On October 15, 1977, Beth Shalom’s charter members began worshiping at the home of Christine Sanders in Northeast Washington, D.C. On March 12, 1978, they moved from Sander’s home for the first meeting of Beth Shalom at 1249 Bladensburg Road, N.E. in Washington, D.C. Beth Shalom moved to its new church home at 8100 Malcolm Road in Clinton, Maryland, on November 24, 2013.
We still hold to the foundational scripture in Philippians chapter 2:1-2 that says: If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded,having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
During the church’s illustrious history, we’ve had four pastors: the Rev. Sadie Jackson, Rev. Lorenzo McCormick and Rev. Charles H. Strayhorn. All these great ministers of God have gone home to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the righteous. Since 1991, the Rev. Dr. Darrell J. Gaskin has served as our fourth pastor. He’s leading the way as we continue this journey in faith and love.
Each leader has brought Beth Shalom through different times and challenges, but they’ve kept our eyes focused on the goal of being a church that serves the community in love and fellowship. We continue to serve the Lord through biblical preaching, dynamic outreach ministries and inspirational song and worship.
Some of our current ministries to each other and the community include: The homeless ministry, the Beth Shalom website, Church school, monthly class fellowship meetings, vacation bible school and the dancing angels, a liturgical dance ministry.
Our ministries also include the Rev. Charles H. Strayhorn Scholarship Fund, the Thanksgiving food drive, the school uniform program for North Forestville Elementary School and much, much more.
We’ve reshaped our music ministry over the years. Currently we have the New Direction Choir (which combined the Voices of Inspiration and the New Horizon Choir). We have the Serenity Singers, the Men’s Ensemble and the awesome Praise Team.
Over our illustrious history, the church has been involved in numerous projects in the community. We believe that building strong relationships based on God’s word will help to build strong communities. Over the life of Beth Shalom, we’ve operated a summer camp for neighborhood children, a tutoring program, a neighborhood park cleanup drive and the Toys for Tots program.
Our mission statement says it all:
We worship the Lord. Reach out to the Community. Teach the Believers.
Care for the Needy. And Encourage each other in the Lord.
On October 15, 1977, Beth Shalom’s charter members began worshiping at the home of Christine Sanders in Northeast Washington, D.C. On March 12, 1978, they moved from Sander’s home for the first meeting of Beth Shalom at 1249 Bladensburg Road, N.E. in Washington, D.C. Beth Shalom moved to its new church home at 8100 Malcolm Road in Clinton, Maryland, on November 24, 2013.