July 15, 2016

CONGREGATE

A 172 year old African Methodist Episcopal church on Long Island

– On assignment for Newsday –

The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal church in Huntington, NY is 172 years old this year. It was the first to serve an African-American congregation on Long Island, and in 2016 the A.M.E. denomination celebrates the 200th anniversary of its founding. I spent a day photographing the church for Newsday, but it was one that resonated with me. I picked up photography after studying religion and philosophy in college, and visualizing the abstract concept of belief allowed my two worlds to overlap.
Javon White plays with his nephew, Kevin
The tithe basket before Sunday service
Tithes
Geneva
Loretta
Emma Watkins sits beneath a portrait painting of her late husband, Thomas Watkins, who was a Buffalo Soldier
Congregation
Reverend Larry Jennings
Worship
Ushers, Marian and Beatrice. Beatrice has been an usher at the church for 55 years.
The choir performs during a Sunday service
Ushers and members of the choir pray before a Sunday service
The choir performs during a Sunday service
The Bethel A.M.E. Church in Huntington, NY after a Sunday service, February 2016