The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau
The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.
The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau
The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau - Episode 111 - 04/12/2026
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Founded on ground purchased by Richard Allen, a freed slave who became a prominent Methodist pastor in the late 1780's, Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia is one of the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission's 50 Pennsylvania places to see.
The oldest African-American-founded Methodist church in the nation proudly sits at the corner of 6th and Lombard Streets in the Old City neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia, just a stone's throw from Independence Hall.
Fast forward 232 years since its founding in 1794 and Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church has established a commanding presence and history of speaking truth to power.
In an extended PA-mazing segment, we'll hear more about Mother Bethel, and how that congregation is marking the Semiquincentennial year.