considered to be one of the most religiously diverse nations today," said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment's vice president for religion. "Many individuals and families trust museums and other cultural institutions and visit them to learn about their communities and the world. We are excited to support these organizations as they embark on projects to help visitors understand and appreciate the diverse religious beliefs, practices and perspectives of their neighbors and others in communities around the globe.