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The stone Mount Vernon Baptist Church and its brick annex under a blue sky on East Rittenhouse Street

A Philadelphia church worth saving.

Mount Vernon Baptist Church Philly and MHHCDC are joining hands to restore one building with many purposes.

Donate NowMount Vernon Baptist Church is a tax-exempt church, EIN 83-0384567. Gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Empowering our community through compassion.

Let us come together to ensure that our heart keeps pumping.

The Mount Vernon Baptist Church building is not just brick and mortar. It is the beating heart of our community and the lifeline that keeps us strong and connected.

This campaign is about more than maintaining a building. It is about preserving the very essence of who we are. Without the heart of MVBC Philly, our community cannot thrive.

As we stand united, our shared commitment will keep this community alive and thriving for generations to come.

Families and children at a community day outside Mount Vernon Baptist Church at Rittenhouse Street, with a bounce house and tables

What we see, and how we get there.

Our vision

  • An inspiring beacon for the community
  • Relevant, impactful programming
  • A safe, welcoming space for all
  • Fostering unity and togetherness
  • Upholding our legacy for future generations

Our mission

  • Engage with and support our local community
  • Create a supportive and inclusive community for all
  • Equip and empower future leaders
  • Keep innovating to meet our neighbors' changing needs
  • Empower people to live out their faith through service

The people behind the work.

Our board brings together members of Mount Vernon Baptist Church Philly (MVBC Philly) and Morthouse Heart Community Development Center (MHHCDC), led by Pastor Chachira Smith Robinson, who succeeded her father, Pastor Bernard C. Smith, in 2021.

Together we plan community events and fundraisers that promote unity and support. Our goal is a better future for all.

  • Pastor Chachira Smith Robinson

    Pastor Chachira Smith Robinson

    Pastor and President, MVBC Philly

  • Lisa Taylor

    Lisa Taylor

    Secretary, MVBC Philly and MHHCDC

  • Dwayne McIntyre

    Dwayne McIntyre

    Treasurer, MVBC Philly and MHHCDC

  • Kav Patterson

    Compliance Officer, MHHCDC

More than 165 years on this corner.

Long before it was Mount Vernon Baptist Church, this building was home to Bethel AME Church of Germantown, a congregation founded by free Black families before the Civil War.

  1. 1858

    A church born in a family home

    The congregation first gathered in the home of Amanda Montier and Ann Hilton at 302 Center Street, today's East Rittenhouse Street. The sisters came from the Montier family, free Black landowners in the Philadelphia area since the 1700s. Their grandfather, Hiram Montier, was one of the church's founders.

  2. 1860

    Germantown's first Black church

    Turning down a lot on busy Main Street, the trustees built a frame church at East Rittenhouse and Morton Streets. It is remembered as the only Black church founded in Germantown before the Civil War. Its date stone survives on the building today.

    Stone plaque reading African M.E. Church, A.D. 1860, Peace be within these walls
    "Peace be within these walls." The 1860 date stone.
  3. 1874

    Opening the doors to learning

    Knowing the church exists to serve its neighbors, Bethel opened its space to classes for Black children. That school grew into the Joseph E. Hill School, the first school for Black students in Germantown.

  4. 1893

    A stone church rises

    Under Rev. John M. Palmer, the congregation took down the old frame church to build something lasting. The cornerstone was laid on November 19, 1893.

    Stone cornerstone carved with the year 1893 beside an iron gate
    The 1893 cornerstone, still in place.
  5. 1894

    The church you see today

    The new Bethel AME Church was dedicated in April 1894. Germantown architect George A. Sorber drew the design and George Hearst of School Lane built it, for about $11,000.

    1894 newspaper engraving of the new stone church with its bell tower, signed by architect George A. Sorber of Germantown
    The architect's drawing, printed in The Germantown Independent, April 20, 1894.
  6. 1894

    Built by the community, once before

    Neighbors raised $3,311 for the building fund in under a year. Membership grew from 98 to 173 while the church was built. They did it then. It can be done again.

    1894 newspaper column naming builder George Hearst and architect George R. Sorber, the $11,000 cost and the $3,311 raised for the building fund
    From the 1894 account of the dedication.
  7. 1911

    On the map

    Philadelphia atlases mark "Bethel A.M.E. Church" on East Rittenhouse Street at Morton, the same lot the building stands on today. Next door at 460 stood the hall of Odd Fellows Lodge No. 2205, one of the Black fraternal groups that gave the church its stained glass.

    Detail of the 1911 Bromley atlas with Bethel A.M.E. Church labeled beside Morton Street
    1911 Bromley atlas of Philadelphia, detail.
  8. 1960

    A new congregation, the same mission

    In 1960, Mount Vernon Baptist Church bought the building, and it still worships here today. Bethel's members moved to a new home on Germantown Avenue, marching there from the old church on June 17, 1962.

