The Rep-Am newspaper recently reported that St. John's Episcopal Church, on the Green, is giving serious thought to selling their building ("St. John's Considers Move," 9 December 2015). According to the article, the church is no longer able to afford the upkeep of the building. More telling, their endowment has dwindled down from millions to only $800,000.
Side note: an endowment is the investment fund that helps pay the bills for churches and other nonprofits. Standard recommended practice is to spend no more than 4% of your annual interest, rolling the rest back into the principle, helping it keep up with inflation. It's a lot like a retirement fund, except that it has to last for centuries. Dipping into the endowment principle should be done only under special circumstances--like a much-needed building expansion or emergency repairs--and the money should be replaced through fundraising as quickly as possible.
If St. John's does decide to sell their building, it will be a significant milestone in Waterbury's history. The Episcopal Church was the second church in Waterbury, dating back to 1740. They've been on the Green since 1795.
When Waterbury was founded, everyone belonged to the Congregational Church (which was the official church of Connecticut until 1818). The Great Awakening, a widespread religious revival of the 1720s and 1730s, led to many people leaving the Congregational Church and joining the Anglican Church (Church of England). After the Revolutionary War, Anglicans in the U.S. ditched their allegiance to the King and reformed as Episcopalians.
