Photo Credit: Desmond Monet Grimball

Scotland AME Zion Church

Religious Architecture: Renovation
Antunovich Associates

Potomac, MD

Scotland AME Zion Church in Montgomery County, Maryland, has stood as a beacon of faith and resilience for over a century. Built in 1924 by formerly enslaved residents of the Scotland Community, the modest single-room wood-frame structure became a vital center for worship and cultural life. Decades later, a relocated road and resulting flooding threatened its survival. Despite such challenges, the church endured and thrived, expanding in 1968 at the cost of its original façade. The church was eventually recognized as a historic resource in 2002.

In 2019, severe flooding compromised the foundation, prompting a bold vision for renewal. Partnering with government, philanthropic, and religious organizations, the congregation launched the Second Century Project. The concept — “the Arc & the Jewel”—combines urgent repair and historic rehabilitation of the pristine white church in the woods with a sensitive wraparound modern expansion using natural and modern materials to honor heritage while embracing the future.

Housing a new sanctuary, a multipurpose space, a dining lobby, a meeting space, and a coffee bar, this transformation preserves sacred history, strengthens community ties, and ensures Scotland AME Zion Church remains a spiritual home for generations to come.

Jury Comments

Despite constraints related to flooding, a long and narrow site, and a limited budget, the renovation of the historic church building and the addition constructed around it gives new life to this AME Zion congregation. As one juror noted, rather than abandoning the site, the congregation dug into it, buttressing the church’s legacy as yet another testimony of faith and survival.

Project Partners

Scotland A.M.E. Zion Church
Glenstone
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
Schnabel Engineering DC
Dewberry
MGV Consulting Structural Engineers, Inc.
GHT Limited
One Source Associates
EHT Traceries, Inc.