Members of the Scotland AME Zion Church in Potomac received $1 million from the J. Willard and Alice Marriott Foundation to help pay for restoration of the historic Black church.
On Wednesday, a few church members, including descendants of the first people of color to own land in Potomac, were asked to stop by the construction site on Seven Locks Road.
They were greeted with the good news. “The other trustees and I are thrilled to support this effort and to be a small part of your rebuilding effort,” David Marriott told them.
The church, which was built by hand and opened in 1924, was damaged severely in 2019 during a flood that collapsed a basement wall and left the congregation without a place of worship of its own for five years.
The idea to donate to the church rebuilding started about two years ago when Bethesda resident David Marriott and his wife, Carrie, learned that David’s grandparents’ landscaper had been James Dove, an original resident of the Scotland community. The couple soon learned that J. Willard Marriott had advocated for housing support for the Scotland community in the U.S. Congress in the 1960s.
This financial gift brings the current total of cash and pledges to $8.2 million toward the 2nd Century Project’s $11 million goal. The money is being used to rebuild the church and create a center for community needs including education, counseling and health care services.
“This is a major investment in community, not just for Scotland AME Zion Church, but for Montgomery County and this country,” said the church’s pastor, Rev. Dr. Evalina Huggins.
