MONDAY, AUGUST 5 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE B5
church appears already to have
left a mark on its community.
Since it opened its doors as a
neighborhood church in 1956,
Twinbrook has earned a reputa-
tion for welcoming all people in
what Gaither called a “wide spec-
trum of unity.” The church be-
longs to the Alliance of Baptists, a
group of progressive congrega-
tions.
Among its other ministries,
Twinbrook and its pastor have
been on the front lines of local
and national LGBTQ advocacy —
counterprotesting the Westboro
Baptist Church, helping to form
the outreach group Montgomery
County Pride Center and joining
an amicus brief asking the Su-
preme Court to rule that federal
law prohibits job discrimination
against gay and transgender em-
ployees.
Twinbrook’s welcome of
LGBTQ people mirrors its inclu-
sion of African Americans in the
mid-20th century, said Paula
Dempsey, the director of partner-
ship relations at the Alliance of
Baptists. While some clergy were
losing their jobs for welcoming
black people into their congrega-
tions, Dempsey said, Twinbrook
defined itself as a safe place for
people of color.
“This church is a model for
how other churches that are see-
ing decline can... (pay) it for-
ward — and instead of just spend-
ing out and spending out until
they have nothing else, actually
making a difference in ministry
and their communities,”
Dempsey said.
To Gaither, Twinbrook is de-
fined by both its welcoming min-
istry and her family’s l ong history
in the congregation. Gaither said
her parents were among the
church’s first black couples and
her father became a deacon there.
Two years after her father died
in 1991, Gaither said the church
dedicated to him a stained-glass
window in its north annex with a
verse from the Gospel of Matthew
about serving the marginalized.
As l ong as that window continues
to let light into Twinbrook, Gaith-
er said the church will always be a
part of her, and she of it.
“The name may change,” she
said, “but that’s my family there.”
[email protected]ministry on Aug. 17, the church
will present the monetary gifts to
Nourish Now, the ARC Maryland
and Comfort Cases, among other
groups.
The congregation, which con-
sists of about 50 active members,
chose to donate to organizations
that share its progressive values,
McCrory said. It asked groups it
previously worked with to submit
proposals explaining what they
would do if they received a por-
tion of the funds. The congrega-
tion then selected causes that
would receive donations ranging
from $2,000 to $250,000.
Community Reach of Mont-
gomery County, an organization
that provides housing, health
care and other services for people
in need, plans to use its $250,000
to open a diabetic center at its
health clinic for low-income and
uninsured adults, executive di-
rector Agnes Saenz said. The
organization also expects the
money to s ubsidize patients’ radi-
ology and laboratory work.
“It’s the best legacy that Twin-
brook Baptist can leave to our
patients,” Saenz said.
Two years ago, church leaders
said, Twinbrook’s congregation
realized its numbers were falling
and its days as a full-time minis-
try were probably limited. People
were moving out of the area and
older members were dying, mak-
ing it hard to afford the mainte-
nance on the decades-old church
building.
Church members considered
switching to a part-time pastor or
putting more energy into its out-
reach ministries, among other
options. Ultimately, the congre-
gation didn’t want to survive as if
it were in hospice care.
Shutting down, McCrory said,
allowed the church to close with
dignity because it had a choice in
the matter. So did deciding to
distribute the proceeds.
“We’re not just going to close
the doors and turn off the lights
and say, ‘Rockville, do whatever,’”
said Regina Gaither, chair of the
church council. “We wanted to be
able to give back to the communi-
ty that this church was founded
upon.”
Although Twinbrook has de-
clared this period of time to be
about “leaving a legacy,” theAcross denominations, con-
gregations are shrinking as
Americans increasingly separate
from organized religion. Four-
teen percent of Americans identi-
fied as unaffiliated in 2000, while
25 percent labeled themselves
that way in 2016, according to a
report from the Public Religion
Research Institute.
As a result, many congrega-
tions disband or adopt a more
financially sustainable model,
said the Rev. Elizabeth Lott, the
pastor at St. Charles Avenue Bap-
tist Church in New Orleans who
writes about the challenges fac-
ing contemporary churches.
Rolling Hills Baptist Church in
Fayetteville, Ga., sold its brick-
and-mortar space to do more
work in the community. S t. John’s
Catholic Church in Virginia,
Minn., demolished its building to
save money to accommodate the
growth of the community’s only
remaining Catholic congregation
and its school. Fifteen nonprofits
operate out of Lott’s own church,
she said, while only about 80
people fill the pews on Sundays.
“There are churches that are
not in denial, that are facing their
grief head-on and that are trying
to do this well,” Lott said. “I think
the way to do it is to find out,
what’s the real impact we can
have?”
