History of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church
You might say that Mt. Zion United Methodist Church can trace its roots back to the year of 1738 when John Wesley, who was born in Epworth, England, in 1703, had an experience that changed his life and started a spiritual awakening in England and later in America. On the night of May 24, 1738, Wesley accepted Christ into his life and received salvation. From that night on, he took the salvation message throughout the land. Wesley sent preachers to America, the most famous one who was named Francis Asbury worked in America from 1771 until 1816, traveling over 247,000 miles on horseback. In 1781 Methodism spread from Baltimore County to upper Calvert County.
A new circuit called Calvert Circuit was formed in 1781 and it was from this circuit that Mt. Zion Church began. At that time Methodist circuit riders rode on horses from place to place and held classes in homes or schools. Around 1813 a group of people began to gather in a grove of trees at a crossroad in southern Anne Arundel County and in the beginning of the 19th century camp meetings were being held there. Camp meetings were a way of bringing persons to religious conviction. By 1818 these meetings led to the building of a small wooden chapel near the crossroads. The chapel would be called Mt. Zion and it would mean that Methodism had spread northward from Calvert County.
In 1835 a proposal was made for dividing the Calvert Circuit, and as a result of this division, Mt. Zion Chapel became part of the new West River Circuit. From that day on, Mt. Zion would be the scene of many West River Quarterly Conferences because we were the “mother church of the West River area”. During these years the men and women were forbidden to sit together in the Sanctuary. The church was incorporated in 1837, and by 1850 the congregation had grown so rapidly that the small wooden building no longer would seat all the new converts. As fate would have it, the original wooden church built in 1818 burned down from a lightning strike just four days after the dedication of the new building in 1851.
The “Sabbath” School, or Sunday School, began at Mt. Zion Church in 1852 .
The church originally had an outside staircase leading to the balcony provided for African American worshipers, but by 1859 they were meeting separately in a small building in the church yard. That congregation eventually moved and became Mt. Zion on Ark Road in Lothian.
During these years, the church was not only a place of worship, but also a small commercial center rose up around it. Old records indicate it was a place to sell fruits and vegetables. The present parsonage, located next to the church, is on the site where a school once stood, and our current parking lot in front of th Fellowship Hall was the site of a grindstone and mill. A store and post office were located along Bayard Road in front of the church. Reminders of this village life are nearly gone, but our church stands as a great witness of the faith of all who have gathered here to study and hear the Word of God.
In 1859 the church was closed for a time of extensive repairs, and in 1886 that “double-decker” chapel was torn down and a new church was built, using some of the materials from the old building. . It was an exciting day when, in 1919, electric lights were installed at the church From the early 1920s until 1950, Mt. Zion was part of a four-point charge which included the Methodist churches of Centenary, Galesville, and Owensville. . In the early 1950s it became a 2-point Charge, with just Mt. Zion and Owensville, and in 1968 when Owensville closed, Mt. Zion was on its own.
Mt. Zion’s parsonage was built in 1955 During the early 1950s, the need for an educational building was deeply felt by the congregation, and the church broke ground for this building in December 1956
In 1971 the sanctuary was once again restored, and in 1975 the bell from Owensville Church was placed in the steeple above the Fellowship Hall. In the late 1980s the church was rapidly growing and the need for more space was felt again. This time they built another educational wing with office space. In 1997 another wing was added with seven new rooms for classes. This building is used for educational classroom space and is also the church’s Christian Preschool (His Kids).
All through the years of its history, Mt. Zion United Methodist Church has had a heart for evangelism and for bringing the Body of Christ together. Many people have served Mt. Zion as Elders and ordained ministers. Many people have come to know the Lord here and have worked hard within the Church to serve God in many capacities. We are a Church that reaches out into the community. We are a Church that sees and hears the needs of others, and we respond in love to meet those needs. We see ourselves as the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus Christ. Our past is intertwined with the present as we continue to lay the foundation of our faith as our ancestors did.
We will continue to walk in the footsteps of our Lord who leads us into the future with the promise of eternal life for all who believe. We pray you will come and join us and share our walk.
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