On February 28, the National Trust held a day-long community exchange in Cambridge between the Old Cambridge Baptist Church and the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre in Cambridge and the First Baptist Church and Your Theatre in New Bedford. Both congregations have or have had similar challenges in finding a way to maintain their large buildings with relatively small number of parishioners. Too often this leads to the sale of historic church buildings. Some are demolished, but even when they are reused and the building is retained, the loss of a historic church can also mean the loss of the heart of a community, a community meeting place, and a place of shared memories. Innovation is the key to keeping these spaces alive.

Since 2000, The Old Cambridge Baptist Church has partnered with the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, sharing the church space and the cost of maintaining the church. Performances and ballet classes take place in the “Sanctuary Theatre,” which is the original sanctuary and is still used for worship on Sundays. Four studios are in beautiful and inspiring spaces that cannot but enhance the art that is created there. All changes to the building are reversible. The Church retains ownership of the property, but the Ballet Theatre has a 40-year lease. Those involved say it’s like a marriage--"There are good times and bad times.” With a common goal of “Nurturing the soul of humanity,” this art and church collaboration will have a long and fruitful marriage.

The groups from New Bedford are looking to create a similar partnership and it was valuable to speak with the two organizations that have been making a shared use work for almost fifteen years. The discussion between the two churches and the theatre groups at the exchange involved many topics, including leases, architecture, compromises over spaces, logistics, challenges, successes, and the power of having a vision. The pastor and other congregants from the First Baptist Church in New Bedford and Your Theatre members went home from the exchange with a new commitment and innovative ideas for their proposed partnership.