In Shaw, Shiloh Spat Is Front and Center

Map It:  Shaw-Howard U 

IN HEBREW, the word "Shiloh" means "place of peace." But in Shaw, there's been discord at the historic Shiloh Baptist Church, pictured at right.

Neighborhood grumbling about the church's protests of new businesses in the revitalizing 9th Street NW corridor and the dilapidated properties it owns have been going on for months. But now, internal dissent over church leadership has spilled out onto the church's front lawn, literally.

As The Post's Jacqueline L. Salmon and Hamil R. Harris write this morning, a weekend no-confidence vote was taken by members of the church on a small patch of grass outside the church at 9th and P streets NW. In a vote of 138-6, church members voted to oust its pastor, but as Shiloh officials point out, such a vote is unauthorized under the church's constitution. A church spokeswoman tells The Post that the dissident group "has given the media an inaccurate picture that suggests the church is in turmoil."

Some Shaw neighborhood activists say that Shiloh hasn't been a good neighbor, fighting a protracted battle with the owners of a vegetarian restaurant, Vegetate, over the eatery's efforts to secure a liquor license. (Another church down the street unsuccessfully fought the opening of a gay-friendly bar, BeBar, on the strip.) Other activist bloggers have documented the saga involving dilapidated and vacant Shiloh-owned properties on 9th Street, buildings condemned by D.C. officials in June.

The fight adds to the mounting neighborhood tensions over newcomers, Shaw's revitalization and the churches that have been fixtures in the area for generations.

» "D.C. Church Dissenters Attempt to Oust Pastor" [WaPo]
EARLIER:
» "As Neighborhoods Change, So Must Politicians' Views" [Marc Fisher/WaPo]
» "Shiloh Baptist Church and the Shaw Neighborhood" [ShilohDC]
» "Shiloh Baptist Church Properties Condemned" [DCist]
» "Citizen Video Cancels Contentious Shaw Meeting" [Free Ride/Express]

Photo by Kevin Clark/The Washington Post