Bethel AME’s second annual car show will take place in the church parking lot on May 16.
The second annual Cars and Worship Car Show will be held at the township’s Bethel AME Church on Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Event organizer Wayne Thompson hopes to see at least 50 cars registered for the big day, but he also wants people to come out and experience the vehicles – along with community and worship.
“But at the same time, I’m just trying to put cars and people at the same place, at the same time, right at the church,” the Pennsauken resident said, adding that the idea for the show came from personal experience.
Thompson was on his way to work one day when he noticed an all-white 1976 Cadillac Eldorado with the red interior sitting in a driveway. He was curious to see if the car was for sale, so he connected with the owner, who asked him to come to a Bethel AME service.
It’s been four years since then, but what initially attracted Thompson to that Cadillac was its immaculate look. The car is now in a Massachusetts showroom, but before that, Thompson was able to take it to a few car shows.
‘It shows me that I have a good eye for a good car,” he noted. “That car was sitting in the driveway, so now it’s on the showroom floor .. I didn’t regret losing the car, because I got a mentor (the car’s original owner) and I got closer to God through this experience.”
Thompson’s love for classic cars stems from his childhood. As a kid he would sit on his steps and watch the fire trucks go by or count how many car colors he saw. He now owns six classic cars, including a 1986 Cadillac Brougham and a 1993 Chevy Caprice.
Given a choice, Thompson would say the Brougham is his favorite because it belonged to his grandfather, who died from prostate cancer in 2001.
All it takes to keep classic cars going, Thompson explained, is regular maintenance. But the key is to also take them out for a spin.
“The more you drive them, the better the car will be,” he observed. “It brings conversation.”
Thompson’s classic car hobby began in 2003 and he’s attended hundreds of shows. It’s finally paying off to go to different shows and vary his experience, he pointed out, something that he’s trying to bring to Bethel AME and Moorestown.
From the moment Thompson went to the church with the idea, he had nothing but support.
“It just means the world to me,” he related. “The best thing about Bethel AME is that we welcome everyone. It doesn’t matter your race, your size, your gender. We want everybody to come and worship with us.”
To register a classic car for the show, contact Thompson at (609) 605-1407.