For Twinbrook, that impact
involves selling the building to
the Pentecostal church Centro
Cristiano Peniel for less than
market rate. The Spanish-lan-
guage congregation had shared
Twinbrook’s space for 14 years,
McCrory said, and Twinbrook
wanted to enable it to buy the
building. (McCrory declined to
specify the sale price.)
“For us, it’s just a miracle,” s aid
Angel Chavez, the associate pas-
tor at Centro Cristiano Peniel. “...
Now we can worship (for) as
many hours as we want, and we’ll
try to invite the community.”
Twinbrook plans to donate
more than $1 million of the
building’s proceeds to 35 local
organizations for school lunch
programs, medical clinics, LG-
BTQ youth programs and other
community initiatives, McCrory
said. During its last weekend of
CHURCH FROM B1
to get them t o do anything.”
John F. Settles II, a mortgage
originator and two-time D.C.
Council candidate, learned about
the tenants’ struggle earlier this
year from a resident who called
him for advice. How could they
keep their homes at a price they
could afford, while not buying the
building outright, the resident
asked.
Settles had an idea: Turn the
buildings into condos and add
other u nits.
“Obviously at first, I wanted to
see if there was a way for the
tenants themselves to be the own-
er of the building, but we quickly
realized they didn’t have the fi-
nancial capability — and then it
just dawned on me,” Settles said.
“Blended economics are how you
make t he deal work.”
Settles plans to renovate the
structures — old buildings that
need to be brought up to code —
and add additional units to each,
“by either going up or going out
the back, and not only preserving
existing units but creating new
units” to sell or rent at market
value.
Existing residents, meanwhile,
will have an opportunity to buy
their a partments at a reduced rate
or continue renting at an amount
subject t o rent control.
“The city needs to figure out
how to solve these issues with
smaller buildings, because there’s
a lot of them,” Settles said. “A nd a
majority of these smaller build-
ings end up without tenants being
able to fulfill their TOPA dreams
because they don’t have the re-
sources to buy.”
Settles closed on the first of
three buildings in mid-July. He
said he expects to close on the
other two buildings before the
end of the year. Residents will
need to move out for several
months during the renovation.
Settles said he is using them as
a pilot program, a way to test his
theory and see if there’s a way to
prevent displacement in small
buildings across the District. If it
works, he said, he hopes to pitch
his strategy to the mayor’s o ffice.
“There’s no silver bullet for the
housing affordability issue, so we
need to push new tools and inno-
vation and get past the old way of
doing business and old para-
digms,” Settles said. “It’s cheaper
to invest in helping people now
than after the fact, when they’re
displaced.”
[email protected]Catholic Church to take action
against the wave of displacement
that has already hurt the lives of so
many of us in this neighborhood,
and across the entire city,” resi-
dents of four buildings wrote in a
letter to the National Shrine last
year.
Housing activists from LinkUp
and Justice First organized pro-
tests outside the basilica, gather-
ing with signs that read, “Catholic
church chooses profit over peo-
ple: D.C. tenants and families
fight back.” Members of several
Catholic parishes led letter-writ-
ing campaigns to church leader-
ship, i mploring them to intercede.
Meanwhile, the tenants tried
for months to find a nonprofit
housing developer to purchase
the property on their behalf. T hey
asked the National Shrine to aid in
finding a benevolent buyer, but
the church declined.
“While we are deeply sympa-
thetic to your situation, we are
unable to provide any assistance
beyond what the law provides be-
cause the Shrine is, at best, only a
temporary h older of the property,”
Kavanaugh wrote in the August
2018 letter.
The National Shrine said it did
what it could to help residents
purchase the building at 636 Gi-
rard St. NE, agreeing to a sale
price of 15 percent below its mar-
ket value — an $85,000 drop. The
church agreed to a similar dis-
count for a building at 1364 Bry-
ant St. NE, although it wouldn’t
disclose the amount, because the
sale is pending. Church officials
said the National Shrine also
agreed to extend the tenants’ fi-
nancing deadline by 90 days.
A National Shrine spokeswom-
an said in an email that “the pub-
lic activity had no impact on our
decision-making because the Ba-
silica was already doing every-
thing i t could, within the confines
of the law, t o enable t he tenants to
purchase the property.”
To Bob Cooke, a member of Pax
Christi, a national Catholic or-
ganization that advocates peace
and social justice, the basilica’s
solution wasn’t e nough.
