Construction crews raised a historic Black church Thursday as part of the restoration effort after a flood wiped out its foundation in 2019, making the structure in Potomac, Maryland, unsafe.
“Scotland A.M.E. Zion Church has been through the fire, we’ve been through the flood, but we’re still standing here because of His blood,” church member Latisha Gasaway-Paul said to a round of applause.
Community members and local leaders gathered to commemorate the significant step toward restoration.
“Let me explain something to you, this is African American history,” former Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett said.
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Architect Brian Gafney of Antunovich Associates said raising the 100-year-old structure several feet was no small feat. Crews carefully used hydraulics to move the building up above Seven Locks Road, protecting it from future flooding.
“The whole purpose was to allow the bones of the building to remain,” Gafney said. “We actually have lifted the building from being about a foot-and-a-half below the road, to it will now sit about 2-and-a-half feet above the road. So, it doesn't sound like a lot, but it’s enormous for the longevity of the building.”
The big lift was the latest milestone in the Second Century Project, the community’s effort to restore the church and build a new place for worship, continuing the long legacy of Scotland A.M.E. Zion, which was founded in 1924.
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“For a century, the Scotland Church here has served as a religious center, a burial ground and a meeting place for this community, and through difficult and more prosperous times, it has represented the struggles and hopes of African Americans in this formerly rural area of the county,” said Rebeccah Ballo, historic preservation supervisor with the Montgomery County Planning Department.
Now the congregation says it can focus more on fundraising. Organizers say they already secured $6 million in funding, but they still need $4 million more to finish the job.
“We’re here; we’re $4 million,” Pastor Dr. Evalina Huggins said. “That’s nothing. Somebody has that in their couch somewhere. I don’t know what kind of furniture they have but I believe they have it somewhere, and we’re going to raise this $4 million to complete this building.”
To donate and learn more about the Second Century Project, go here.
