At the crossroads where Bayard Road meets Route 2 in Lothian, a white clapboard church has stood for more than two centuries. Mt. Zion United Methodist Church anchors a quiet stretch of southern Anne Arundel County with a simple Sunday-morning rhythm: a 9 AM blended worship service, Sunday School classes for every age at 10:30, and a stream of fellowship meals, youth lock-ins, and Bible studies that spill through the building all week long. The congregation describes itself as the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus Christ, and the ministries that flow from that calling (a roadside blessing box stocked with canned goods, a summer breakfast program for children in mobile home parks, an annual mission trip to Appalachia) say the same thing in practical terms.
Two Centuries on Bayard Road
The story of Mt. Zion begins long before the present building. In 1781 Methodism spread from Baltimore County into upper Calvert County, and a new circuit called the Calvert Circuit was formed; the congregation traces its origins to that year. Around 1813, people began gathering at a grove of trees at a crossroads in southern Anne Arundel County, and in the early 19th century camp meetings were held there, the revival gatherings that often gave birth to rural Methodist chapels. By 1818 those meetings had led to a small wooden chapel near the crossroads, and that chapel took the name Mt. Zion.
The church was incorporated in 1837, and by 1850 the congregation had outgrown the original building. A new sanctuary was dedicated in 1851, and just four days later lightning struck and burned down the old wooden chapel. The Sabbath School, or Sunday School, began at Mt. Zion in 1852. For decades the sanctuary also served an African American congregation that originally worshipped from a balcony reached by an outside staircase; by 1859 that group was meeting in a small building in the church yard and eventually moved to become Mt. Zion on Ark Road in Lothian.
The property has always been more than a place of worship. A small commercial center once grew around it, with a store, post office, and the grindstone and mill that later became today's parking lot in front of the Fellowship Hall. The present parsonage next door sits where a school once stood. The current sanctuary was built in 1886 using materials from the earlier double-decker chapel, electric lights arrived in 1919, the parsonage was built in 1955, and an educational wing broke ground in December 1956. More classrooms and offices were added in the late 1980s, with seven new classrooms opening in 1997. The bell from Owensville Church, which closed in 1968, now hangs in the steeple above the Fellowship Hall.
Sunday Morning at Nine
Worship at Mt. Zion centers on a single 9 AM Sunday service that is offered both in person and online. The service is a deliberate blend of contemporary music and traditional hymns, paired with teaching focused on relevant exposition of Scripture. Pastor Philip Tocknell, who retired from active United Methodist appointment in 2022 and now serves Mt. Zion, calls himself a storyteller and a Bible preacher, and the weekly sermons tend to work through a single text with practical application. Recent series have walked through Exodus and the Gospel of Matthew together, asking what it looks like to say yes to God with one's life as well as one's lips.
Visitors are welcomed with plainspoken warmth. It doesn't matter if you've been away from church for a while: the goal is for Mt. Zion to feel like a place to connect with genuine, friendly people who want to know more about Jesus. A 9 AM bulletin is posted each week in PDF form, and the service is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, with an archived library going back several years for anyone who misses a Sunday.
MZ Kids and MZ Youth
Children and teenagers are at the heart of the church's next-generation ministry. The goal of MZ Kids is straightforward: to introduce kids to the real Jesus at each phase of life. During the 9 AM worship service, Children's Church is offered for ages 4 through fifth grade, and a nursery is open for children age 3 and under. Each weekend the children work through one biblical truth through Bible stories, illustrations, games, and worship, in age-specific rooms designed with safety in mind. New families can fill out a student information form online before their first visit.
MZ Youth gathers middle and high schoolers on Friday afternoons from 4:15 to 6 PM. The church school bus picks students up from Southern Middle and Southern High Schools and brings them to Mt. Zion, where the evening includes snacks, games, a Bible lesson, and more activities tied to the lesson. Middle schoolers and high schoolers sometimes study together and sometimes split into age-appropriate discussion. During the summer the youth serve as junior coaches at Vacation Bible School and travel on the church's Appalachia Service Project trip, and each November they lead a community coat drive that provides winter coats for children in the area. A February ROCK Retreat in Ocean City and regular lock-ins and movie nights round out the year.
Sunday School at 10:30 AM bridges the gap between services. Elementary children meet with Ms. Ursula, middle and high schoolers gather with Johnny Hines, and a WYLD group runs from 11:00 to 11:30 AM for older students. Adults have their own small-group discussion time in the same window.
