American Dream

Church Proposals Trouble Montgomery
Environmentalists Oppose Construction in County's Agricultural Reserve

By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 30, 2005; Page B01

Quotes:

Montgomery County Council member George L. Leventhal says he's getting a lot of calls from churchgoers who say they are praying for him.

Leventhal (D-At Large) and other council members find themselves in the middle of a political struggle between environmental groups and two churches over what development, if any, should be allowed in the county's agricultural reserve.

"To say no to a church is to say no to individuals and families, children and senior citizens," Bishop Darlingston G. Johnson, presiding prelate of Bethel World Outreach Ministries, wrote to council members, who are scheduled to hold a hearing on the issue today.

Environmentalists, who have the backing of some other faith groups in the county, are even more direct. "We do have an election coming up, and the Sierra Club makes endorsements before the election," said Anne Ambler, chair of the Montgomery County Group of the Sierra Club.

At issue before the council are efforts by the 2,500-member Bethel World Outreach church in Silver Spring, which has a largely black congregation, and 2,000-member Seneca Creek Community Church in Germantown to move to larger complexes in the agricultural reserve.

Leaders of both congregations say they have outgrown their locations. And with land scarce and real estate prices high, both turned to the agricultural reserve for a new home.