“Either the church is going to
have to start living by its best
principles, or it will just continue
shooting i tself in the foot, because
people, especially young people,
are not happy with a church that
doesn’t show care for the poor
among us,” he said. “They talk the
talk, but when a situation like this
comes about, it was very difficultsaid Heather Benno, vice presi-
dent of the 636 Girard St. NE
Te nants Association. “But, actual-
ly, those things are flexible and
regular people can find a solution
— especially if it is addressed by
the community, together.”
In t he District, tenants in multi-
family apartment buildings have
the right to buy the building upon
its notice of sale through the Te n-
ant Opportunity to Purchase Act.
Because residents typically don’t
have cash on hand to make an
offer, tenants typically assign
their right to purchase to a devel-
oper in exchange for assurances
like affordable rent, an option to
buy their unit at below-market
rate and renovations.
But developers are often loath
to invest in helping tenants in
buildings below a certain occu-
pancy.
In 2016, Joanne Doyle, a Catho-
lic and active member of the Pol-
ish American Society of Washing-
ton, D.C., died and left her portfo-
lio of 13 properties to the N ational
Shrine.
Five of the properties were sin-
gle-family homes. The remaining
eight were small multifamily
buildings — comprising about 30
households altogether — scat-
tered throughout rapidly gentrify-
ing neighborhoods like Edge-
wood, Trinidad and Brookland.
The National Shrine took pos-
session of the properties in 2018
and transferred them to a holding
corporation owned by the basili-
ca, which would then sell the
buildings.
“A s a Roman Catholic Church,
the Basilica is not permitted to
manage or own rental properties
as a trade or business,” Kevin Ka-
vanaugh, secretary and treasurer
of the holding company BNSIC
Title Holding Corporation, wrote
in a letter to tenants.
The tenants were panicked. If
the building was sold, rents w ould
probably rise. Some could lose
their h omes.
Benno, who was pregnant at
the time, said tenants thought ap-
pealing to the church’s moral call-
ing might allow them to exercise
their TOPA rights and purchase
the building at a lower price.
“We ask you to meet and work
with us as tenants of Northeast
Washington, D.C., and to craft a
solution that protects the afford-
ability and future of our homes,
and we respectfully call on the
BASILICA FROM B1
Handled by ‘the community, together’
Closing church to donate $1 million to
charities that share progressive values
DEATH NOTICELOUISW.FRANK
OnTuesday,July 30, 2019,
LOUISW.FRANK, of Brooklyn,
NY.Beloved husband ofPaige
Frank. Devoted son of DavidS.
(Nina Blendman)Frank and the
latePaulette L. AbramsFrank.
Loving brother of StephanieB.
and AlexandraC.Frank. Graveside funeral
services will be held onTuesday,August 6,
2019,2p.m. at Judean Memorial Gardens,
Olney,MD.After the service,shiva will be
observed at the home of Nina Blendman
and DavidFrank. Memorial contributions
may be made to the charity of your choice.
Arrangements entrusted toTORCHINSKY
HEBREW FUNERAL HOME, 202-541-1001.FRANKDEATH NOTICEPAULA ANN GAIMARI (Age 74)
OnFriday,August 2, 2019 of Silver
Spring, MD passed away at her
residence due to natural causes.
Beloved sister ofWarren (Ann)
Wenzl, and ThurmanB.Wenzl;
aunt of Eric and PeterWenzl. Ser-
vices will be held atalater date.
Memorial contributions can be made inPaula's
memory to the Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Capital Chapter,1 800 MStreet, NW,
Suite 750 South,Washington DC,20036.
