Social Witness on Capitol Hill
The 100-year-old United Methodist Building and its marquee sign present faith-based advocacy to the U.S. government. (UM Insight Screenshot from YouTube Video)

Marking a Century on Capitol Hill, the United Methodist Building Guards Against Political Violence

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A United Methodist Insight Exclusive

The United Methodist Church's premier edifice has stood for 100 years as a symbol of Christian social witness for peace and justice. Now as they mark its centennial, the General Board of Church and Society Trustees and tenants of the United Methodist Building in Washington, D.C., are also prepared for any danger against which  many national experts are warning: the threat of political violence like the 2021 insurrection that invaded the U.S. Capitol.

The General Board of Church and Society plans a ceremony at 1 p.m. (ET) Feb. 13 to launch a year of celebration for the United Methodist Building in Washington. The ceremony will be livestreamed on Church and Society's YouTube Channel. The agency also is publishing an online monthly article series called, "On This Day," noting significant events in the building's life.

As the centennial proceeds, however, national security experts have been warning repeatedly that government agencies should prepare for the possibility of political violence during the 2024 election year, judging from heated political rhetoric on the campaign trail and in social media posts. Because of its location and social witness purpose, the five-story wedge-shaped United Methodist Building that stands across the street from the U.S. Supreme Court lies within a zone of vulnerability.

Writing for Lawfare, Chris Mirasola warned in a Jan. 11 article, "The U.S. government must take seriously the political violence that could follow a Supreme Court decision disqualifying former President Trump from the ballot." On Jan. 25, The Brennan Center for Justice published an article by Michael German and Faiza Patel also urging the U.S. Department of Justice to take the threat of domestic terrorism more seriously.

A quarter mile from the U.S. Capitol

Situated at 100 Maryland Avenue NE in Washington, D.C., a quarter mile from the U.S. Capitol, the United Methodist Building forms part of the Capitol Complex. It's the only non-government building within the bounds of the legislative and judicial seats of U.S. government. United Methodist-related bodies located in the UMB, as it's known, include the General Commission on Religion and Race and the General Council on Finance and Administrations in addition to Church and Society. General Conference, the only body that speaks for the entire UMC, sets the social justice policies that Church and Society carries out. In total, 48 office and residential tenants occupy the UMB.

Security on Capitol Hill has become a greater concern in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that attempted to block Congress' certification of the 2020 presidential election. Frequent protests occur across from the United Methodist Building on Supreme Court Plaza as the high court takes up hot-button issues such as abortion and LGBTQ rights.

Jeffrey Corey, Church and Society communications director, responded to Insight's questions regarding security at the United Methodist Building. While understandably reticent on protection specifics, Corey confirmed that the United Methodist Building has a strict security protocol in place while attempting to maintain Christian hospitality.

"The staff, tenants and property at United Methodist Building offices and attached residences are protected by multiple enforcement agencies coordinated to provide security and safety for the entire Capitol Hill Complex," Corey said in an email. "Decades of agency security training, protocols and safety procedure have established a strong Capitol Hill security force minimizing risks and vulnerability."

Tenants gain access to the building through coded key cards, while visitors must register in the lobby before entering offices or attending events, Corey said.

Although primarily served by the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police, the United Methodist Building's security team cooperates with the Capitol Police and the Supreme Court Police Department, Corey said. He added that the Capitol Police and Supreme Court Police sometimes can respond more quickly to an emergency at the UMB.

Proximity to power began with Prohibition

The United Methodist Building's proximity to power began as an effort to rid the United States of social evils that Methodists believed were caused directly by alcohol consumption.

Funded mostly by small donations from laypeople, the United Methodist Building opened on Jan. 10, 1924. Originally owned by the Methodist Board of Temperance, Prohibition and Public Morals, it served as the headquarters of Methodist efforts to support Prohibition, the 1920-1933 era when federal law banned the production, import, transport and sale of alcoholic beverages.

When Prohibition ended, the Methodist Building's purpose evolved as the site for the church's efforts to "promote justice and pursue peace," according to a history of the building, "For Justice and Enduring Peace: One Hundred Years of Social Witness," written by Dr. Jessica M. Smith, Church and Society's senior director of research, planning and spiritual formation. Social justice demonstrations often begin their marches with worship in the building's Simpson Chapel, where in 1983 Coretta Scott King led the first observance of the federal holiday commemorating her late husband, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The UMB also has been a staging area for ecumenical clergy, such those that joined in the 1968 Poor People's March for Jobs and Justice.

Even as the UMB guards against political violence, Church and Society works to preserve its tradition of hospitality to those seeking rescue from many social ills, according to the introduction of Dr. Smith's UMB history.

"The articles in this volume highlight how many of the issues Church and Society engages today reflect and promote the same basic principles that Methodists stood for decades ago. Racism, criminal justice, police brutality, migrant justice, immigration, non-violence, peace, public health, economic justice, creation care, and environmental racism are topics that previous generations have wrestled with and articulated as important issues. More significantly, their positions on these issues often speak to a vision that carries forward today—that all people are created by God as equal and deserve equal rights; economic policy must include accounting for environmental justice; welcoming of others and radical hospitality are basic Christian responsibilities; non-violence and peace in international conflict are imperative; and seeking liberation with the poor, the imprisoned, and those who have been robbed of their basic rights and lands are all essential parts of the Methodist social witness." (Smith, Jessica Mitchell. For Justice and Enduring Peace: One Hundred Years of Social Witness (p. x). Abingdon Press.) Kindle Edition.

Church and Society directors underscored the building's lasting significance in a video opening the centennial observance.

"There's not many places in Washington where you have a holy place next to so many public government spaces," said Raúl Alegría, a Church and Society director from the Nashville-based Tennessee-Western Kentucky Annual (regional) Conference.

Speaking in French, Bishop Daniel Lunge of the Democratic Republic of Congo said that the United Methodist Building has an impact in his African country as well.

"Few Congolese have visited the building," he said according to an English subtitle. "Yet my people have an idea of the symbolism of peace, but also of justice that the building represents."

Video narrator Bailey Varness said, "Today, the United Methodist Building continues to be a gathering place for the faithful to be energized for the sharing of ideas and beliefs and to pursue a common purpose."

Cynthia B. Astle has reported on The United Methodist Church at all levels for 36 years. She serves as editor of United Methodist Insight, an online journal she founded in 2011.