A long-dormant church in Mount Vernon isn’t so dormant anymore, after 300 to 400 people filled its sanctuary Thursday evening for a free holiday concert.
The concert was part of an effort by UNITE Mount Vernon to bring life back to Mount Vernon Place Church at 2 East Mount Vernon Place while its board develops a long-range plan to restore it. Clayton Bryant, Mariah Bonner, Marcus Dagan and Lysle Follette IV sang a mix of holiday favorites and original compositions, including “Baltimore, You Are The Harbor,” by Dagan and Bonner.
The landmark church opened in 1872 and seats 900 but its congregation has dwindled in size in recent years and hasn’t had a worship service in the main sanctuary since before the COVID-19 pandemic. UNITE acquired the building in July from the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church after a contract with New Jersey developer Joseph Novoseller fell through. UNITE’s board includes chair Jack Danna; vice chair Elizabeth Bonner; Henry Holt Hopkins and Ann Powell.
Other initiatives to activate the church include a pop-up holiday bookshop that The Ivy Bookshop is operating in the church’s vestibule through Christmas Eve and a series of noontime concerts featuring musicians from the Peabody Institute. The operator of Little Miracles Big Blessings Child Care plans to open a day care center in the basement starting in February. UNITE is also working on plans to have a flower show in the spring in conjunction with the annual Flower Mart in Mount Vernon.
Thursday’s concert drew a diverse audience, from longtime Mount Vernon residents to Peabody students to Pastor Angelic Williams and other members of the Methodist congregation that leases space behind the sanctuary.
To prepare for the bookshop and concerts, UNITE has removed carpeting from the sanctuary floor; taken cushions off the pews; cleaned the stained glass windows inside and out; upgraded lighting and installed holiday decorations. A rotating light illuminates the church’s central rose window that was modeled after the one at The Church of Notre Dame in Paris. Ushers stood at the front doors to welcome guests. Guests were treated to wine and cheese as they came in.
Besides applauding the musicians, the audience gave a standing ovation to Bonner, Danna and the other board members in recognition of what they’re doing to save the church.
“Mount Vernon in 1869 was the place to be and the place to have an important church,” Elizabeth Bonner told the audience. “Some of the members of the congregation are [in the audience]. We thank you and we thank your forebears.”
Danna thanked UNITE’s board; Preservation Maryland and President and CEO Nicholas Redding for serving as UNITE’s fiscal sponsor, the Goldseker Foundation and President and CEO Matthew Gallagher for its support, and State Sen. Bill Ferguson for securing seed funding from the Maryland General Assembly.
“We brought this building to life and activated it,” Danna told the audience. But “none of this would have ever happened if it weren’t for you. This building and this restoration will be not only a community hub for Mount Vernon, but it will be something for the city. To be part of this great endeavor is just so worthwhile.”
