The Church of the Holy City was founded in 1858 at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Washington Street in Wilmington. Its first building, designed by architect Edward G. Lind, had to be deconstructed and reconstructed in its current location – stone by stone – when Delaware Avenue was widened in 1917. The Swedenborgian faith tradition traces its origins to eighteenth century Europe, to the writings of theologian and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg. The Church of the Holy City’s core benefactor was Margaretta Lammot du Pont, daughter of a prominent Philadelphia-based Swedenborgian. She was the wife of Alfred V. du Pont, head of the DuPont Company from 1837 to 1850. In addition to the prominent du Pont family, the church counted among its members influential author and illustrator Howard Pyle. Pyle originated the Brandywine School – both the artist’s colony and the illustration style – and trained notable artists such as N. C. Wyeth and Maxfield Parrish.

Today, the Church of the Holy City is known as a good neighbor and partner. It supports Green for the Greater Good, a grassroots organization that advocates for quality-of-life concerns in Wilmington, and The Nursha Project, a BIPOC-led organization that works to revitalize under-used sacred space for community use. The church and grounds served as a pilot for the Wilmington Sacred Grounds project, which subsequently planted pollinator gardens in over 20 congregations, creating an active pollinator corridor throughout the city. This project is a collaboration between four local and national organizations and has been funded by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation’s Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund. For over twenty years, the church has provided performance space to the Copeland String Quartet, which is composed of members of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra.

A National Fund grant of $100,000 coupled with $100,000 in matching funds raised by the congregation will enable the Church of the Holy City to repoint all elevations of its historic building, stopping the water deterioration that has caused deterioration of interior decorative features.

The Church of the Holy City Photo by John Ryan, J&J Studios

First Church in Oberlin