Youngstown St. Andrewes AME Church celebrates sesquicentennial

August 19, 2019 at 12:00a.m.

South Side fixture plans gatherings to mark longevity, contributions

YOUNGSTOWN

A longtime South Side fixture will be the site for a series of events and gatherings to celebrate its sesquicentennial.

“It’s my belief that the church is not the church building itself, but the people within it,” said the Rev. Jeannette Hubbard, pastor of St. Andrewes AME Church, 521 W. Earle Ave., which was established in 1869.

Suffice it to say that a large number of the people will be on hand to celebrate the church’s longevity and contributions to the community, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday with a banquet at the Mahoning Country Club, 710 E. Liberty St. in Girard.

The main speaker will be Bishop Frank M. Reid III, who was elected in July 2016 as the 138th bishop of the AME Church and serves as its ecumenical officer and endorsing agent.

Tickets for the banquet are $50 per person and can be obtained by calling the church at 330-783-3242. No tickets will be sold at the door, said Brigitte Lincoln, a trustee.

The church will be the site of an Old School Family Picnic, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. It is hoped that former members, elected officials and others will stop by to “embrace and enjoy this huge accomplishment,” the Rev. Mrs. Hubbard said.

A special worship service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday at St. Andrewes. The guest preacher will be the Rev. Dr. Otis J. Gordon Jr., senior pastor of Warren AME Church in Toledo, where he was ordained in 1969.

Warren AME Church was formed by slaves who escaped via the Underground Railroad to Cleveland and Toledo, according to the Rev. Mr. Gordon.

Kicking the celebrations off was a play Friday and Saturday evening at the church titled “Gee’s Bend,” by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, which is a real-life drama about faith and determination. The play depicts the turbulent history of black people in the 20th century while focusing on a single family in a small Alabama town of the same name.

St. Andrewes, which has about 200 members on its rolls, hosts a Closet to Closet event each Wednesday, which is a free clothing giveaway. Other ministries include a Food for the Soul event to feed the community, along with Wednesday Bible studies, Mrs. Hubbard noted.

In addition, the church hosted a community outreach this summer that included a bike ministry in which St. Andrewes partnered with ministries from Youngstown and Aliquippa, Pa., to give bicycles to young people, she continued.

“I believe in being inclusive,” she added.

Mrs. Hubbard, who was appointed as pastor Nov. 9, 2017, is the first female to hold that post for what has been described as the oldest traditionally African American church in Mahoning County.