Members of Allen Chapel AME Church and Kickapoo Cognizers Chapter 645, Questers International, gather outside the church Sunday morning to secure a banner proclaiming "This place matters!" The local Questers raised $700 over a period of years and secured a $700 matching restoration grant from the state Questers to repair a corner of the church building where bricks are falling out of the wall. The Questers hope others in the community will come forward to help restore the historically important building, which was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Photo compliments of Raymond Saul. (Click on picture for larger image.)

Historic Allen Chapel receives grant for repairs [June 20, 2011]  Members of Allen Chapel AME Church and members of the Kickapoo Cognizers Chapter 645, Questers International, gathered at the church at 910 Broadway on Sunday to celebrate the receipt of a $700 matching restoration grant. The grant money will go toward building repairs. The local Questers raised $700 over a period of several years through white elephant auctions within their group. That amount has been matched by the Illinois Questers organization. The $1,400 will be used for tuck-pointing the most decayed portion of the church's brick walls.

The work will center on the southwest corner of the building, where bricks are falling out of the wall.

Allen Chapel, which is rich in local history, was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It is one of the oldest continuously used African-American churches in the area and has offered religious and social services to the black community since the congregation was founded in 1868.

"Allen Chapel, both now and historically, has always been a safe haven for those in need," said the Rev. Lillian Sullivan, church pastor.

The current building, erected in 1880, has ties to such historic figures as authors Langston Hughes and William Maxwell, Underground Railroad operator Aaron Dyer, and William Dyer, one of America's first black surgeons.

Earlier this year, Questers Chapter 645 donated $100 to the church for a new doorknob and lock set to make the building more secure.

The Questers hope that their efforts will draw the attention of other groups or individuals interested in helping to save the 131-year-old church building.

Although members of Allen Chapel continue to meet there for religious services, the congregation is tiny and no funds are available for extensive building repairs.

For more information, people can contact Nancy Saul at 732-1057. Saul is serving as project chair for the Questers grant and is a member of a loosely knit community group known as The Friends of Allen Chapel.

[By NANCY SAUL]