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Mount Zion Church

SC PICTURE PROJECT 3 Comments

SC Picture Project / Charleston County / Mount Zion Church

This rural church on Wadmalaw Island is the site of a denomination called the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith. A pentecostal group, the denomination was founded in 1930 by Sherrod Johnson when he left his previous church, Greater Refuge Temple. The latter church was formed in 1919 in New York. The two churches reconciled following the death of Robert Lawson, the founder of the Greater Refuge Temple, in 1961. Today, the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith is headquartered at the Greater Refuge Temple in Harlem, New York. The church is composed primarily of African-American members and is governed by a Board of Apostles. A tenet of the church is that there is only one holy spirit – God – as opposed to a trinity. This type of belief system is called “oneness pentecostalism.”

Mt. Zion Wadmalaw

Gazie Nagle of Charleston, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The denomination requires women to cover their heads during worship. Though women of the church are not ordained, they still hold various leadership roles in the congregation, particularly in the realm of mission. The church building seen here was built in 1930 and for years operated as a store called Corley’s Grocery Store as well as a residence. One account of the property’s history claims that the owners leased it to the church during the 1980s and 1990s. However, another version states that the building was sold to the church in 1977. The latter account was relayed by a relative of the building’s former owner. Today it sits vacant.

Mt. Zion Church Wadmalaw

Gazie Nagle of Charleston, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Lowcountry artist Bernadette Cali Leland, who shares her depiction of Mount Zion Church below, says that she remembers when the church was Corley’s Grocery Store. Leland, who lives behind the store, also shares that she and her horses always enjoyed the music sounding from the church on Sunday mornings.

Mount Zion Painting

Bernadette Cali Leland of Charleston, 1998 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

We would like to make this page better. Do you have information about the Mt. Zion Church that you would like to share? If so, please send it to the South Carolina Picture Project. Thank you!

Plan Your Trip: Mount Zion Church

Where is Mount Zion Church located?
Address: 4692 Maybank Highway, Wadmalaw Island, SC 29487
GPS Coordinates: 32.695968,-80.133197
What else should I see?
Johns Island Presbyterian Church 4.9 miles
St. John's Parish Church 5 miles
Angel Oak 5.5 miles
Progressive Club 8.9 miles
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Churches
  • See other South Carolina SC Artists
  • Wadmalaw Island Historic Sites
    Mount Zion Church Map

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    Comments

    1. Emmie Giguere says

      August 4, 2019 at 8:52 AM

      I believe the people who claim they have always owned this property are confusing it with Cones Grocery which stood in the fork of Maybank and Bears Bluff Road. In fact before my grandfather and aunts bought the property at 4692, they rented the old Cones property.

      Reply
    2. Emmie Giguere says

      July 5, 2016 at 12:11 PM

      The church bought the property from my aunt’s estate in 1977, it was not leased. The awnings are some thing the church added to the large front Windows. There use to be a large sign off to the right of the store which advertised Sunbeam Bread and had my Grandfather’s name on it, E. H. Corley. There was one time a large chicken coop on the right towards the back.

      Reply
    3. Emmie Giguere says

      July 4, 2016 at 9:24 AM

      This was my grandfather’s store, and it was built in the early part of 1941 and was finished by my Father on December 7th 1941. It remained open until my aunt’s death in 1977. I hate seeing it like this; there are many wonderful memories there.

      Reply

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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