Historic Black Churches Split on Whether to Join America 250 Celebrations
As the United States marked its 250th anniversary in July 2026, Black churches with ties to the Underground Railroad took different paths. Mother Bethel AME in Philadelphia joined the festivities, while others chose to sit out.
Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia rang bells and sang gospel songs on July 4, 2026, as the United States turned 250. A few hundred miles away, St. James AME Zion Church in Ithaca, New York, stayed quiet.
Both churches were stops on the Underground Railroad. Both have watched their membership shrink for decades. But they reached opposite conclusions about whether to celebrate the nation's birthday.
At Mother Bethel, the oldest AME congregation in the country, lead pastor Carolyn Cavaness said the decision to participate was about honoring the people who built the church, not the country's complicated history.
"One could make the argument that you shouldn't participate at all in light of where we are in this country," Cavaness said. "But those heroes, those heroines, their names deserved to be called."
Members rang bells, joined hundreds at Independence Mall to form a human outline of the Liberty Bell, and performed gospel music on a local radio station. The city of Philadelphia honored the church as part of its 52 Weeks of Firsts series for the semiquincentennial.
At St. James, pastor Terrance King took a different view. He used his July sermons to examine what it means to be made in the image of God and to push back on what he sees as an uncritical celebration of American history.
"I want to highlight and emphasize how we all have value," King said.
The divide reflects a broader tension in the Black church. Experts say many congregations are wrestling with how to engage a national moment that carries deep pain alongside genuine pride.
Both churches are also dealing with steep membership declines. Mother Bethel once had 4,100 congregants. Today it draws about 250 on a typical Sunday. St. James has seen similar drops.
Church leaders say the membership crisis is driven by generational shifts, gentrification, online streaming, and theological disagreements. Some congregations have started hosting farmers' markets, block parties, and community events to stay connected to their neighborhoods.
"If more of them don't become creative in attracting members and boosting revenue, there'll probably be some doors closing in the next two decades," said Jamal-Dominique Hopkins, director of the Black Church Studies Program at Baylor University.
