Methodists and Anarchists, together at last

I've mentioned Red Emma's and the event space at 2640 a couple of times in the past. The space is, in fact, an active church. Today, The Baltimore Sun has a nice article about the partnership that has developed between the anarchists of the Red Emma's collective and the Methodist congregation of the struggling church:

The partnership was born out of necessity. Last year, the congregation at St. John's needed an influx of money and ideas to keep it from putting the space on the market. Though more people attend the weekly service now than did several years ago, there are still not enough to fill the building's main space - let alone pay the utility bills.

"We'd gotten to a place of financial desperation," said pastor Drew Phoenix. "Some people wanted to just sell and leave."

Meanwhile, members of the Red Emma's anarchist collective started hunting for a larger space. They had outgrown their cafe and bookstore at Madison Avenue and St. Paul Street and needed another home for their progressive events.

Read the whole thing.