Temples of Doom! The title of a new Indiana Jones movie? No, it's the sorry state of many of our area churches. This week is National Preservation Week and a good time to discuss the crumbling of our religious institutions, many of which are historic and architectural works of art. Troy once had more than 70 churches, one for every 1,000 people. As congregations dwindled, so did maintenance on many of the buildings. They often were sold to "replacement" denominations, usually with smaller congregations that simply couldn't afford to keep up the grandiose buildings, many built during the 19th century.

In Albany, historian John Wolcott recently nominated as part of the North Pearl Historic District, the Church of the Holy Innocence, and the entire block around it (North Pearl and Colonie Street area). Frank Wills, a famous architect, designed this Episcopal Church, built in 1849. It was sold to the Russian Orthodox church about 1956, closed, and the denomination moved to the suburbs, ironically to Colonie. It was sold to an individual (1980's) who turned it into a home and bookstore until 1997when it was sold to Hope House. It's been rotting since. It's also been on the National Register of Historic Sites since 1972.

Gallons of ink were used recently describing the affair of Albany's St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, a gothic style church built in 1865. The Church sold it Bronislaus Gill, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel in the 1980s, who let the congregation continue using it, and then sold it back to the church where it stood vacant for 10 years until the church unloaded it to Elda Abate for a dollar. The City recently took it and Historic Albany Foundation is trying to stabilize it.

There is concern about another Roman Catholic Church, Our Lady Help of Christians, in Albany's South end, originally founded by German Catholics in the 19th century. It closed a couple of years ago. Preservationists are alarmed that it might be torn down in the coming months.

St. John's Irish Catholic Church on Green Street has been abandoned for 25 years. St Paul's Episcopal, aka St. John's Roman Catholic, built in 1828, on South Ferry around the corner, is the first gothic revival designed building in Albany. In 1977, the Catholic Church had it condemned as unsafe, ready to knock down, but I was able to obtain a grant and started to renovate it for an Albany museum until the Bishop took it back - after we spent $70,000 plus. It's still sitting there.

Remember the fiasco in Cohoes in 1998 when that city tore down the famous Silliman Memorial Presbyterian Church. It sat there decaying until it was declared an eyesore.

Now in Lansingburgh, the congregation of the Amazing Grace Assembly of God, built in 1873 as the Westminster Presbyterian Church, is doomed. It was designed by William H. Demers, the architect who designed the RPI approach and remodeled the Second Presbyterian church as the county courthouse annex in 1923. It seems that a simple leak in a gutter that was never replaced a decade ago allowed water to put the building in danger. Plans to build a new church in the same location will never equal the existing one in style and substance. It reminds me of St Anthony's. For years it stood at the corner of Fourth and State, only to be torn down and replaced by a one story structure that also gobbled up part of Barker Park. Speaking as a former altar boy at old St Anthony's, I've been in the new one only twice - for funerals.

I can go on but you get the picture. It's obvious that dwindling congregations means dwindling financial resources, and that means cutting corners. However, by ignoring the problem initially that may cost a few thousands dollars to fix, we end up loosing the whole structure. It's like cutting off a hand because you have a paper cut on a finger. We need to find a way to save the buildings, not neglect them. Vacant lots or "new" modern (tacky)looking churches in a 19th century streetscape aren't the answer.

Perhaps a church should not be sold unless the new buyers have a financial plan to keep the building in good repair? Many of these churches are on the National Register of Historic Places, and sacred sites grants are available. But a congregation needs to be proactive. There must be a balance between stewardship and mission.

I recommend that all congregations check out Partners for Sacred Places (www.sacredplaces.org) devoted to helping churches sustain buildings, and New York Landmarks Conservancy (www.nylandmarks.org/) that gives out grants. Save your church. I'm sure it will get you bonus points with you know who!