The Washington Chapel C.M.E in Parkville’s restoration is completed and the congregation is now gathering for worship.
The church had their re-opening service on June 27 and there were an estimated 120 people in attendance. The church’s restoration process began in 2024 and they received a grant from the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund in the amount of $160,000. The church also received donations and contributions before they received the grant.
Dr. Corra Thompson, associate treasurer and chair of the Lay organization, said the cornerstone on the church’s building has June 29, 1907 when the building was dedicated to the congregation. White slave owners didn’t want to worship with slaves and they wouldn’t let their preachers teach or allow them to participate in church business administration. The name C.M.E stood for Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, but that was changed in 1954 to be more inclusive of its members.
Thompson said during the first church service they had there was no room for people to sit or stand downstairs. The only standing there was at the church was upstairs during the church’s reopening service.
During the restoration process, they replaced the old roof with a new one, the church’s bell tower was renovated and there was refurbishing of the church’s stones. The church is made out of stone and so that was a focus of the restoration process. There was work conducted on renovating the inside of the church. Three bathrooms that are handicapped accessible were installed. A chairlift was also added and they adjusted the size of the kitchen. The kitchen is less than a third of the size it used to be. The church now has a storage space and new HVAC systems were installed. The downstairs walls of the church were painted bright yellow and the upstairs and sanctuary walls were painted with help from the Parkville Presbyterian Church.
The church meets at 1:30 p.m. on Sundays at 137 West Street, Parkville. The pastor of the church is Rev. Nicky Wright.