<body><div>Redding's oldest church building is getting a facelift from congregants and volunteers, many of whom are people recovering from addiction and homelessness.They're restoring the 130-year-old African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church of Redding, founded in 1894 by Shasta County’s Black community.Now the home of Light House Church/Ministries, the historic church building's owner, Light House Pastor Matthew Maderios, wants the community to feel the same deep connection he feels to the building and its past.Maderios said he wants Redding residents to be proud of the church and to recognize its founders’ often-ignored contributions to the city's culture.“We do have a diverse history. We do have a diverse community," Maderios said. “For me,” restoring the church building is “symbolic” of greater efforts to restore and revitalize downtown Redding as a whole and to make it a “place of culture, character and community,” he said.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0ay3tY_0wPgevRT00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0ay3tY_0wPgevRT00" width="960" height="640" ><figcaption>Originally founded by Redding's Black community in 1894, the former African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church of Redding is the city's oldest church building.</figcaption></figure>Like the church building’s original builders, much of the renovation labor is done by people marginalized by their larger community. Light House welcomes those grappling with home insecurity, and those with drug and alcohol addictions.Black people who lived at “a time of slavery and injustice built this church," said Maderios, adding that now people who are marginalized for other reasons are taking pride in themselves and their community by helping restore this piece of Redding history.The last time the church building was fully renovated was in 1927, after a fire damaged it. Now Maderios and his wife, Amy ― the owners of the property ― want to restore it so it looks much the way it did in the late 1800s, while still making sure their ministry functions smoothly out of the building.Note to readers: If you appreciate the work we do here at the Redding Record Searchlight please consider subscribing yourself or giving the gift of a subscription to someone you know.<h2>Black community builds Redding landmark</h2>Founded on Nov. 29, 1894, the tiny Gothic Revival style church sits downtown at the corner of California and Trinity streets, about a block north of Eureka Way/Highway 299.The AME Zion denomination dates back to the 1830s. Freed slaves who traveled West planted AME Zion churches in California, according to historians.In the 1880s, Bishop Calvin Petty organized emigration parties from North Carolina to Northern California. Black people wanting to escape persecution in the eastern United States arrived by train, settling in Redding, Anderson and Cottonwood, according to historian and former Record Searchlight columnist Dottie Smith.When Redding’s Black community wanted to establish their own church, oral history states city officials “wouldn’t allow … a Black church to be built in town,” Maderios said, so its founders built the little church on what was then the edge of the city, a part of Redding’s red-light district.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1NUG3M_0wPgevRT00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1NUG3M_0wPgevRT00" width="960" height="640" ><figcaption>Formerly the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Light House Church of Redding is the city's oldest church building.</figcaption></figure>Some historians claim church owners eventually moved the building from another part of California Street or Trinity Street, but that's not verified, said Maderios, who pointed out white city officials probably gave little thought to recording for posterity the doings of a Black church.Different denominations occupied the church building until it fell into disrepair in the 1990s.In 2014, the church got new life when new owners James and Barbara Thomas let Light House non-denominational Church use the building at no cost, according to Maderios.Maderios said when he and his wife Amy Maderios bought the building in 2020, "the property was usable, but it needed landscaping and the interior needed to be redone." The exterior and structure also needed some repair work, including replacing the wood siding, he said.While those who attend Light House Church donated much of the labor, the couple spent approximately $50,000 fixing up the property, including replacing the gas boiler with a new $10,000 heating and air system.Future plans include constructing a foyer in the church and a gathering area behind the building.In addition to being Redding's oldest church, the former AME church building is the second oldest in Shasta County. Glenburn Church near Fall River Mills, founded in 1885, is nine years older, according to Smith.Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding AME Zion Church turns 130 years old</div></body>

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Founded by Shasta's Black community, Redding's oldest church building gets facelift

Redding's oldest church building is getting a facelift from congregants and volunteers, many of whom are people recovering from addiction and homelessness. They're restoring the 130-year-old African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church of Redding, founded in 1894 by Shasta County’s Black community. Now the home of Light House Church/Ministries, the...