Women make history as deaconesses at Macedonia Baptist Church

WAYNESBURG − It only took Beverlee Kelly-Williams one year to break a 105-year-old barrier.

For Mary Coleman, it took a little longer, 47 years.

At 3 p.m. June 10, the two will become the first women to be elevated as deaconesses at Macedonia Baptist Church since the congregation at 220 Maple St. was founded in 1918.

As deaconesses, they will participate in leadership and decision-making alongside their male counterparts.

"Their responsibilities are the same as the men," Bishop Rick L. Peterson Jr. said. "They'll pray for and visit the sick, deliver the sacraments and anything else that a deacon does."

Their elevation coincides with several major building renovations just completed last month.

Asked why it took 105 years to have women as deaconesses, Peterson smiled.

"Traditional mindset," he said. "I don't want to speak with a broad brush, but the mindset has been that women can cook, sing and pray, but not serve."

In a vast majority of churches, women outnumber men, except in areas of leadership. But the Bible, Peterson said, contains stories of many women doing tremendous things.

Peterson, who became pastor at Macedonia in 2018, said Kelly-Williams and Coleman were an answer to his prayers, noting that their elections were unanimous.

"I prayed for God to send me people with a heart and passion to serve," he said. "God showed me them before we put the offer out there. I made an appeal that we need to be more holistic in the leadership of God's body. I want women to understand they have as much right to leadership as men."

'The Lord put my hand up'

Kelly-Williams joined Macedonia just last year.

"I had no intention, but the Lord put my hand up," she said with a laugh.

Coleman said she knew God wanted her to get more involved, and that she believes becoming a deaconness will a way she can effectively serve.

"I love people," she said. "I love talking and counseling with people. I truly believe God put this in my heart."

Coleman recalled that when they met, she and Kelly-Williams clicked right away, "like sisters."

Kelly-Williams grew up attending nearby Asbury Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was a centerpiece of "New Town," an all-Black community consisting of company houses owned by the Whittacre-Greer brick company.

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"Asbury will always be in my heart," she said. "Even when we moved to Cleveland, we'd come down to Asbury, and we'd visit Macedonia."

Peterson, too, has a personal connection to Asbury Chapel AME. His late grandmother, the Rev. Larsee Frazier, served there as an assistant pastor.

"I remember him as a little boy, sleeping on the benches," Kelly-Williams said.

Coleman grew up attending Bethel Apostolic Church in Canton.

"My friends called me a nerd because I was in church all the time," she recalled.

Kelly-Williams said that because her family is so rooted in the AME church, many people were surprised when she joined Macedonia, but her desire exceeds denominationalism.

"I want to be dedicated to God," she said.

Coleman said her goal as a deaconess is simple.

"To bring souls to Christ and to honor his word, and to make sure that whenever I'm in public, I'm still 'Mary,' a child of God," she said. "The title is not important."

To learn more visit ww.macedoniabaptistchurchwaynesburg.org or their YouTube channel at macedonia-baptist-church

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Women make history as deaconesses at Macedonia Baptist Church