Reeds Chapel AME Celebrates 98th Anniversary
By Ode Aduma
On Sunday, September 15, 2019, the presence of the Lord and his Spirit-filled Reeds Chapel AME Church in Youngstown, Ohio. We were celebrating the 98th Anniversary. In 1919, God sent the Rev. Sarah Craig Reed from Virginia to Ohio. The Sharon-line area of Youngstown had two Baptist churches but no AME Church. Full of faith and a strong belief in Jesus Christ, on September 19, 1921, the Rev. Reed organized Reeds Chapel AME Church.
The Rev. Wesley I. Reid, the pastor of Lee Memorial AME Church in Cleveland, Ohio, was our anniversary preacher. He used Matthew 16:13. The Rev. Reid told the Rev. Stephen Chifunda, Reeds’ pastor and the celebrants, just like Peter, the Rev. Sarah Reed knew Jesus was the Son of the Living God!
The Rev. Reid’s congregation came from Cleveland in cars and a charter bus to help celebrate the church’s anniversary. The church’s ladies served a delicious meal and pastries. Musicians Aaron Griffin and Ode Aduma from Reeds Chapel and Roger Falkner from Lee Memorial rocked the house of worship. Singers Evangelist LaDonna McRae and Diane Patton-White sang like Heavenly Angels.
It was the Rev. Reed who had the vision for Reeds Chapel. The Rev. Reid said “Even though we can remember some names, the truth of the matter is the church is not built on names. And even though we will remember how this church was built, who put the bricks in place, and that it was built by the hands of a female at a time when women weren’t supposed to be preachers and when women were supposed to be missionaries and evangelists, [the] Rev. Reed was a believer. She knew Jesus.”
The Rev. Reid said “Jesus never built the church on one person. [The] Rev. Reid said every church that is in existence has to first be based upon the fact that the folks in it know who Jesus is. Jesus is the son of the Living God. Pastor Reid told the celebrants you might not know Greek, you might not understand Hebrew, but you ought to know who Jesus is!” The members of Reeds Chapel agree that if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, like the Rev. Sarah Reed who built Reeds Chapel AME Church, this church is “Growing Stronger, and Reaching Higher.” Amen!
