The Pennsylvania Council of Churches is honored that Executive Director Rev. Dr. Larry D. Pickens will be a panelist at a workshop called “Reparations and Racial Justice: A Faith Community’s Experience” on September 6 at the World Council of Churches. This workshop addresses the experience of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh around the taking of its property in 1957 in the interest of “urban renewal.” Here is a description of the program, and the flyer is included below.

Telling the Story 

This workshop represents the experience of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, PA. 

James Baldwin once said “urban renewal meant negro removal.” Bethel AMEC, established in 1808, has a long history of significant ministry in the African American community of Pittsburgh. In 1957, Bethel AMEC was demolished as a part of urban renewal after city authorities identified the church building as blight within the Lower Hill District of Pittsburgh. In 1957, the congregation received $240,000 in compensation for the eminent domain taking which led to redevelopment in the area.  

Bethel AME Church was victimized by the taking and did not receive adequate compensation. Developers have gone on to develop this area, which also displaced Black families while creating multimillion dollar developments from which African American communities have not benefitted and in fact the church and its people were relegated to a segregated area of the city which is bereft of quality schools, services, and development capacity.  

Addressing this historical wrong brings together, ecumenical leadership, business and community members and legal scholars who embrace the practical application of reparations as we build new relationships of hopefulness in the Pittsburgh community and the African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Our hope is to create a model for addressing reparations that can be replicated in a global and ecumenical context. 

Workshop Outline 

The workshop will start at 17:00 (5 PM) and will last 75 minutes. 

Opening Prayer Devotion 

Introduction: The Context for the Discussion of Reparations in an Ecumenical Context 

Setting the Context: The Story of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Reparation Struggle and Strategy 

A Perspective from the Caribbean- 

Questions, Answers and Discussion – 

Wrap up and Next Steps  

Closing Prayer 

Recommended reading: White Paper written by law students at Duquesne University Law School that relates to the legal issues in the Bethel story