Church Founded in 1790 Appoints (Disqualified) First Female ‘Pastor’
A 230-year-old Pennsylvania church appointed its first female pastor in its history, with the Rev. Carolyn C. Cavaness set to lead the historic congregation, according to a report by the Christian Post.
“Mother Bethel AME Church of Philadelphia, which AME Church founder Richard Allen established in the 1790s, announced Saturday that its newest pastor was the Rev. Carolyn C. Cavaness.
Cavaness was appointed to the pastoral position by Bishop Samuel Green at the AME First Episcopal District Planning Meeting on Saturday, having previously served as pastor at Bethel AME Church in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.”
Notably, the AME was the first denomination founded on racial rather than theological grounds, resulting in Black Liberation Theology, a mainstay and foundationally taught belief.
The appointment is unlikely to rejuvenate the church, which has been dying for decades. Once having a membership of around 4000 congregants, the church now draws around 100-150 people a week and skews much older.
Canvaness has a bit of a history, which may be a feature, not a bug. 2017 Cavaness was subject to public rebuke after she “pleaded guilty to a single charge of making a false statement in a federal proceeding,” according to Politico. Cavaness was working as a campaign staffer for a Democratic candidate who was fighting to unseat an incumbent. After contacting their opponent, Cavaness’s candidate agreed to drop out of the primary for a surreptitious bribe of $90,000. As a result, she “help(ed) create false Federal Election Commission reports…far more than the $2,500 candidates were allowed to transfer at the time” and then lied about it. In addition, Cavaness used some of the funds for “personal expenses.”
If she had not been disqualified previously based on being a female pastor, this would certainly have done it.
According to Pew Research,
94% of identifying AME folks voted for the Democrats
64% think abortion should be LEGAL in all/ most cases
61% think homosexuality should be accepted*
49% believe humans evolved
The AME does not officially condemn abortion, having ‘no official position on it’ but Senior Bishop of the denomination, John H. Adams, has explained, “AME members believe that “people have the right to control their own bodies,” and that it is “a decision of the woman and her family and not of the government.”
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