Help Clarendon Hill Church take this very important step toward an Accessible Building
Ways to Donate
Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church, Somerville MA
- Visit Donations – Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church
- OR — GoFundMe: Fundraiser by Rev Allen Fairfax : Help Us Complete Our Church Accessibility Project
We long have been committed to the belief that “ALL ARE WELCOME” at our church. In early 2025, in preparation for our 100th year anniversary, we began focused conversations about the barriers that our beautiful 100-year-old building presents. Our resolve increased as some new folks with physical challenges began to show up regularly for worship. We determined that our bathrooms were outdated and difficult to maneuver in; ignoring the problem has become unacceptable to us.
Our leadership decided after many discussions to direct our resources and energy towards accessibility as an opportunity for community service and social justice. The specific purpose of this GoFundMe fundraiser is to help finance the construction of 2 new ADA-compliant bathrooms and other accessibility improvements throughout our 100-year-old building including handrails and repairing passageway limitations.
Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church – Who We Are
CHPC is a progressive, peace and justice community of faith; we are a small but mighty Presbyterian USA congregation. We are long-time partners with our two mission-based tenants – The Open Center for Children and the all-volunteer Nave Gallery. We also serve the greater community by offering reasonable rental costs for 12 Step Recovery groups, band rehearsals and community groups such as the Girl Scouts.
We believe this project is critical to our mission. Our sincere hope and long-term goals are to make our community spaces more accessible for all. These ADA-compliant bathrooms are the first step to realizing this dream. For more information about these projects and our church’s missions, please visit clarendonhillchurch.org
Thank you for considering a donation to this cause.
“Some people think that God is in the details, but I have come to believe that God is in the bathroom.” — Anne Lamott
This quote from an article written by Anne Lamott in 1997 came at just the right time to us in the spring of 2025 when we were discussing and praying about how to make our beautiful old building more accessible. (We invite you to read the full article by Anne Lamott here: (In the Mouth of the Cave – Salon.com). Elevators are hugely expensive and there was no way to install even a ramp in our urban residential location. Those with some mobility challenges in the congregation helped us understand how even our bathrooms and handrails were really problematic as well. We decided we could probably get the bathrooms and handrails done, so we decided to start there. We decided also that it was a justice issue, and while we are a small church, peace with justice binds us together as a congregation that cares for ourselves and for our neighbors. Much progress has been achieved, but there is more to do. Give as you are able. Prayers always welcome! — Pastor Allen Fairfax