    The church front with the carved Bethel A.M.E. Church 1893 date stone above the windows and the Mount Vernon Baptist Church sign by the door
    Two congregations, one facade: the Bethel A.M.E. date stone above, the Mount Vernon sign below.
  9. 1960s to 1977

    Made new for Mount Vernon

    The lodge hall next door at 460 East Rittenhouse Street was torn down in the 1960s, and its lot is now part of the church property. In 1977, Mount Vernon added a cinder block wing with a baptistry, built so the whole congregation could watch baptisms through a door behind the altar and an angled mirror above the pool.

  10. 1983

    Recognized as worth preserving

    The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission surveyed the building in 1983.

  11. 1988

    Pastor Bernard C. Smith answers the call

    Pastor Bernard C. Smith began leading Mount Vernon Baptist Church in 1988. He would shepherd the congregation in this building for 33 years.

    Pastor Bernard C. Smith preaching beneath a banner honoring his 27 years of faithful service
    The congregation honoring Pastor Smith for 27 years of faithful service.
  12. 2016 and 2017

    Every window, measured and drawn

    University of Pennsylvania historic preservation students began studying the building in 2016. In 2017 they recorded it room by room, down to the moldings. Their drawings include all twelve windows, from the tall paired windows with their flower medallions to the Good Shepherd at the center of a three-window group.

    Architectural drawing sheet showing the church's twelve windows in color, including the Good Shepherd window, the tall paired windows and a floor plan marking where each one sits
    The window schedule, University of Pennsylvania, 2017.
  13. 2021

    A new generation leads

    On July 24, 2021, after 33 years of service, Pastor Smith passed the mantle to his daughter, Pastor Chachira Smith Robinson. She leads Mount Vernon Baptist Church today.

    Pastor Chachira Smith Robinson preaching from the pulpit in front of a red curtain, with a man in a dark suit seated beside her
    Pastor Chachira Smith Robinson preaching at Mount Vernon.
  14. Today

    Your chapter

    Mount Vernon Baptist Church Philly and Morthouse Heart CDC are restoring the building for worship, community and care. Help write the next page.

    Donate NowMount Vernon Baptist Church is a tax-exempt church, EIN 83-0384567. Gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

    Rendering of the restored sanctuary with stone walls, wooden pews and lit roof trusses
    The vision, not yet built. An artist's rendering by Dewayne Skinner of the sanctuary we plan to restore. This is not a photo of the building today.

Sources: New Bethel AME Church of Germantown's published history; Reginald H. Pitts, "The Montier Family of Guineatown," Old York Road Historical Society; City of Philadelphia building permits, 1977; The Germantown Independent and Philadelphia Inquirer, April 1894; University of Pennsylvania historic preservation research and measured drawings, 2016 to 2017. Some early dates differ between sources.

Built with care, built to last.

When Bethel's members raised these walls of local Wissahickon schist in 1893, trimmed in limestone, sandstone and slate, they built for generations to come. Look closely and you can still see how.

  • Built, not bought

    Most Black congregations of the time could only afford buildings others had left behind. Bethel raised the money to build its own, a sign of a strong and growing church.

  • Windows given by neighbors

    The stained glass was donated by two Black fraternal groups in Germantown, Odd Fellows Lodge No. 2205 and American Union Lodge No. 46. The 2017 study found their names in the glass, alongside symbols of the Bible, the lily, the tablet and the square. By the early 1900s, Lodge No. 2205 had its hall right next door, at 460 East Rittenhouse Street, on a lot that is now part of the church property.

  • Seats that face the people

    The pews gather close around a wide platform instead of a distant altar. It is a layout that puts the congregation at the center of worship.

  • Rooms made for learning

    In 1894, the newspaper described class rooms and a lecture room in the brick annex. Restoring it as a community center returns it to its first purpose.

  • Made new for a new congregation

    In 1977, Mount Vernon Baptist Church added a baptistry beside the sanctuary. A large door behind the altar opens so the whole congregation can watch each baptism, reflected in an angled mirror above the pool.

Sources: University of Pennsylvania historic preservation study and measured drawings of the building, 2017; The Germantown Independent, April 20, 1894.

A pastor preaching from the raised platform as the congregation listens from pews curved close around it, beneath the arched wooden roof trusses
Sunday worship: the pews gather close around the curved platform.
A tall pair of pointed stained glass windows with flower medallions and a round rose window above
The tall paired windows.
Three stained glass windows: the Good Shepherd holding a lamb in the center, with open Bible windows on each side
The Good Shepherd, flanked by open Bibles.