East Mt. Zion Baptist Church was in the process of selling its building about five years ago. Then the congregation’s new senior pastor had a revelation.
“It was kind of like a Moses-at-the-burning-bush moment,” the Rev. Brian Cash, who has pastored the church since 2020, said, referring to the biblical story. “You have an encounter with God, and you hear His voice and you can’t say no.”
In the Bible, Moses hears the voice of God coming from the burning bush telling him he will lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Cash believed God was telling him that East Mt. Zion should remain at Euclid Avenue and East 100th Street in Fairfax. The church is next to the Cleveland Clinic, which was set to buy the building but now partners with East Mt. Zion on some of the church’s community outreach programs.
Built in 1908, it is nicknamed the Green Stone Church because of the color of the serpentine stone of the edifice. The stone makes it a unique building in Cleveland and a rarity in Ohio. The downside is that the stone absorbs water. Cleveland’s climate, which has many cycles of freezing and thawing, has caused the stone to deteriorate over the years.
Fixing the stone is a multi-million project, which is why the congregation considered selling the building. There were other major projects to do, including replacing the roof. Once sold, plans included demolition, Cash said.
East Mt. Zion stays in Fairfax because of history and community-focused ministries
Raised in Cleveland, Cash was working at a church in Florida when he was called to pastor East Mt. Zion. As its new leader, he wanted to be directly involved in the church’s outreach ministries during a time in the pandemic when little was known about COVID and many were suffering from the economic fallout it was causing.
He became a driver for the church’s Lifeline Ministry, which distributes food, clothing and other essentials throughout the community. Cash took food and supplies to nearby families, including those on and around Cedar Avenue in Fairfax.
“I began to meet these families,” he said. “I began to see the conditions of families who live right in this neighborhood. We were meeting people who had dirt floors. This is not rural Mississippi!”
His burning bush moment about East Mt. Zion’s future came while he was a Lifeline driver.
“God just revealed and confirmed for me: “If you leave, who else will be here?” Cash recalled.
East Mt. Zion, founded in 1908, had been in the building since 1955. It became the first Black congregation to buy a church on Euclid Avenue, once known as Millionaires’ Row. The congregation bought the building from the Euclid Avenue Christian Church, which moved to Cleveland Heights.
“We broke that color barrier, but it was challenging,” Cash said.
East Mt. Zion purchased the building for $125,000, nearly $1.5 million in today’s dollars. He said the congregation was required to put down $100,000.
The 1,500-member congregation paid off the mortgage in three years. (Now it has about 350 members.)
Cash didn’t want to see the building risk demolition because the church has been part of local history in other ways. This includes East Mt. Zion’s being a leader in the effort to elect Carl B. Stokes in 1967 as the first Black mayor of a major U.S. city. The church was the site of Stokes campaign activity, and the mayor gave one of his acceptance speeches there, Cash said.
The church also routinely gave a platform to Black women to speak about their influential work, Cash said. They included Cora Jordan White, who was active in civic and social justice issues in Ohio, and Bertha J. Diggs, the first Black person and first woman to head the New York State Department of Labor.
Community-focused ministries grow as church stays on Euclid Avenue
It wasn’t Cash’s decision alone to stop the sale of the building. He had to sway church officers and the congregation. It wasn’t easy, but he succeeded.
The church was staying on Euclid Avenue, but the problem with the serpentine stone wasn’t going anywhere. East Mt. Zion was able to raise $200,000 to stabilize the stone. Permanently fixing the problem will cost at least $7 million, he said.
But first there was a roof, downspouts and other exterior issues to address. The National Park Service approved funding to help with this $1.4 million project. The Trump administration placed such funding on hold, but Cash remains optimistic the funding will be restored.
Since deciding to remain on Euclid Avenue, the church’s community-focused ministries have grown. Lifeline, started by East Mt. Zion, now collaborates with other churches and community partners to provide 10,000 meals a month. The program also gives out medical supplies. The church has started a health clinic. It hopes to provide mental health counseling through a partnership, and it is working on providing literacy and educational programs.
“We stayed because God has called us to this assignment,” Cash said.
