First, let me say that I go way back to the early 1980s when the pastor at Bethesda Baptist Church was the late Rev. John Bussey. My former co-worker Diane Powell was a member. She invited me to programs there, and she was on committees with me. Rev. Bussey was a program participant for luncheons! But stop! Look what has happened to them — again!
Following a massive downpour across the DMV last week, most of the attention has been focused on flooding on Rhode Island Avenue Northeast and District Dogs Daycare, where 10 dogs died. News 7 Bureau Chief Sam Ford sent cameras to Bethesda Baptist Church, located in Trinidad off New York Avenue, at the bottom of the hill. This church has been damaged again. Last time they had flooding, it cost $40,000. This time, with cost-of-living increases, expect that cost to escalate.
In Ivy City, stormwater mixed with sewage rose from storm drains outside Bethesda Baptist Church. The water would rise to almost 3 feet, stranding a car on nearby Mt. Olivet Road and pouring into the offices of the 100-year-old church.
The pastor of Bethesda Baptist Church, Rev. Michael Thompson, said when he arrived at home Monday night, he saw news reports of flooding in Northeast D.C. Since the church had seen five previous floods, he grew concerned. The water had receded when he got back to the church, but the damage was done.
The water seeped into hallways and streamed into offices, including his. It ruined the carpet installed only two years ago after a similar flood in 2020, as well as copy machines that shorted out.
“Tile was completely covered with sewage, mud and debris,” Thompson said.
Here we go again, he thought.
Thompson said he has photographs showing how the flood waters “filled our church lot, covered cars up almost to the top of the vehicles, and made its way into the offices and sanctuary.”
“We thought that the project was complete. We thought that this would not occur again. And, to come in and to see sewage inside the church is devastating, particularly considering that we have a homegoing celebration, a funeral that is scheduled for the weekend,” Thompson said.
It is particularly upsetting, he said, because D.C. Water said a tunnel to handle stormwater would have been online by now. This is a city infrastructure problem, nothing we as a congregation can do to put an end to this flooding.
According to John Lisle, VP of D.C. Water, the tunnel that runs under Rhode Island Avenue affecting that flood is the same tunnel that runs under Ivy City, “and because of construction issues the tunnel will not open for use until late September.”
Another source said it may be ready in October. Lisle said, once the tunnel goes online, it should alleviate flooding problems, since it will hold 90 million gallons of stormwater.
Churches are a support system for congregants and for the community. They bless new babies with christenings, bury the dead, conduct marriages, and support the community with food drives and more. It is difficult to do so when these infrastructure problems keep happening, and there is nothing the church can do about it.
“In the past 20 years, they’ve had several floods that have damaged the church,” Thompson told me. “In this instance, there was about five inches of water inside the church.”
Repairs from the 2020 flood cost the church $40,000, which can no longer get flood insurance. Thompson said the last flood was difficult to overcome for the church, which has a working-class congregation with many worshippers living on fixed incomes.
“In the midst of this tragedy, we know testing produces faith; and faith produces perseverance and builds our character as a church,” he said. “But I can tell you, folks are disheartened.”
Thompson said because the church is unable to get flood insurance due to previous flooding, “it must rely on donations from those who attend it and others to pay for the repairs.”
“We’re hoping that the city will do better this time, after giving our church only $5,000, as if we were residents,” he said. “If YOU would like to send a donation, make your check payable to Bethesda Baptist Church.”
DC Water’s Northeast Boundary Tunnel Project, which takes up a portion of the church’s property, has been underway for several years.
“We would have loved to have been completed earlier. Perhaps this would not have happened,” Thompson said.
Pastor Thompson further said “With much of the attention given to the devastating flooding on Rhode Island Avenue, he feels the Ivy City neighborhood was mostly ignored during this recent flood. He believes this area of the city, which is home to many low-income residents and sees higher crime rates, is at times forgotten by city leaders and others during events such as this.
The pastor said, “We would hope that much attention is given not only to the church, but also to other areas of the city that had been impacted beyond Rhode Island Avenue and District Dogs.”
This is a reminder: Saturday, Aug. 26 is the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial, please go out and march for our rights!
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.
