Episode 11: "Why Bricks and Mortar Matter"

Canon John relaunches Frankly in 2021 discussing the role and meaning of historic houses of worship with Ann Friedman, director of the Sacred Sites program of the New York Landmarks Conservancy. Friedman helps assess the prospects for preserving aging churches, synagogues, mosques and other holy places with congregations and local stakeholders in communities across the state of New York. In the course of the conversation with Canon John, Friedman shares how her personal and family investment in several faith institutions continues to inform her work. She makes the convincing case that the value of these treasured buildings is not only as centers for prayer and cultural life, but in the stories they tell and the hope they provide generations of neighbors and visitors. And she and Canon John consider the new significance of “restoration” for sacred sites through and beyond life in the pandemic era.