Breakfast Club and the Blessing Box
Two of Mt. Zion's most visible ministries meet neighbors where they are. The MZ Cares Blessing Box stands on the Field of Grace at the corner of Route 2 and Route 408 in Lothian, stocked with canned goods and other non-perishable items for anyone who needs them. The congregation keeps it filled as part of its wider food pantry work, and donors can drop items directly in the box, leave them on the front porch of the church at 122 Bayard Road, or give online with a check or envelope marked Food Pantry Box.
Each summer the Breakfast Club Ministry packs and delivers weekend breakfast bags to children in community mobile home parks Monday through Friday, along with Friday grocery bags for families in need across South County. The program typically runs from mid-June through late August, with meals coordinated by Donna Catterton and supported by donations of non-perishable items and money from the wider congregation.
Bible Studies for Every Schedule
The church offers four regular Bible study tracks designed to fit different rhythms of life. On Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 7:30 PM, Share & Prayer gathers in the Fellowship Hall and on Zoom for a guided study of a book of the Bible (a recent series has worked through Philippians) led by Pastor Phil. On Thursday mornings at 6 AM, a virtual Men's Bible Study meets on Zoom; men interested in joining email Joe Harrison at joswharr@comcast.net for the link. After the 9 AM service on Sunday, an Adult Sunday School meets for small-group discussion. And for anyone who wants the long view, Bible in 90 Days lays out a roughly 30-minute daily reading plan that walks the whole Scripture in three months; a printable reading plan is available online.
Ministry Teams and Mission Trips
Beyond the standing programs, Mt. Zion organizes its wider work around four ministry teams that anyone can join. The Worship Ministry invites people with artistic gifts to help shape the worship space, music, drama, communion, and livestream. The Outreach Ministry focuses on visible service (visiting nursing homes and shut-ins, organizing food drives, hospital visits, prison ministry, evangelism, and school ministry). The Missions Ministry handles hands-on acts of service such as building ramps, household repairs, gardening, and painting, and supports mission trips locally, nationally, and abroad. And the Good Samaritan Cruisers is a family-oriented group of friends, couples, and singles who travel together through South Ann Arundel and neighboring counties with a message of love and faith.
Each summer a team from Mt. Zion travels with the Appalachia Service Project, the nonprofit founded in 1969 by Rev. Glenn Tex Evans that makes homes warmer, safer, and drier for families in central Appalachia. ASP works year-round in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the church helps recruit and fund volunteers of all ages, with youth and adults serving side by side during the summer trip.
A Place for Prayer and Meditation
Inside the church building, a dedicated Prayer and Meditation Station offers a quieter complement to the busy Sunday schedule. The station is set aside for personal prayer (talking to God in your own way) and for meditation (the practice of calming the mind and listening). The church frames both as part of spiritual self-care, and welcomes anyone, member or not, to step in and reconnect with the Spirit of God within.
Pastor Philip and the Staff
Pastor Philip Tocknell, the lead pastor, retired from active United Methodist appointment in 2022 after more than three decades of ordained ministry, including student pastorates at Ijamsville and Wesley Chapel in the Frederick area, appointments at Grace and Greenmount United Methodist Churches, and a long tenure at Baldwin Memorial UMC in Anne Arundel County. A self-described Bible preacher and storyteller with a degree in religion and philosophy and a Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary, he now serves Mt. Zion in retirement, supplementing supply preaching and pastoral care across the region.
Kaula Jacks serves as Director of Discipleship and Transformation, focusing on connecting young people with each other and with the Word of God through christian practices, prayer, and service. A Calvert County native and former college athlete, she came to a personal faith in 2022 and now leads much of the church's next-generation discipleship work. Callie Isaacs, who grew up in Lothian and graduated from Bridgewater College, directs Communications and Events; she first joined Mt. Zion through an Appalachia Service Project trip in 2019 and now helps bring the community together through events and media.
Staying Connected
Sunday services, sermons, and a full archive of past messages are available online. Giving can be done securely through ServantKeeper, by texting give to 410.442.6044, by mailing a gift to the church, or in person during the offering. The church also maintains an active presence on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, where livestreams and recorded messages are shared each week. The office can be reached at mz@mzumc.com or (410) 867-4035.