Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia receives grant to preserve historic building
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia is a historically African American church that traces its origins to the 18th century. Now, a grant will help to preserve the national historic structure so future generations can celebrate its rich history.
Every Sunday, parishioners from all over pack the historic Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Society Hill to worship.
Underneath the church is a museum documenting its history dating back to 1794, when it was founded by Richard Allen, a former slave.
Senior Pastor Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler has been the pastor of Mother Bethel for the last 16 years, and outside of pastoring, he's also tasked with raising money to preserve the historic building.
"It's a beautiful building even when it has imperfections," Tyler said. "Very often it's very hard to find the kind of money you need to keep these magnificent buildings going."
The church was recently awarded $90,000 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The money will be allocated to repair the church's iconic stained-glass windows.
"The woodwork needs to be replaced on the outsides," Tyler said, "so the metal facial work needs to be done and this will allow us to do it."
Without these grants, Tyler said fewer and fewer buildings like Mother Bethel would be preserved.
"It's better to invest in keeping it going than it is to wait until it's too late," Tyler said.