Who We Are
The Historic Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church has the distinction of being the oldest congregation of African descent in the city of Buffalo, New York and in western New York. Organized in the year of 1831, the Church has a history that predates, by one year, the corporation of the city of Buffalo. For over 190 years of her existence, Bethel has established an enviable record of community service and spiritual leadership.
In the years immediately after her founding in 1831, the “Colored Methodist Society” of Buffalo functioned as an independent religious body. In 1836 the “Society” petitioned the New York Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church for pastoral care. The New York Annual Conference responded by sending The Reverend Richard Williams to Western New York to organize A.M.E. Congregations in the region. Reverend Williams formed a 31-member congregation in Buffalo. The Reverend George Weir, Sr. was the first A.M.E. pastor to be assigned to the Buffalo “station”.
During the early years, the Buffalo congregation worshipped in a house on Carroll Street and in 1839 moved to a frame building on Vine Street. The original Vine Street Church was replaced with a new brick structure, at the cost of $3,000.00 in 1845. In 1850 the New York Annual Conference of the A.M.E. Church sent The Reverend Jabez P. Campbell (1850-1852). He became the 8th elected and consecrated Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1864. During his pastoral administration at the Buffalo Station, he immediately set out to affect the revival of the work of God among the members of the churches of Western New York.
During the 19th century, several of Bethel’s pastors and numerous members were active in the anti-slavery movement. The Vine Street Church and the homes of some of her members were often used as places of refuge for fugitive slaves on the way to Canada. Fredrick Douglas, William Wells Brown, and others, including pastors of the Vine Street Church spoke out against slavery and racial caste from the pulpit of the church.
When the “Great Migration” began to swell the Afro-American population of Buffalo in the early 20th century, Bethel played an important role in getting newcomers from the south settled and acclimated to their new environment. During the pastoral administration of The Reverend Dougal Ormonde Beaconsfield Walker (1941-1948) Bethel’s membership and financial assets reached new heights. Before coming to Bethel, Reverend Walker had the distinction of being the 10th President of Wilberforce University. In 1948 he became the 66th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and is the only pastor to be elected to the Bishopric from Bethel’s pulpit. In 1953 under the leadership of The Reverend Harry White, Bethel moved to her present location at 1525 Michigan Avenue. Since, God has blessed Bethel to be a beacon light in the Cold Springs Community of Buffalo, New York. In 1997 Bishop Philip R. Cousin appointed The Reverend Richard Allen Stenhouse as Pastor. Reverend Stenhouse’s 24-year stent led to key community development. Affordable homes were built and sold, multiple sites for Bethel’s Head Start Program were purchased and developed throughout Cold Springs, and the church’s debt was completely retired. Later in his tenure, Reverend Stenhouse became the Presiding Elder for the Buffalo-Rochester District of the Western New York Annual Conference.
In 2021, Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram appointed The Reverend Paul J. Thomas Pastor of Bethel and Presiding Elder of the Buffalo-Rochester District. This historical appointment signaled a “breakthrough” in the life of the Church, as Reverend Thomas, 38, became the youngest Presiding Elder in the A.M.E. Church’s United States districts. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered the hearts of men and women, the things God has in store for this generation of Bethel Buffalo.
Bethel is the Mother Church of African Methodism for the Western New York Annual Conference of the A.M.E. Church. The 2021-2024 Quadrennial Bishop of the First District is The Right Reverend Julius H. McAllister, Sr.