Devine's Chapel: A Forgotten Chapter in the life of Israel AME Church

In the September 25, 2007 posting, I related the story of how I “found” my great-great-great-great grandfather, the Rev. Jesse W. Devine, an AME circuit rider from the mid 1800s. I have found him a number of times in the pages of the Christian Recorder, the official newspaper for the AME Church during that period of time. One of the stories that really got me was from 1866, when he preached the dedication service of a new church that he formerly served as a pastor. It was not just that he was asked to come back to preach the dedication that got me, but that the name of the new church given was his! Read it for yourself in this excerpt from the Recorder:

October 20, 1866
THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The dedication of the A.M.E. church at West Middletown, Washington Co., Pa., took place on the 23d inst. The congregation repaired to the church at the hour of 3 o'clock. The Elder was met at the door by the Stewards and Trustees of the church. The keys were presented by the Stewards in behalf of the Stewards and Trustees and were received by Rev. J.W. Devine, of Allegheny City. After the house had been opened, they entered, reading the 84th Psalm. When the ministers were seated, the choir sang, “Before Jehovah's awful throne,” after which the Elder in charge read the 122d Psalm. Prayer was offered to the throne of grace. Rev. Devine then rose and pronounced the church dedicated to the worship of God. The name given to the church is "Devine's Chapel." The ceremonies being ended, Elder Devine preached an able sermon from 1 Kings, sixth chapter and seventh verse.

Of course I had to get to the bottom of this story. Unfortunately, my search quickly led to a dead end. First of all, the AMEC in West Middletown is not Devine’s Chapel, but it is Israel AMEC. In speaking with former pastors and clergy in the Pittsburgh Conference, no one had ever heard of a Devine’s Chapel. I desperately wanted to get to the area to meet the local members to see what I might find. Then providence stepped in.

I was traveling back home last winter when my flight was cancelled due to a snow storm. The nearest they could get me to home was Pittsburgh, where I would remain overnight and catch the first thing out in the morning. Well, West Middletown is only a short drive from Pittsburgh, so I took it. Early that Saturday morning, I set out (in the snow) to West Middletown to find Devine’s Chapel. The town sits on Route 844 and much of the older section is still composed of buildings erected in the 1800s. It wasn’t long before I found the Israel AMEC, sitting in the heart of town.

Unable to find any of the members of the church at home, the mayor found me. Literally. I misjudged the depth of snow on the side of the road and found my rental car stuck. Luckily for me, it was right across the street from the mayor’s house. He came out with his truck and pulled me out of the snow bank. He also gave me a brief history of West Middletown and assured me that the old building was the original home for Israel AMEC.

But something just didn’t seem right. The building, though clearly from the 1800s, did not seem old enough to have been the one dedicated by Devine in 1866. But for the time being, that was where the story would have to end. I took my flight home later that day and promised myself that I would return to West Middletown, God being my help.

On last weekend, the door for a return opened wide. I found myself unexpectedly driving back from Columbus, Ohio on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. This time, I was sure I could find a member at home. Stopping in West Middletown, I was able to track down lifelong member, Lewis Kelly. Bro. Kelly showed me around the church, shared the history, and I shared my own research findings with him. And then, I found it!

Bro. Kelly showed me a picture of the old church, the structure used before the current wood building was put up. It was a small brick building purchased for $500 in 1866 from the Disciples of Christ. In fact, he even had a copy of the deed. On the deed, there was no name assigned for the congregation and simply read “the African Methodist Episcopal Church.” The dates were perfect and coincided with the article in the Christian Recorder. The current, wood frame building that is still used to this day was purchased later in 1883 for $700 and (re)named Israel AMEC.

What is even more surprising is that Bro. Kelly informed me that the old brick building is still standing and is right down the street from Israel AMEC. We drove down the street about 100 yards to see “Devine’s Chapel.” As you can see in the photo (above), it is still an impressive little building having weathered many a storm.

Words cannot express how I felt as I stood next to the building and touched the same brick exterior that my great (4x) grandfather J.W. Devine touched. I looked over the view of the valley from the back of the building that was largely unchanged and knew that he also took in this same view. Just to know that I was standing in the same place that my ancestor stood in over 140 years before and preached the same gospel of Jesus Christ, was enough to fill me with a deep sense of appreciation for all that God has done. I am still full from the experience.

Standing in that place and feeling what I felt, can best be summed up by the second verse of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the Black National Anthem:

Stony the road we trod,

Bitter the chastening rod,

Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;

Yet with a steady beat,

Have not our weary feet

Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,

We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,

Out from the gloomy past,

'Til now we stand at last

Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

I also felt the words of caution found in verse 3, "Lest our feet stray from the places our God where we met Thee." The work of our ancestors is completed, the rest is now up to us.