As the city of Pittsburgh celebrates its 250th anniversary, a church on the hill with a mountain of experience celebrates an anniversary of its own. Bethel AME Church in the Hill District is celebrating their 200th anniversary.

Bethel AME is the oldest church for people of color, west of the Allegheny Mountains. Bethel has encountered many obstacles and continues to thrive through it all.

NEW—Bethel AME Church on Webster Avenue, its current location.

“This celebration is probably one of the greatest times in the region for us, as people of color,” said Doris Carson Williams, a member of Bethel and president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania. “Our church was the first African-American church in the region and to have sustained it over the years with various obstacles is amazing.”

It began in 1808 when Bethel, then known as the “African Church” was organized in a home on Front Street in Pittsburgh. In a few years it had grown to 20 members and established a Sunday school in an alley near Downtown Pittsburgh’s Third and Fourth avenues. A historical marker now sits there to commemorate the church’s beginning. In the year of 1818, the church received its charter.

In that same year, the church members went to the Baltimore conference and petitioned to be received as a congregation and to have a pastor sent to minister to them. The petition was accepted and Minister David Smith was sent to their church. After being there a short time, the church was sent a new minister, Bishop Paul Quinn, who would be there full-time.

After the congregation had grown too large for the building they were in, they purchased a church on Strawberry Way that had been previously owned by a Methodist Church and then later one on Front Street.

During this time, the church was under the leadership of Rev. Lewis Woodson, who was a man who was deeply involved in the Underground Railroad. In 1831, Rev. Woodson organized the first public school for African-American children in Pittsburgh. The school is still around today and is known as Miller African Centered Academy in the Hill District. Several years later during the 8th General Conference of the AME Church, a resolution was passed for a creation of a school of Seminary. From that, Payne Theological Seminary was established and Wilberforce University, an AME owned university, began.

A year later, 1845, Bethel experienced one of the most devastating events in the church’s history. A fire completely destroyed the church. After the fire, the congregation purchased property on Wylie Avenue and Elm Street in the Hill District and in 1906 built a new church. It remained there until 1957, when it was torn down by the city, during an Urban Redevelopment Project. The property that was owned by Bethel AME Church is where the Mellon Arena now sits.

Until the congregation was able to purchase a new church, they worshiped with a Seventh Day Adventist Church that was located on Centre Avenue at Morgan Street. In July of 1959, under the leadership of Rev. J. G. Harris, the congregation dedicated and marched into their newly built church.

Reverend Nathaniel Colvin III, the current pastor (and 40th) at Bethel AME Church said, “I am ecstatic, honored and privileged to be the pastor at Bethel [during this time historic celebration]. And I look forward to and am expecting great things to come in the future.”

Bethel has since remained in the same location and continues to work with the community. The church has established a food pantry for the less fortunate residents of the community and in 2001, began an organization, Small Seeds Development, Inc.—Mother to Son Program. It is a program for single mothers with sons who are ages 9-13 and have no male figure in their lives. The organization now serves four local communities around Allegheny County.

“Being a member all my life, what a joy and love it is to be celebrating 200 years of spiritual growth and our love fore each other,” Mary Burleigh, a long time member, said. “ God has blessed us over the years and continues to do so.”

Carson Williams also said that this is also a celebration of the church’s forefathers and the people who have helped to keep the church going over the years.

With all that Bethel AME has accomplished, they continue to strive for more and hope for another 200 years.

The weeklong celebration culminates with a banquet June 14, to honor those who have done great things in Bethel and the community. For more information on any of the events, call 412-683-2160 or visit www.Bethel-ame-pgh.org.