Historic Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church is again making history with the first woman pastor in its 237-year existence

PHILADELPHIA — For the first time in its 237-year existence, Philadelphia’s Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, a National Historic Landmark known as a hub of activism and the first African Methodist Episcopal church, will be led by a woman.

The Rev. Carolyn Cavaness, a fourth-generation preacher who has been the pastor at Bethel A.M.E. Church of Ardmore since 2014, will serve as the church’s 53rd pastor. Cavaness will replace the Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler, who led the Philadelphia church for 16 years. Tyler is stepping down from his role as pastor to focus on his new position as the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s historiographer and executive director of its Department of Research and Scholarship.

Cavaness, who was unavailable for comment Saturday, will preside at her first service as pastor on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. at the church, at Sixth and Lombard Streets.

“Rev. Cavaness brings a wealth of experience, a deep commitment to social justice, and a dynamic vision for the future of the church,” Mother Bethel A.M.E. said in a news release Saturday. “Under Rev. Cavaness’ leadership, the church aims to strengthen its commitment to its mission of faith, service, and justice.”

Cavaness is from Newark, New Jersey, where she first received her license to preach at age 15. She is a graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary. When she was appointed as pastor of Bethel A.M.E. in Ardmore, Cavaness became the first female pastor in that church’s more than 125-year history.

Under her leadership, the Ardmore church built a community garden, drove efforts to help community members during the COVID-19 pandemic, and reduced its debt while making necessary renovations. Cavaness formed the Lower Merion Clergy Interfaith Alliance and served as a co-convener of the Lower Merion/Narberth Food Insecurity Working Group.

While Cavaness is the first woman in Mother Bethel’s history to be appointed pastor, she is not the church’s first female preacher. In the early years of Mother Bethel, Jarena Lee became the first ordained A.M.E. preacher after she impressed the church’s founder, the formerly enslaved Bishop Richard Allen, with her abilities when she stepped in for a struggling preacher during a worship service.

Bishop Samuel L. Greene of the African Methodist Episcopal Church announced Cavaness’ appointment on Saturday at the First Episcopal District Fall Convocation.

Following the announcement, Cavaness preached to close the convocation’s worship service. After expressing her gratitude and recognition to A.M.E. leadership, her family, and her Ardmore congregation, Cavaness delivered a message for other preachers and churchgoers who are anxious about what is to come under a second Donald Trump administration.

Her sermon centered on the concept that “tomorrow begins today,” she said. Cavaness explained that in the Bible and in Black history, works of God and triumphs of people began with preparation during fraught moments. She said that while “tomorrow is about to be a hot mess,” it is “coming whether you like it or not.”

“We cannot allow life to stop us in our tracks,” she said, referencing the Israelites crossing the Jordan River in the Book of Joshua, as well as the work and planning of the civil rights movement that happened in the face of overwhelming oppression.

“Tomorrow’s manifestations, tomorrow’s triumphs, are all wrapped up in what we do right now,” she said.

“We’ve got power to overcome. Power to prevail, power to preach, power to bring down strongholds, power to get our children back, power to say and believe and know that God did it then, and God will do it right now.”