Mother Bethel AME Marks America 250 with Gospel Music and Underground Railroad Legacy

Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia participated in America's 250th anniversary celebrations this month, hosting gospel music events and tours that highlight the church's role as an Underground Railroad stop.

Senior pastor Rev. Carolyn Cavaness said the church chose to participate in the semiquincentennial to honor Black leaders like Richard Allen, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman, whose contributions to the nation must be part of the national story.

The church, founded in 1791 by Richard Allen, is recognized as the first autonomous Black church in the United States. It served as a stop on the Underground Railroad and has been a center for social and civic activism for more than two centuries.

As part of the America 250 festivities, Mother Bethel hosted tours of its museum, a gospel music series, and activities at Independence Mall, where congregants helped create a human outline of the Liberty Bell. The city of Philadelphia honored the church as part of its "52 Weeks of Firsts" series.

Not all Black churches joined the celebrations. Pastor Terrance King of St. James AME Zion Church in Ithaca, New York, said his congregation opted out, choosing instead to focus Sunday sermons on the inherent value of individuals as created in the image of God and to offer critical reflections on the nation's past.

Experts note that many Black churches are currently focused on reversing significant membership declines. Factors contributing to those declines include gentrification, changing work schedules, and generational shifts in religious engagement.

Cavaness said Mother Bethel's approach is to celebrate Black excellence from America's beginning, asserting that people of African descent have been integral to the country since its founding.