Potomac’s Scotland African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church celebrated the 100th anniversary of the opening of the church on Monday with a ceremony attended by congregants, politicians and a special guest, Martin Luther King III.
After a 2019 flood devastated the church, the community, county and state officials have worked to support the congregation to help restore and rebuild the church building, at 10902 Seven Locks Road. The reconstruction project, named the 2nd Century Project, has raised approximately $8.8 million toward an $11 million goal, according to a press release about the event.
At the start of the ceremony, dozens of congregants and residents of the Scotland community clapped and danced as they sang, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it!” Attendees celebrated the church’s history as a pillar of the historically Black community of Scotland, as well as the congregation’s resilience and the progress made in rebuilding the church after the flood.
“This would not be possible without all of the people in this room,” Pastor Evalina Huggins said to dozens of ceremony attendees. “You have helped us reach a historic landmark in the life of Scotland A.M.E. Zion Church. … This church has seen its glory days. It’s seen its trials, its troubles, but we’re here today.”
Huggins told MoCo360 that the completion of the church is on track for mid-December. Construction involves gutting and restoring the old church for its new use as a recreational area for youth, Huggins said, and constructing a new building that includes a sanctuary, administrative offices, a cafe, a bike storage room and a Sunday school.
In addition, the church’s property received two new bio-retention ponds as a form of protection from future flooding. “It’ll take water away from the property, so we won’t have to worry about flooding anymore,” Huggins said.
At the end of the ceremony, attendees listened as King spoke about his father, civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., and his mother, Coretta Scott King, choosing love rather than hate and how it was important for communities to always stand with each other, even when they are not in crisis.
“I can’t imagine what my father or mother would say if they were here. What I do know is they never would have given up. And we cannot give up,” King said. “Keep on keeping on.”
On Monday, the church still resembled a construction site, with bulldozers, equipment, dirt and building materials around the property. But Huggins is hopeful the project will finish “ahead of time” and potentially be open for service Jan. 1.
County Executive Marc Elrich, County Council President Andrew Friedson and state Del. Lily Qi (District 15) also spoke during the ceremony and expressed their pride in being part of the project to rebuild the church.
“This is a remarkable transformation of a place. … It was a long time getting there and the scars on the community are not all healing,” Elrich said. He acknowledged the history of discriminatory treatment to the Scotland community, which was established by a former slave in 1880 and at one point expanded across 500 acres in what is now Potomac.
Elrich said the new church will let the community carry out the work, community engagement and enrichment that they couldn’t fit within the walls of the original church – which was built in 1924.
“You’ve got an incredible story here,” he said. “Your children and your grandchildren are going to have something they can look at, and I hope every time they come in here, they’re reminded of the path it took to get there.”
During the ceremony, Qi presented a citation from the Maryland General Assembly that recognized the church’s 100 years of service to the Scotland community.
“We are proud of the government’s contribution and commitment from state and local government,” Qi said. “[But] we are even prouder of the community contributions and private sector contributions because this is what community building should look like.”
Other members of the religious community including Rabbi David Saperstein, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, and newly appointed A.M.E. Bishop Brian Thompson attended and spoke at the event. In addition, CBS sportscaster and Bethesda resident James Brown made remarks as well.
