Parish Center
Potomac United Methodist Church is replacing its existing fellowship hall/classroom building, known as our "Parish House," with a new 30,000 square foot building. Designed by William Doggett Architects of Bethesda, the new Parish Center creates a convenient, safer, energy-efficient, and accessible facility to meet the classroom, fellowship and office space needs of our growing congregation.

The Parish House was built in 1956 and has become extremely overcrowded and functionally obsolete. Expanded in 1963 and remodeled several times, what appears to be a one-and-a-half story building actually contains seven (!) different levels, connected by numerous stairs, making it prohibitively expensive to create accessibility for the physically challenged and imposing an unacceptable constraint on our ministries.

The new two-story Parish Center will provide classrooms, an office suite, library, conference rooms, multipurpose fellowship hall with basketball court, full kitchen, a smaller activities room with kitchenette, a youth lounge, an elevator, and storage rooms.

Click here to view New Parish Center Plans

Sanctuary Building Repairs and Improvements In the Sanctuary we plan to repair some plaster cracks and to repaint, and in the basement of the Sanctuary building to do some minor remodeling to improve choir, parlor and storage facilities. We will pave an additional path through the cemetery to improve the feeling of "connection" between our Sanctuary and the Parish Center. We are adding conduit and wiring through the cemetery so that services in the Sanctuary can be transmitted to overflow crowds seated in the new Parish Center's fellowship hall at Christmas and Easter.

Project Sequence
The first steps -- taking down the small home at 9916 South Glen and preparing the site - have been completed. Construction of the new Parish Center is underway. Remodeling in the Sanctuary basement is planned for the summer of 2004. After the new Parish Center is occupied in the fall of 2004, the old Parish House will be removed, a new playground will be constructed, new parking will be created, and many new trees and shrubs will be planted.

Project Team
Architect: William Doggett Architects
Site Planning/Civil Engineering/Landscape Architects: VIKA, Inc.
Structural Engineering: Ehlert/Bryan, Inc.
Mechanical Engineering: DesignTech, Inc.
General Contractor: Keller Brothers, Inc.
Financing: Potomac Valley Bank

Color Selections For The New Parish Center
A display showing the color selections for the new parish center has been setup in the church parlor. Click on the following link to see a photo of the display   Color Display 

Monthly Construction Photos

             October 2003                                     November 2003
             December 2003                                  January 2004
             February 2004                                    March 2004
             April 2004                                          May 2004
             June 2004                                           Demolition July 2004 - Charly Ryan
             Demolition July 2004 - John Sissala     Demolition July 2004 - Penelope
             August 2004                                       September 2004
             October 2004                                      Laying the Foundation Stone
             The Bishop and DS pay us a visit        Consecration of New Parish Center