Throughout the planning process,
Germantown Speaks benefited
from Cliveden’s involvement, but
particularly from the site’s ties to a
larger project called “Germantown
Works,” a youth employment
initiative. This relationship tied the
congregations into a much larger
economic development initiative,
and allowed the coalition to draw
on a much broader network, which
included Germantown High School.
The coalition was able to make the
case that journalism and history
students could gain valuable
interviewing and research skills
through this program.
Local artist Elan Geppner films the first Germantown Speaks event, held at The
First Presbyterian Church in Germantown.
The Germantown Avenue initiative
offered clear opportunities for
collaboration among several historic
congregations and interested
neighbors in Northwest Philadelphia,
including The First Presbyterian
Church in Germantown, First United
Methodist Church of Germantown
and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church of
Germantown, along with Cliveden
of the National Trust (a National
Historic Landmark site), the Lutheran
Theological Seminary of Philadelphia,
and Neighborhood Interfaith
Movement.
With nationally-recognized
consultant Luther Snow engaged
as an asset-based community
development facilitator, the
project’s various participants
identified dozens of assets in the
community, from existing networks
of neighborhood leaders to strong
community programs to the historic
sacred places themselves. From
these brainstorming sessions,
compelling initiatives for sustaining
and preserving the neighborhood’s
historic sacred places began to
emerge, including a pressing need
to collect a 20th-century history of
Germantown Avenue before the oldest
residents pass on.
In April 2009, the Germantown
Avenue coalition was given additional
impetus when the Preservation
Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
announced a Neighborhood
Preservation Project seed grant
competition, as part of its Citywide
Preservation Conference. Spurred
by this opportunity, the Germantown
Avenue collaborative applied for
funding for Germantown Speaks, and
were rewarded with one of just two
$1,500 first place prizes.
The initiative’s appeal lay in
documenting an overlooked chapter
of Germantown’s 300-plus year
history, and it also offered a way for
the participating congregations to
build on the lessons of New Dollars
training by opening their historic
buildings to the community, thus
connecting with the youth and elders
in their midst by recognizing the
contributions and stories of both
generations. Finally, and perhaps
most importantly in a competition
sponsored by a preservation
organization, Germantown Speaks
offered the project’s historic site and
sacred places a means of telling their
own stories.
Germantown High School teachers
Marie Connaghan and Elisabeth
D’Alessandro were invaluable
guides through the maze of waivers,
scheduling and administrative
hurdles. By enlisting their support
early in the process, the group was
able to address the school’s concerns
and engage interested, intelligent
students in the project. Dr. David
Young (of Cliveden), the Rev. Dr. Katie
Day (of the Lutheran Theological
Seminary) and Ira Luke (of Historic
Germantown Preserved) trained the
students in gathering oral histories,
as well as how to address sensitive
topics and foster active conversations.
The congregations also played a
vital role in shaping Germantown
Speaks. The commitment of their
clergy and lay leadership throughout
the planning process was a clear
extension of their congregations’
decades of community engagement.
Their participation lent to the project
considerable resources of volunteer
time, building space, and in-kind
donations—further evidence of the
public value of the historic sacred
places in Germantown.
The Germantown Speaks events came
on the heels of a six-day transit strike
in Philadelphia. For most of the student
interviewers, it was a troublesome
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