By Angelena Spears, 1st Episcopal District
Bensalem AME Church in Philadelphia Conference Celebrates 203 Years
By Angelena Spears, 1st Episcopal District
On Sunday, September 19, the Bensalem African Methodist Episcopal Church (Pennsylvania) celebrated its 203rdchurch anniversary. The morning and afternoon services were a time to glory in the rich history of the little white church that sits on a hill in northeastern Pennsylvania, approximately one hour from the Delaware border.
The Bensalem Church was founded in 1818, just two years after the African Methodist Episcopal Church was formed, is one of the oldest churches in America. It has the distinction that AME founder Bishop Richard Allen built its altar.
There is also a cemetery on the church grounds, where Leroy Allen, a Civil War Union soldier, and former slaves are buried. (Leroy Allen is not related to Bishop Richard Allen.) The church was also a stop on the Underground Railroad and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
At the onset of the morning anniversary service, the Rev. Lugenere Jones, the church’s pastor, lifted the anniversary theme, Standing Together to Make a Difference. She marveled how God had made a way [throughout the years] for the Bensalem Church. “Here at Bensalem as we stand together – God [continues to] stand up for us,” declared the Rev. Jones.
Elder Jeanette Davis of Fresh Fire Anointed Ministries delivered the message for the morning service. The Rev. Nancy Jackson, a local minister at Zion AMEC, Philadelphia, offered the prayer in the morning service, and two of her daughters, Vanessa Cain and Tanya Cain, visited the service via Zoom from Switzerland. Later in the afternoon, the Rev. Jones’ grandson, Mark Early, presented a musical concert.
The Rev. Jones, who is fourth generation AME, came to the Bensalem Church in 2007 – she is the 100th pastor and only the third female pastor. Many people would say that the Rev. Jones is quite modest about the renovations – equaling over $300,000 made to the church during her tenure.
Approximately five years ago, she worked with the membership to cultivate community support that led to a complete renovation of the church building. It started when one member, Juanita Whitted, a member for over 41 years, met with the mayor and members of the town council and appealed for help to paint the church. From this meeting, a regional painters and trades union professional visited the church to assess the needs. That person went back to the mayor and reported that it would take more than cans of paint to help the church.
What followed was a community collaboration that pitched in to renovate the building totally. Now, there are two bathrooms, a pastor’s office, and a full kitchen with a dishwasher and stainless steel appliances, and everything is handicapped-accessible with central air conditioning.
One of the persons who attended the September church anniversary was Brenda Gray, the former first lady of Wesley AME Church of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, where her husband, the Rev. Richard Gray, retired last year.
Sister Gray says she remembers that when she was a child, her home church, Zion AMEC of Philadelphia, took up a penny collection on an ongoing basis to help Bensalem build a bathroom. At the time, Bensalem Church had no indoor bath facilities, remembers Sister Gray. If you needed to use a restroom, you had to use the equivalent of an outhouse or go to the nearby gas station. It took many years for the church to amass enough funds to build its first bathroom, and now after the recent renovations, there are two bathrooms – one for each gender.
The Rev. Jones credits the members of Bensalem AMEC for pulling together to support the renovation initiatives. Members of the small congregation, which totals 25 persons, sought help from friends and others in the community. As a result, the church received $300,000 in cash donations. Additionally, local trade unions gave freely of their services, and students from a high school trades class made pews to match the authenticity of the altar built by Bishop Allen.
“Bensalem has never been a large congregation,” says the Rev. Jones. “It has always been a tight-knit community church. But in the future, I don’t see a reason why it can’t grow by leaps and bounds.”
During the pandemic, the church has focused on being a help to the community by being a food distribution point, helping persons who lost their jobs in the pandemic, and delivering food to seniors who are not able to leave their homes.
Although Rev. Jones has reached retirement age, she was sent back to the Bensalem Church in June.
Her message to Bensalem is “Don’t Give Up.” She loves reciting Ephesians 3:20: Now to Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. “Always remember that God is able,” she says.
Angelena Spears
