Washington Memorial Chapel was founded in 1903 to commemorate the country's first war hero where he staged perhaps his greatest military feat: Valley Forge National Historical Park.
But few of its 300,000 annual visitors know that the ornate limestone structure, overlooking the field where Baron von Steuben taught the Continental Army to march and standing a quarter-mile from Washington's headquarters, also houses a small Episcopal parish.
And, like Washington's ragtag army during the winter of 1777-78, it is facing an uphill battle to stay alive.
The economy has taken a big bite out of the chapel's endowment, forcing the vestry to replace a full-time pastor with a part-timer, eliminate the choir, reduce other staff, and put off restoration and repairs.
Even though it was founded as a memorial, and contains such priceless artifacts as the nameplate and handle from Washington's coffin, an altar cross donated by members of Abraham Lincoln's family, and intricate stained-glass windows depicting the lives of Washington and other famous colonists, the chapel receives no state or federal funding.
It is maintained by money from investments, visitors, and congregants, who total about 130 but are aging and dying off. "I'm one of the young guys, and I'm 55," said Joe Mager, a vestry member and chairman of a committee that oversees maintenance.
With only the dead as neighbors, church officials said recruiting members from the community was hard.
Now, like the history-changing campaign launched from its grassy footprint more than 200 years ago, the chapel is mounting an all-out assault to capture new parishioners and raise millions to support the crumbling infrastructure.
Four years ago, the chapel created the nonprofit Washington Memorial Heritage to raise $25 million to repair a leaking roof, restore disintegrating limestone, and preserve the stained-glass windows. It is also applying for status as a national historic site.
The Heritage was formed to solicit money that is unavailable to religious organizations, said George Reisner, the group's president. "There are a lot of foundations who won't give to a church but will give for the preservation of art and architecture regardless of where it is," he said.
Right now, the chapel needs $250,000 to repay a line of credit for earlier repairs and $2 million to $2.5 million in the next year to patch the Cloisters of the Colonies, which are detailed limestone bays for each of the original colonies adjacent to the chapel. "The place isn't falling down around us," Reisner said, but "the longer you wait, the worse it gets."
Thirty years ago, plexiglass was placed on the outside to protect the windows, but that did more harm than good, collecting moisture that affected the lead.
So far, the Heritage has raised just $20,000 to $25,000.
"We've been slow to do fund-raising," Reisner acknowledged.
Church members said they were also making a big push in recruitment.
"We have not been successful in the past partly because we haven't focused on what I would call our mission of historical outreach," vestry member Gardner Pearson said. "We're not just limiting ourselves to Episcopalians. We're looking at Americans."
That patriotic message is the cornerstone of the campaign, which includes publicizing the chapel's full roster of services, fellowship, and unique programs. A five-week archaeological dig is taking place this summer on the property, where the army's uniforms are believed to have been made. If more people knew about the Wednesday night cookouts, tours, and carillon concerts in summer they might be more interested in joining an unusual church community, the thinking goes.
"We're learning how to promote ourselves better," Mager said.
"I don't want to see this go away, not just for the church but for the sense of patriotism it instills," he added.
That sentiment was not lost on the Rev. W. Herbert Burk of Norristown, who created the memorial after taking choirboys from his church on an educational hike in the park. At that first structure, made of barn wood, President Theodore Roosevelt started a fund-raising campaign for the memorial in 1904.
Although skilled artisans worked on the building, they were aided by an army of volunteers inspired by Burk's message and the significance of the memorial. A bell tower was added in the 1950s and contains bells for each of the states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, as well as the Justice Bell, a replica of the Liberty Bell.
Christian and Nancy Schneider, teachers visiting the memorial from Pembroke Pines, Fla., said their students would be thrilled to see pictures of the chapel and park.
"They know who Washington is," Nancy Schneider said of her first graders. "And I know at least one person is going to ask, 'Did you see him?' "
For information about Washingon Memorial Chapel and activities there, go to http://philly.com/chapel
Contact staff writer Kathy Boccella at 610-313-8123 or kboccella@phillynews.com.
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