Potential funding cuts could impact this historically Black church

WEWS

By Remi Murrey

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    CLEVELAND (WEWS) — The future of an important funding source helping Cleveland’s East Mount Zion Baptist Church keep its doors open is now in question.

“Across the board, there are many funding cuts that are happening and it’s bringing great apprehension,” said Pastor Brian Cash of East Mount Zion Baptist Church. “A lot of the programming could be displaced if the building is not operable.”

Still, Cash said he will walk by faith and not by sight to save the more than 100-year-old institution the church purchased and moved into back in 1955.

“We’re really moving forward in faith, and we have a lot of other partners that we’ve worked with. But if this funding does not come through it really kind of puts a damper on the continuation of our project,” said Cash.

As the first Black congregation to establish itself on Euclid Avenue, or the once Millionaires’ Row, historians said the church has been relying on funding from the National Park Service to replace its roof, stone and re-imagine the inside of the church due to the building’s old age, which we saw last year in April.

“We’re preserving this amazing, layered history, we’re preserving the art and craft that went into the construction of this building,” said Margaret Lann, the Preservation Services and Publications Director at Cleveland Restoration Society.

But if there are cuts to this funding, Cash said they will have to get creative and apply for more grants to keep the project moving forward.

In return, Cash said he hopes this will help the church continue its work in the community to keep thousands fed and educated on the church’s history, now that it’s the last historic space that exists in the corridors of Cleveland Clinic’s campus.

“We believe so emphatically that this project is purposeful, so we know it’s going to go forward,” said Cash.

At the Cleveland Restoration Society, historians said it, too, is coming up with ways to make sure historically black churches like East Mount Zion Baptist Church are supported.

“Our idea that we got a few years ago was to establish a dedicated brick and mortar fund for historic black churches. But we need to have a pool of funds that we can start helping these churches steward their beautiful buildings,” said Anne Doten, the Development Director at Cleveland Restoration Society.

The restoration society’s campaign launch won’t kick off for another few years, so they encourage the community to send donations directly to them or East Mount Zion Baptist Church.

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