"Preserving South Carolina's Endangered Sacred Spaces"
Air Date: October, 2019
For almost 30 years, Preservation South Carolina has been dedicated to preserving and protecting the historic and irreplaceable architectural heritage of South Carolina. Executive Director Michael Bedenbaugh and board member join Walter Edgar to talk about some of their projects, including efforts to preserve Endangered Sacred Spaces, which includes the restoration of Abbeville’s Trinity Episcopal Church.
South Carolina is famous for many of its structures, especially the houses of worship that dot the varied landscape of the Palmetto State. The existence of many of these structures go back over a hundred years or more. But, whether grand and ornate, or small and simple, they all require a regular amount of maintenance. However, some of those houses of worship have fallen into disrepair due to dwindling membership, or a lack of finances, causing those structures to become at risk of possibly being lost and forgotten forever. Michael Bedenbaugh, Executive Director of Preservation South Carolina, and Bill Fitzpatrick, author of the book Sacred Spaces, have joined forces to help communities save those endangered sacred spaces that are at risk of being lost. Right now, their focus is on the town of Abbeville, SC. At the heart of the community rises the iconic 125-foot tall steeple of Trinity Episcopal Church.
He is preserving sacred places in South Carolina and he has been for years. We have Michael Bedenbaugh here with us this morning to give us an update on Preservation South Carolina’s latest projects.