http://www.collinsfuneralhome.comGAIMARICORBIN GWALTNEY (Age 97)
On Monday,July 29, 2019, Corbin Gwaltney,
pioneering editor and founder of The Chron-
icle of Higher Education and The Chronicle
of Philanthropy,died at his home in
Potomac,MD.Born in Baltimore,MD,he
obtainedabachelor’sdegree from Johns
Hopkins University in 1943 and then served
in theU.S.Army in WWII. Beloved husband
ofPamela Gwaltney,the late Jean (née
Wyckoff) and the late Doris Jean (néeKell);
devoted father of Jean (husband, Robert
Lyford), Margaret (partner,Charles Sim-
mons) and Thomas (wife,Anne) with Doris
Jean; cherished grandfather of Christopher,
Peter and Elizabeth Lyford, Catharine
Gwaltney Babcock (husband, Matthew) and
Caroline Gwaltney; adoring great-grandfa-
ther ofJackson Babcock. Memorial ser-
vice will be held atafuture date with
private interment at Oak Hill Cemetery in
Washington, DC.Memorial contributions in
the name of Corbin Gwaltney may be made
to Johns Hopkins University,Krieger School
Hopkins Fund, 3400N.Charles Street, Bal-
timore,MD21218 (www.giving.jhu.edu [giv-
ing.jhu.edu]) or Baltimore City College,3220
The Alameda, Baltimore,MD21218,
(www.baltimorecitycollege.us). Please view
and sign the family guest book at:
http://www.PumphreyFuneralHome.comGWALTNEYPAMELA EDITH KING
Entered into eternal rest onWednesday,July
24,2019. She is survived by two aunts,
Delphine Jones and Doris Griffin; five special
cousins,Sheila, Rosamary,Edith,Tracey and
Priscilla Phillips andahost of relatives and
friends.Ms. King’sviewing will be at National
Funeral Home from1p.m. to2p.m. on August
10, 2019. The service is from2p.m. to 3
p.m. Interment at National MemorialPark King
David Memorial.KINGJOHN BECHTEL RINGER
On Monday,July 22, 2019. The beloved father
of Beverly Cauley of Davidsonville,MD,Bonnie
Carroll of Lawrenceville,NJand the late Anna
Catherina Ringer;brother of George Ringer
of Los Altos,CAand Ruth Ann Petroff of
MenomoneeFalls,WIand grandfather ofJack,
Gavin and Owen Cauley,Liam, Erin and Molly
Carroll.Acelebration of John's life will be
held on Sunday,August 11, 2019 from2to
4p.m. at the Union Street Public House,1 21
S.Union St., Alexandria,VA22314. In lieu
offlowers,donationsmaybemadetoThe
Men's Home themenshome.org or VCS Cancer
Foundation, PO Box 194, Herndon,VA20172.
Online condolences may be made at
KalasFuneralHomes.comRINGERC0979 2x3Becauseyourlovedoneservedproudly...Military emblemsare available with death noticesand in-memoriamsTo placeanotice call202-334-4122or800-627-1150,ext. 44122DEATH NOTICET. ANDREW RICE
March 30, 1966-July 30, 2019
AMemorial services will be held onWednesday,August 7, 11 a.m.
Hermon Presbyterian Church, 7801 PersimmonTree Lane,Bethesda,
MD 20817.Areception will follow,details will be in the program. In
lieu of flowers,please consideradonation to NAMI in Andrew's name.
http://www.namimc.org or NAMI MC,3210 Corporate Blvd., Ste.170,
Rockville,MD20850.With heavy hearts,weshare the sudden loss of Andrew Rice of
Bethesda, MD.Hewas loved. If love could have saved him, he would
still be here.Heissurvived by his three daughters,Libby Rice,Katie
Rice and Becky; sister,Allyson Rice; mother,JaneB.Rice; grandmother,
Marguerite Leishman; and many loving family members.Hewas
preceded in death by his father,Paul R. Rice.RICEDEATH NOTICESHIRLEEN ARITASHEPHERD
On Friday,July 19, 2019
beloved mother of Theresa
Francis (Joseph) and Darleen
Francis (Ernest) died peace-
fully at 71, dear grandmother
of Evans,Krystal, Tiara, DeMarrez, Tiffani, Day-
lah, Dasha and Daisy and 12 great-grandchil-
dren. She is also survived by siblings,Starrez,
Francheska and Pedro Shepherd andahost
of other relatives.OnWednesday,August 7,
2019 avisitation will be held from 10 a.m. until
hour of funeral service 11:30 a.m. at the New
Hope AME Church, 12310Washington Square
(OldWashington Rd.)Waldorf,MD20601.
IntermentMarylandVeteransCemetery,Chel-
tenham, MD.Condolences to
http://www.pridgenfuneralservice.comSHEPHERDWANDABARBARA TRUE SONNENBERG
Wanda BarbaraTrue Sonnenberg, 91,aretired
realtor from Rockville,MDpassed away on
Saturday,August 2, 2019. Beloved wife of
the late William Sonnenberg; loving mother of
BarbaraA.Banks (Jeff) andWayneASonnen-
berg (Dana); cherished grandmother of Andrew
J. Banks.
Afuneral service will be held at PUMPHREY’S
COLONIAL FUNERAL HOME, 300W. Mont-
gomeryAve. (Route 28 just off I-270), Rockville,
MD onWednesday,August 7, 2019 at1p.m.,
IntermentParklawn MemorialPark.
Memorial contributions may be made to the
Alzheimer’sAssociation, 8180 Greensboro Dr.
