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, will preside at her first service as pastor today 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. “Under Rev. Cavaness’ leadership, the church aims to strengthen its commitment to its mission of faith, service, and justice.”
Cavaness is from Newark, N.J., 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 at the First Episcopal District Fall Convocation.
Following the announcement, Cavaness preached to close the convocation’s worship service. After expressing gratitude and recognition to A.M.E. leadership, her family, and her congregation, Cavaness delivered a message for preachers and churchgoers who are anxious about what is to come under a second 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.
