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John Van Camp read a recent article in The Denver Post about the sad state of Annunciation Church’s priceless stained glass windows, and it spurred him to action. The owner of Van Camp’s Quality Floors, John called Sacred Landmarks Preservation Coordinator Nicole Hernandez to ask how he could help. “I’ve always been a fan of the work Historic Denver does,” he said. “Saving old buildings is saving the soul of the city.”

Hernandez sent him information about the Baker neighborhood’s 1912 Danish Evangelical Bethany Lutheran Church, housing the Four Winds Survival Project, which serves a pan-Native American urban constituency. The historic church sits on the northwest corner of 5th and Bannock and in addition to floor restoration, the building needs roof repairs, masonry work, stained glass restoration and to address ADA accessibility requirements.

Moved by the neglected building, Van Camp took it on and donated $6,000 worth of hardwood floor restoration, becoming the first person to participate in Sacred Landmarks’ new program, “Adopt-A-Sacred- Treasure.”

“It’s a beautiful building, but it needs a lot of help. They had a lot of original floorboards. A lot of them had been worn down to tongue and groove. They were splintering and breaking. We cut those off and replaced them with circa-1900 old hard pine. It’s the best match for the kind of wood they have in that church,” Van Camps says.

For almost 20 years, Four Winds has provided a place for Native Americans to gather for support, worship and socializing. In addition to serving as an inner-city home for Native peoples from as many as 18 tribes, Four Winds also offers traditional beading and quilting classes, prison visitation and counseling for victims of domestic violence and those struggling with chemical dependence.

“[The building] performs a lot of services for that neighborhood. It’s one of those buildings that I’m enthusiastic about because it has so much character and beauty,” says Van Camp.

Hernandez hopes Van Camp will be only the first of many to adopt a sacred treasure. “Having this space is critical to Four Winds’ mission because many of the Native American homeless living near downtown rely on these services,” she says. “Even if a Boy Scout troop wants to collect $100, it goes directly to [building] restoration.”

For more information about the “Adopt-A-Sacred-Treasure” program, contact Nicole Hernandez at Historic Denver, 303 534.5288, x16.