FEBRUARY 1, 2018 ‘It Truly Is Who I Am’

B1 THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018 ‘It truly is who I am’

African-American church dating to 1850 holds history of community, families

Mike Argento York Daily Record The Rev. Marlon Carter stands in the newly refurbished Fawn AME Zion Church, in New Park, Pennsylvania. Carter said it touches his heart FAWN TOWNSHIP, PA — Pastor Marlon every time he enters the church and thinks about all the work the congregation endured and about the history of the African-American Carter walked through the cemetery at Fawn church that formed before the Civil War. Photos by Paul Kuehnel, York Daily Record via AP AME Zion Church, gazing at the markers. He got chills, and it wasn’t from the cold wind coming off the corn fi eld next door. The families that gathered to worship “The history,” he said. “It’s all around talked about starting their own church. you.” They were interested in establishing a con- And it is. The church cemetery has mark- gregation of the African Methodist Episco- ers dating to the middle of the 19th century. pal Zion Church, established in 1794 in New One man named Tillman, according to his York. The church had a history of fi ghting for tombstone, lived to be 94, an extraordinary social justice, counting among its members feat in the 1800s. Stones mark the graves of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. the 18 Civil War veterans who belonged to The church became known as the Freedom the church. There are markers of the found- Church for its early gestation of the aboli- ing members, dating to the late 1800s. tion movement. It is often thought of as the The church is a small white structure with precursor to the NAACP. “All week long, you a red door, atop a hill on Alum Rock Road in could be a slave, but on Sunday morning, New Park, in southern Pennsylvania, not far you were free,” Carter said. from the Mason-Dixon Line. The group appointed three men as trust- “I love this church. I’m honored to be a ees — Edward Harris, Abraham Barton and part of this church,” Carter said. George Boyd. They told Wiley about their The history is a large reason for that. desire to establish their own church. As a Christian, Wiley felt obliged to help SEEKING THEIR OWN SPACE people he considered neighbors and broth- In the early 1800s, a number of Afri- ers and sisters in Christ worship as they saw Gravestones sit near Fawn AME Zion Church. The cemetery is the fi nal resting place of Civil can-Americans from the Aberdeen area in fit. He deeded a parcel of land to them on War soldiers and people born in the early 1800s. Maryland migrated north, leaving the slave Sept. 4, 1849, for the cost of recording the state of Maryland for freedom in Pennsyl- transaction. vania. Some of them were free; even though Wiley worked alongside them, clearing to the church. They would have pheasant or their church, and to the history, the history Maryland was a slave state, many planta- the land and cutting the timber into boards groundhog hunts. They always ended the of their families, that it represents. tion owners freed their slaves long before the to build the church. The small structure was day with a memorial service in the cemetery, Tonya Harris-Moskoff represents the state outlawed slavery after the Civil War. completed in 1850, and the church joined the in the words of Doweary, “to show appreci- eighth generation of her family in the Many of the African-Americans settled AME denomination. ation to their loved ones who had passed to church. She makes an hour-and-15-minute in southern York County, working as tenant When the Civil War broke out, according the great beyond.” drive from her home to church every Sunday. farmers or sharecroppers . to church member Steve Doweary, who has This history was almost lost when the Her grandfather was instrumental in sav- It was a hard life — and hard work. The compiled a history of the church, many of church closed in 2013 after a pipe burst and ing the church when it went through rough one thing that helped them get through the young men in the congregation enlisted fl ooded the basement. times at the turn of the century. Her great- tough times was their faith. in the Union Army. Eighteen Civil War vet- The congregation stayed together and great-great-great-grandfather was one of the They had no church of their own and erans are buried in the church cemetery. worshipped at a nearby AME church as they church’s founders. Her grandchildren will attended services at St. John’s, a white Meth- By the 1940s, the building was showing rebuilt. The congregation did nearly all of be baptized in the church, the 10th genera- odist church in Fawn Grove. They were not some wear, and the congregation had out- the work itself, calling in contractors to do tion to do so. She and her grandmother laid permitted to sit in the pews and were seg- grown it. The church asked the AME Zion plumbing and other tasks. out the fl oor plan for the renovated kitchen regated to the balcony seats in the rafters. church for money to build a new church, but A year ago, Carter was assigned to the in the church’s basement, knowing that they When communion was given, they were per- was denied. The congregation took on the church. Carter, a Navy veteran who sur- would be doing a lot of cooking there. Her mitted to participate, but if the preacher ran job of building the church themselves. vived the bombing of the USS Cole in Octo- family history is written on the markers in out of hosts, they were out of luck. The new church was completed in 1954. ber 2000, rallied the congregation around the church cemetery. They held services independently, gath- the motto, “Let’s build something together.” “This church is my family’s legacy,” said ering in their log cabins on the farms where THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY The church was rededicated in October. Harris-Moskoff , 47, who is an executive chef they toiled. Among those was the farm The church was the community’s heart. More than 200 people packed into the sanc- and restaurant manager. “Some people have owned by a man named James Wiley. Wiley During the summers, families gathered for tuary for the service. a famous name — like the Kardashians or didn’t think his church was treating its black day-long celebrations called camp meetings. Many of the families who trace their roots the Kennedys — but for our family, our leg- parishioners in a very Christian-like man- They would gather for services and have a to the founding of the church still attend ser- acy is a little piece of property in the country ner. ButGrand back then, Rapids there Press wasn’t a- lot02/01/2018 he could picnic. The menCopy and boysReduced would to play 80% base- fromvices original there, to even fit letter though page many have to drive with the little white church.Page It truly: B01 is who I do about it within the church. ball or softball or horseshoes in the fi eld next half an hour or more. They are committed to am and how I was created.”

