The snow had not yet fallen on Georgetown Pike on Sunday morning when the congregants at Salem Baptist Church gathered for church.
The Pike, whose route was first defined by buffalo foraging along the Potomac River, is dotted with churches of varied denominations. Most have larger budgets than the diminutive Salem’s, but none has been there as long. The church is celebrating its 101st year in 2004.
It stands on a one-acre tract of land donated by “Sister” Lettie Ellis in 1920. The church, built in 1921, later added a small vestibule and a fellowship hall. But it has no indoor plumbing, and the roof sustained major damage after winds from Hurricane Isabel passed through Great Falls last September.
On a very cold morning in January, attendance was down in many of the Pike’s sanctuaries, but the faithful who turned out at Salem heard Assistant Pastor Alphonso Carter turn the church’s problems into a challenge of faith.
He gave thanks for the basic elements of life: shelter, clothing, food, and the cars that brought church members to hear his sermon.
“Thank you for putting up with me when I am down on my knees complaining when I should have been praying,” Carter said prayerfully.
“We are going through something, Salem,” Carter said. “I have a dream God is going to do a new thing. People driving by this building are going to say, ‘Let’s build a building.’
“Many times, people would rather see a sermon, than hear one,” Carter said.
THE CHURCH serves a small black community near the intersection of Seneca Road and Georgetown Pike. Its members have moved farther west and south, but they still come back to worship.
“We don’t know if the ceiling is going to fall down,” Carter said. “We thank the Lord this morning for our building. Even if our building collapses, we will be having church.”
“We are going to stay here on Georgetown Pike, if we have to put up a tent.”
Salem’s choir will sing at “Lift Every Voice,” a choir sing celebrating Christian unity and sponsored by the Great Falls Ecumenical Council. It is scheduled from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15, at St. Francis Episcopal Church, one of Salem’s Georgetown Pike neighbors.
Choirs from members of the Ecumenical Council, as well as others from the area, will sing traditional spirituals and anthems in their church traditions.
A freewill collection will be donated for roof repairs at Salem, where church officials are waiting for an estimate to see what the total will be.
They want to replace their building but have encountered permitting problems because Fairfax County’s zoning ordinance requires that the parking lot be made larger. That would take up land the church needs to establish a septic field for indoor plumbing, said Roland Smith, the church pastor.
Crystal Terry, who chairs the board of deacons, said the church will evaluate its needs after the extent of the roof damage is assessed.
The roof had been repaired just before the hurricane but was damaged again by high winds, said Alex Terry, a deacon.
Asked what kept them from getting discouraged, choir member Gracie Ellis had a ready answer: “Our faith in God. That’s it, Sweetie,” she said.