Bethel AME Church in Moorestown will hold a Veteran’s Day Church Service on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 10:30 a.m. The guest speaker will be Rev. William E. Coleman, an associate minister at Union Baptist Church in Trenton. Coleman is an educator, trainer, author and lecturer who is known for his work in team building and motivation. His wife, Bonnie, has represented New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House since 2015.
“People sometimes ask why a church would observe Veterans Day,” said church secretary Gwendolyn Ricks-Spencer. “The day began as a day of peace. It started as Armistice Day, marking the ceasefire that ended the fighting of World War I at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. When Congress made it a legal holiday in 1938, it dedicated the day to the cause of world peace. For Bethel, honoring veterans doesn’t mean celebrating war. It means thanking the people who carried its weight and praying for the peace the day was meant to promote.”
Following the Veteran’s Day Church Service, Bethel AME will host a Chicken and Waffle Breakfast on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 9 a.m.
“There’s nothing quite like a good Southern breakfast, and our Chicken and Waffle Breakfast is open to everyone, members and neighbors alike,” Ricks-Spencer said.
It closes out a fall giving season that began on Aug. 2, during which part of the church’s sacrificial giving has gone toward restoring and furnishing the parsonage, the home that the church provides for Pastor Rev. Howard M. Jenkins, Jr. The breakfast is a chance to sit down together, enjoy a good meal and celebrate what the congregation has accomplished. A donation of $10 is suggested, but any amount is welcome. Donations to the parsonage fund can be made online through Zeffy or by cash or check the morning of the breakfast. Guests are encouraged to register for the breakfast in advance through Zeffy at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/chicken-and-waffle-breakfast.
On Thursday, Nov. 19, the church will hold a pre-Thanksgiving Service at 6 p.m. This community service was held for the first time last year at Second Baptist Church, and this year Bethel is proud to host it. Pastor Clarence Guy Bowens of Second Baptist will be the guest preacher, and the service will feature the Moorestown Community Choir, made up of singers from churches in Moorestown and beyond who simply love to come together and sing.
“It’s an opportunity for us to come together and give thanks ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday,” Ricks-Spencer said.
Bethel AME’s 13th annual Jazz Vespers Service will be held on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 4 p.m. in the church sanctuary. This year, saxophonist Bradford Hayes brings his trio, with organ and drums, along with vocalist Lynette Sheard. Hayes has performed at Birdland and the Beacon Theatre, spent 15 years with Babatunde Olatunji’s Drums of Passion, and taught music in the Newark Public Schools for 30 years. A reception will follow the concert. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in advance, with a limited number available at the door. All proceeds support Bethel’s 2027 Women’s Day. For tickets and information, contact the church at bethelamemoorestown@gmail.com.
“The breakfast and the Pre-Thanksgiving Service gives us a chance to stop and give thanks together, and Jazz Vespers has become the way many of our members and neighbors welcome the Christmas season,” Ricks-Spencer said. “We value the chance to open our doors and invite the community in.”
Bethel was founded in 1882 by Moorestown residents who wanted a church closer to home, and for more than 140 years the church has held to the purpose they set: to spread the Gospel in the tradition of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Ricks-Spencer said.
“Today, that means being a church that is open to all, whether someone is looking for spiritual guidance, fellowship or simply a place to belong,” she added. “Our pastor is a strong advocate for community engagement, and his goal is to renew, rebuild and restore the people of God, inside our walls and in the wider Moorestown community.”
The Abe Speller Trio at the church’s Jazz Vespers Service last year.
Bethel AME Church Pastor Howard M. Jenkins, Jr. at last year’s pre-Thanksgiving Service. This years’ service will be held on Nov. 19.