INTERFAITH INSIGHT Jerusalem: City of conﬂ ict or city of peace?

Douglas Kindschi where the temple was built by Solomon and City, Three Faiths,” points to another reality: sonal friendships that are developing among Director, Kaufman then rebuilt after its destruction. Following “In the history of Jerusalem and the Holy these clergy serve as an example of the way Interfaith Institute the second destruction of the temple by the Land, Jews, Christians, and Muslims have we can each pursue interfaith understand- Romans, the site, known as Temple Mount, all found other people in possession. They ing and friendship in our communities. It’s one of the oldest cit- is still revered — especially the Western have all had to cope with the fact that the See a two-minute introductory video at: ies in the world, known as the City of David Wall, the remains of that second temple. city and the land have been sacred to other bit.ly/fi lm-Jerusalem. and the City of Peace. Yet it is today, and has Muslims call the city Al-Quds by its Ara- people before them and the integrity of their As noted, “Salem,” the fi rst name in Scrip- been throughout history, a city of confl ict. bic name, meaning “The Holy One,” and tenure will depend in large part upon the ture for Jerusalem, is derived from the same It is first mentioned in Hebrew Scriptures consider it to be the third most important way they treat their predecessors.” root as the word “shalom,” meaning peace. as Salem, when Abraham meets the King of holy city, after Mecca and Medina. The site Karen Armstrong also concludes, “The soci- Salem and is blessed by him (Genesis 14:18). where the Jewish temple used to be is called LOCAL CLERGY BUILD UNDERSTANDING eties that have lasted the longest in the holy Later, Jerusalem is conquered from the Jeb- Haram el-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), and is As the Kaufman Interfaith Institute city have, generally, been the ones that were usites by King David and made the capital also the home to the Al Aqsa Mosque. It is embarks on the “2018 — Year of Interfaith prepared for some kind of tolerance and of Israel (2 Samuel 5:6). Solomon built the believed that Muhammad ascended from Friendships,” we are reminded that confl ict coexistence.” We all hope and pray for Jeru- fi rst temple there, which was destroyed by the rock at this site and visited heaven. It is is not restricted to history or to the contested salem to again become the City of Peace Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusa- there that the Dome of the Rock was com- Holy Land. Our societies are tested today by through tolerance and coexistence. lem of 587 BCE. The second temple was built pleted in 692, and its golden dome is seen in the challenge to tolerance and coexistence. In this year of interfaith friendship and in later that century and then destroyed by the most popular iconic pictures of current Jeru- We are also reminded that it is this week every year, let us be dedicated to the respect Romans in 70 CE. salem. that clergy from Grand Rapids, representing and acceptance of others that will mark In his book, “Jerusalem Besieged: From Christians revere Jerusalem as the place the Abrahamic faith traditions, are in Israel every community as a City of Peace. Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel,” author where Jesus was crucified and buried. as a part of an interfaith seminar and tour Eric H. Cline, professor of classics and The Via Dolorosa, or the “Way of Grief,” is seeking better understanding of that part of [email protected] anthropology at George Washington Univer- believed to be the path that he took on the the world and the various faith communities sity, writes that Jerusalem was “destroyed at way to his death and is marked by the Sta- that reside there. Coming up least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked an tions of the Cross. The narrow passages on Upon their return, we will hear their additional 52 times, and captured and recap- the way lead to the Church of the Holy Sep- refl ections following each of the two perfor- Join us for the fi lm “Jerusalem” tured 44 times.” He goes on to point out ulcher, built by Emperor Constantine in the mances in the return of the National Geo- the battles for control of Jerusalem are not fourth century at the site that his mother graphic IMAX production of “Jerusalem.” In Celebration North, Grand Rapids because of its commercial or military value, considered to be the place of Jesus’ death this award-winning and spectacular cinema but because of its importance as a political and burial. presentation, we will see the city through the Wednesday and Feb 12 at 6:30 p.m. and religious center. Each of the religions remembers special eyes of three young women, Jewish, Chris- Jews and Muslims revere it as the site times and events that took place in Jerusa- tian and Muslim. $5 per person or $15 for a family where Abraham off ered to sacrifi ce his son lem and cherish the times when they were in This is an exclusive opportunity to learn as a sign of faithfulness to God. The Jews charge. Karen Armstrong, author and inter- more about this part of the world as well as Tickets available only at interfaithunderstand- also considered the site as holy as it was faith leader, in her book “Jerusalem: One insight from our returning clerics. The per- ing.org