Philadelphia Suburban Church Engages in Outreach to Local HBCU

By Angelena Spears, Philadelphia Conference Reporter

When Cheyney University students stopped by the Thornbury African Methodist Episcopal Church table during a recent health fair on campus, they received much more than free COVID-19 vaccines.  They received an authentic invitation to visit the church, which is within walking distance of the university.

Thornbury AMEC is in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, a suburban community 17 miles west of Philadelphia.  The church is within a mile of the university, which touts itself as the oldest standing historically black college and university in the United States.

The church’s new pastor, the Rev. Angela Baker, was front and center all day during the May event.  She extended hugs and greetings to the students and engaged with them in friendly conversations.

In addition to a table full of health-related brochures, which included information on mental health and suicide prevention, there was a four-foot-high sign that read:  “Stop If You Need Prayer.” Several students accepted the invitation for prayer and joined hands in a circle with Rev. Baker and a few Thornbury members.  Because it was the week of final exams, the prayers also included wishes that they would do well.

This was not the first time the church (established in Glen Mills in 1840) has engaged in an outreach ministry at the university, which has been in the community since 1837.

Sandy Clarke is the local church school superintendent at Thornbury and pro tem of the steward board.   She said the church’s youth membership has declined over the years, and she hoped today’s outreach effort could help to change that.

Clarke remembers when there was a gospel choir at Cheyney, and they would often come to the church to sing.  However, that was ten years ago, and there is no longer a choir at the school.

Longtime church member Anita Craig has played a pivotal role in efforts to establish a relationship between the church and the university.  Craig, a Thornbury member for 20 years and a missionary, says the turnover of staff at the university can make it challenging to find the correct “contact persons” there.

In addition to staff turnover at Cheyney, the church has had a somewhat frequent change in leadership:  Rev. Baker is the fourth pastor to serve the church in the last ten years.  Despite the challenges, the church has remained constant in doing whatever it can to be visible to students on campus and to let them know they are welcome to come and worship with them.

During the interaction with the students, Rev. Baker asked what their generation was looking for in a church, and several students offered their opinions.

Two sophomores, Isysis and Kadelia, were among the students who shared their opinions with Rev. Baker. Both girls had grown up in their home churches and said they had sung in their church choirs and loved to praise dance – and Rev. Baker told them their gifts would be welcome at Thornbury.

Kadelia, a sociology major, stressed the importance of a pastor not being judgmental.  In one of her former churches, she said there had been a pastor who (in her opinion)  was homophobic – and that type of thinking doesn’t work, she said.

Kadelia said the music young people listen to is different, and younger people might need to learn the older hymns.   She said that for the younger generation to understand worship with an older generation, “When you minister – you may have to dumb it down.”

She stressed the importance of having a church that could relate to the concerns of young people and said she appreciated that the Thornbury members had prayed for the students to do well on their exams.

Isysis, studying psychology and early childhood education, said it is important not to generalize churches – because some can relate to young people and some do not.  She said that although many churches lack youthful pastors, “you don’t have to be younger to reach younger audiences.”

Although the health fair was held during the last week of classes, Rev. Baker and the Thornbury members are hopeful that the young people will respond to their offer and join them when they return to the campus in the fall.

Rev. Baker is confident that when the students come to Thornbury, they will find a caring church that is receptive to their needs.