| Church thrives with downtown development By Melissa LauberUMConnection Staff The recent opening of the new convention center and the City Museum on its doorstep has breathed new life into Mount Vernon Place UMC in Washington, D.C. We were dying, but now we are reborn, said the Rev. Kiyul Chung, who attributes the renaissance to a handful of faithful older members who have kept the church doors open. Ive seen yesterday and Im more interested in tomorrow, said Jim Foley, who at 79 claims to be the youngest of the churchs core leaders. Each weekday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Foley wears a tie and sits on the church porch, welcoming visitors who pass by the church and inviting them in. He remembers a time in the churchs past when there were 3,000 people in the sanctuary during Sunday worship. He also recalls a time when the church put up a no trespassing sign on the wrought iron gates outside the door. It said trespassers will be prosecuted, Foley said. What kind of message is that for a church? When a convention is in town, thousands of people walk past the historic building, built as a Methodist Episcopal Church South for former slave owners who returned to the city following the Civil War. Visitors today are captivated by the beauty of the sanctuary and the stained glass windows. But Chung and the church members are more excited about what the church offers to the community. With its  118 rooms, Mount Vernon Place is home to a geriatric day care center. It also offers a special worship service for between 80 and 100 developmentally challenged people on Sunday mornings. Plans are in the making to offer an evening exercise class for the many tourists and other travelers that stay in hotels near the church. There are also plans to open a community health clinic, which would offer eastern and western-style medical treatments to low-income area residents. The clinic would be operated as a multi-campus ministry, with the assistance of members from nearby Asbury and Foundry UMCs, Chung explained. The three congregations recently came together for an Easter sunrise service. Members from Mount Vernon assist at Asburys monthly breakfast for the homeless and Chung expects further shared opportunities. The congregation has experience in shared ministry. The fourth floor of Mount Vernon Place houses a Chinese community center. The churchs relationship with the areas Chinese community makes it unique. Located near Chinatown, the congregation opened its doors to the Chinese Community Church, an interdenominational congregation, eight years ago. Today, the two congregations worship together and additional services in Mandarin and Cantonese are held on Sunday mornings. Chung, who is Korean, was so impressed with the diversity of the congregation when he arrived last July, he dubbed Mount Vernon Place, a Global Church: International Center for Gods Mission! Adopted by the administrative board, these words appear on the cover of the weekly worship bulletin. They also have been a gbwc_superusere for growth. Even as they reach out toward the future, Chung expresses elaborate appreciation for those who have kept the doors of the church open. Thelma Kouzes, chairwoman of the church council, Mabel Wright, chairwoman of the Staff-Parish Relations Committee and Ruth DuLaney, lay leader, all joined the church as young married women following World War II. For the last 60 years, they have been faithful members of the same Sunday School class the Rustin class. The womens lives are each woven in very special ways with Mount Vernon Place, they say, and they are thrilled at the churchs renewal. Since last July, 23 people have joined the congregation and a New Vision group meets twice a month to envision a future for an urban church in the heart of the nations capital. In addition to the new museum and the convention center, which is the largest building in the city, a high-rise office building is under construction on one side of the church and a Marriot Hotel is planned for another. Foley  is thrilled at the increased numbers of people this will bring past the churchs doors. We are now about to experience another successful period of Methodist presence in the nations capital, he said. | 
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