Bethel AME Church will receive historical marker
Bethel AME Church was the place where the Rev. Walter Reed took his first important steps in his faith walk.
Reed started by taking his son Jason to Bethel for Sunday School. Eventually, he joined the church at 131 E. Pomfret St. and later began his career in the ministry under the Rev. Lawrence Henryhand, now presiding elder of the Harrisburg district.
What drew Reed to the pulpit and to teaching Scripture were the inspiring words from a speaker he heard while serving as Bethel’s delegate to an annual conference of church leaders.
“As I began to listen to the sermon, I answered the call,” said Reed, now lead pastor of the St. Peter’s AME Church in Shippensburg. “Though I’ve been away from Bethel for about 10 years, it’s still my home church.”
That’s why he thinks it’s outstanding that Bethel AME Church is to be recognized as one of the earliest African-American churches west of the Susquehanna River. With a history going back to 1820, the church has been the site of Underground Railroad and Abolitionist activities.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will dedicate a historical marker at the church at 4 p.m. May 9. The ceremony is part of a two-day conference on Black History in Pennsylvania set for Carlisle on May 8-9.
Mayor Kirk Wilson said the marker will recognize that slavery and the movement to abolish it were an important part of the Carlisle community. Both the conference and ceremony offer an opportunity for local residents to learn more about history, said Wilson, who is press secretary for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