Suite 400, McLean,VA22102. Please view and
sign the family online guestbook at
http://www.pumphreyfuneralhome.comSONNENBERGRICHARDJ. WIRTH (Age 82)
OfTequesta, FL, passed away on August 1,
2019 in Jupiter,FL. He is survived by his
wife,Barbara; sons Joseph (Joanna) and John
(Gloria); former wife Theresa; sister Joan
(Charles) Kirchner;brother-in-law John (Chris-
tine)Ward; and several cousins,nieces,and
nephews.Richard was born on September 19,
1936 inWashington, DC to JosephT.Wirth
and Evelyn A. Wirth. He graduated from the
University of Maryland withaMaster’sDegree
in mechanical engineering.His career included
the DavidTaylor Model Basin, where he worked
asaNaval Architect. In the early 60’satthe
ageof26,heworkedfortheDepartmentof
the Navy.One summer they sent him and his
team aboard the SSTriton Nuclear Submarine,
where they successfully solvedaproblem with
the Whip Antennas of the Sona Buoy.He
worked for NASA for 35 years as the Project
ManageronseveralSatelliteprojects;most
notable was the GOES weather satellite.We
benefit today by the data provided by this
weather satellite,utilized by NOAA. His training
as an aerospace engineer served him well in
all areas of his life.Avisitation is scheduled
forTuesday,August 6, 2019 from5p.m. to
7p.m. atTaylor and Modeen Funeral Home,
250 Center Street, Jupiter,FL. Amass will take
place onWednesday,August 7, 2019 at 11 a.m.
at St. Jude Catholic Church in Jupiter,FL. A
reception will immediately follow the service
at the NorthPassage Club House,8710 SE
RiverfrontTerrace,Tequesta, FL.Amemorial
mass will be held in Annapolis,MData
later date.For online condolences,please visit
(http:www.TaylorandModeen.com).WIRTHDEATH NOTICECOL. JOHN EDWARD GOULD,SR.
Col. John Edward Gould, Sr.passed August
2, 2019 at his home in Leesburg,VAsur-
rounded by family.
Ed was born on August, 6, 1941 in Char-
lotte,NC.His family moved to Wilson, NC
where he attended high school and met his
wife,Christine Barnes.Hegraduated from
the Citadel and receivedamaster's degree
in education from GeorgeWashington Uni-
versity.Heretired from the AirForce after
26 years of service.After retiring from the
military,enjoyedasecond career in the
private sector.
Ed was an avid golfer playing over 700
different golf courses to include several for-
eign countries as well as across the United
States.Hefound great joy in helping others
developtheirgolfgames.
He wasaloving husband and father he
is survived by his wife of 55 years,Chris,
daughters,Susan Cutler,Lynn Crutchfield,
her spouse,Elliott and son, John Gould Jr.,
Five grandchildren: Edward Cutler,Eddie,
Liza, Grace and Lucy Crutchfield.
Services will be held at Loudoun Funeral
Chapel, 158 Catoctin Cir.SE, Leesburg,VA- Visitation will beTuesday August 6,
2019 from6to8p.m and Funeral Service
Wednesday August 7, 2019 at 11 a.m. A
reception will take place immediately fol-
lowing the service at River Creek Club.
In lieu of flowers,please donate to the
charity of your choice in honor of Ed
GLOUDDEATH NOTICEDEATH NOTICELAWRENCE GREGORY
"PeeWee"
Peacefully entered into eternal rest onFriday,
July 26, 2019. Survived by his loving wife,
Malvolia; sons,Keith andKevin; daughter,Krys-
tal;ahost of other relatives and friends.
Viewing 10 a.m. until time of funeral service at
11 a.m.Tuesday,August 6, 2019 at Emmanuel
Baptist Church, 2409 Ainger Place,SE,Wash-
ington, DC 20020 Rev.Christopher Nichols,
Pastor.Internment Cheltenham Veterans
Cemetery,Cheltenham, MD.Services entrust-
ed to Compassion and Serenity Funeral Home,
Clinton, MD.GREGORYSARA CHRISTINE JONES-LOFTON
Departed this life on July 25, 2019 at Hope
Assisted Living in Laurel, MD.
Aresident of Columbia, MD.Beloved mother
of Anette Lofton, grandmother of Nehemiah
Lofton-Bing; sister of Lorraine Thompson. She
is also survived by one niece,one great-niece,
one nephew andahost of relatives and friends.
Family will receive friends at First Baptist
Church of Glenarden Ministry Center,3 600
Brightseat Rd., Landover,MD20785,Tuesday,
August 6, Viewing at 10 a.m., followed by
service at 11 a.m. Interment at Ft. Lincoln
Cemetery at 3401 Bladensburg Road, Brent-
wood, MD.Arrangements by Ft. Lincoln Funer-
al Home.JONES-LOFTONDEATH NOTICES
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