Efforts to rebuild the historic Scotland AME Zion Church in Potomac after damage from a 2019 flood received a major boost Wednesday from a $1 million donation from the family behind Bethesda’s Marriott International Inc.
Bethesda resident and Marriott board Chairman David Marriott and his wife, Carrie, met with members of the congregation at the church site on Seven Locks Road to surprise them with a gift from his family’s foundation, the Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, according to a press release from the church.
“This is a major investment in community, not just for Scotland AME Zion Church, but for Montgomery County and this country,” the Rev. Dr. Evalina Huggins said in the release. “As the pastor of this historic church, I want to express our thanks to the Marriott family and Foundation on behalf of the local congregation and the AME Zion Church worldwide.”
Scotland AME Zion Church was built by hand and opened in 1924 for Black congregants in Potomac. The site is registered as a state historic site by the Maryland Historical Trust and is the only historic building to survive in the Scotland community.
In 2019, a major flood caused substantial damage to the church, causing a collapsed basement and damage to the structure’s foundation. The original wood-frame structure of the church was also nearly destroyed by the flood and the congregation has been left without a place of worship for nearly five years, according to the release.
After the flood, the church embarked on a rebuilding effort dubbed the “2nd Century Project” to raise funds to restore the historic structure and add mitigation for future flooding events. In July 2022, the church held a groundbreaking that highlighted the three-year campaign and was attended by County Executive Marc Elrich and a team of leaders in faith, business, government and philanthropy across the region.
The donation from the Marriott Foundation brings the church to $8.2 million in funds raised towards the project’s $10 million goal. The church also hopes to raise an additional $1 million for the project on GoFundMe. At the time of publication, the fund had raised $63,882.
The project is a three-phase plan to rescue the building, according to the church’s website:
- Phase one includes rebuilding the historic structure to serve as a community service center;
- Phase two is focused on re-grading the landscape around the church to reduce the risk of future flooding; and
- Phase three involves the construction of a new state-of-the-art church to expand space for worship.
“The other trustees and I are thrilled to support this effort and to be a small part of your rebuilding effort,” Marriott told congregation members and construction crews after announcing the gift, according to the release.
Marriott said that before making the donation, he learned of his own family’s connection to the community of Scotland. According to the release, he learned that his grandparents’ landscaper was a Scotland resident and that his grandfather had advocated for housing support in the Scotland community in Congress in the 1960s.
After attending a worship service for Scotland last fall, Marriott decided to bring the 2nd Century Project to the attention of the family foundation, the release said.
According to the release, if the remaining fundraising and construction milestones are met by the end of 2024, the expanded church is expected to host its first faith services in December.