By Megan Guido | FāVS News Reporter
Two houses of worship in Washington State are the recipients of grants from the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation in 2026. Temple Beth Hatfiloh, a synagogue located in Olympia, and the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, in Tacoma, were among 13 organizations who received awards through the Valerie Sivinski Fund.
The Fund embodies the mission of the Washington Trust by supporting preservation projects at the local level.
Founded in 1976, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is a nonprofit organization with a mission to promote sustainable and economically viable communities through historic preservation.
Recipients of the 2026 Valerie Sivinski Fund awards received more than $35,000 in total and were publicly announced on Dec. 9, 2025, at the Washington Trust’s annual Sivinski Holiday Benefit, held at the Stimson-Green Mansion, their landmark headquarters in Seattle.
The award made to the Immanuel Presbyterian Church will support the restoration and preservation of 22 stained glass windows with 75 different panels and 8,600 hand-cut, hand-painted pieces that adorn the sanctuary.
The historic 1908 California mission-style church serves about 200 active members and hosts many community events and groups.
The Rev. Tad Monroe said they are grateful for the $3,000 award that will be applied to the overall project estimated to cost $240,000. The rest of the funds will come from private donations and grants.
Rabbi Seth Goldstein with the Temple Beth Hatfiloh explained that the $3,000 award they received will be used to restore a parochet valance that was part of the synagogue since its founding in 1937.
A parochet is a decorative curtain that covers the Torah ark in a synagogue. Before moving their synagogue in 2004 to a new location in Olympia, the historic curtains had been laying in a closet unused, said Goldstein.
“They had suffered from smoke damage from a fire at the original synagogue,” said Goldstein. “A lot of the stitching needs to be replaced and the raised symbols need work.”
He estimates the restoration work will take about a year.
Goldstein was in the process of researching what it would take to restore the textiles when he learned about the Historic Preservation grant.
“We applied and received the award!” he said. “Our intent is to restore and display them.”
To see or download images of the award-winning projects, visit the Washington Trust’s website at http://preservewa.org/sivinski.
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