The Church in DC

From... Black Georgetown Remembered: A History of Its Black Community from the Founding of "The Town of George" in 1751 to the Present Day,  by Kathleen M. Lesko, Valerie Babb & Carroll R. Gibbs. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1991. p. 138 "Black Churches in Georgetown "Georgetown today has five black churches clustered in the eastern area of town formerly known as "Herring Hill." These churches represent a time when Georgetown was home to a thriving black community. Their congregations have decreased by nearly fifty percent since the black exodus from the neighborhood during the 1940s and 1950s. Today they survive primarily as commuter churches and symbols of a continuing black presence in Georgetown. Mount Zion United Methodist Church " Mount Zion United Methodist Church , located at 1334 29th Street, is the oldest black congregation in the District of Columbia. Its origins can be traced to the Montgomery Street...

Q: What do Judiciary Square, I St., Louisiana Avenue, and Meridian Hill have in common? A: They were all meeting places for Wayland Seminary, the Washington branch of the American Baptist Home Mission Society's National Theological Institute. Immediately after the Civil War and Emancipation, a $1,500 grant from the Freedman's Bureau allowed NTI to form Wayland Seminary. The school was named after Dr. Francis Wayland, a former president of Brown University and anti-slavery leader and operated as center for education in Christian leadership in the District.  Classes began in 1876.  In 1899, Wayland merged with Richmond Theological Seminary, Hartshorn Memorial Women's College, and Storer University to form what is now Virginia Union University . Though classes only ran for 23 years, Wayland enjoyed success under president George Mellen Prentiss King in attracting students eager to take advantage of their new freedom to learn and to serve.  Wayland was Booker T...