A ceremonial walk in the Oakland Cemetery will kick-off the 162nd anniversary celebration of Big Bethel AME Church on Oct. 4.

Members of the oldest African American church in metro Atlanta will stroll through the historic burial ground at 3 p.m. to lay wreaths at the gravesites of Big Bethel founders Rev. Joseph Woods and Bishop Wesley John Gaines. The church’s Heaven Bound Choir will also perform.

The church’s “Sharing Our Legacy, Celebrating Our Victories, Fulfilling Our Mission” anniversary celebration runs through Oct. 18.

Big Bethel AME Church, which was founded in 1847, precedes the incorporation of the city of Atlanta, which was then known as Marthasville.

After the Civil War, the church associated with the African Methodist Church. In 1866 the Rev. Joseph Woods was the first pastor of Big Bethel A.M.E. Church.

In 1879, Atlanta’s first public school for African Americans, the Gate City Colored School, was founded in the basement of Big Bethel.

Two years later in 1881, Morris Brown College, which is still the only college in Georgia started solely by blacks, held classes in the church’s lower level.

Over the decades, the church hosted many national and international leaders. In 1911, U.S. President William H. Taft spoke from the Big Bethel’s pulpit at in 1990, South African civil rights icon Nelson Mandela spoke at the church.

The two-week celebration will also include a concert featuring Philip Skerrett, a book signing and two special worship services.

Skerrett, a Clark Atlanta University music department staff accompanist, will play the organ.

After the concert, Pennye G. Hicks will sign copies of “The Silent Warrior,” the autobiography of African American businesswoman Evelyn J. Frazier, who died last year. Hicks wrote the book for Frazier.

The Rev. Donna Calix, the senior pastor at St. James AME Church in Monticello, Ga., will deliver the sermon at the 7:45 a.m. service on Oct. 18. The service is a coming home for Calix, who served on the staff of Big Bethel AME for nearly a decade.

The Rev. Dr. Robert Franklin, Morehouse College president, will preach at the 11 a.m. service. Admission to all of the anniversary events is free.

Big Bethel is at 220 Auburn Ave. in downtown Atlanta. For more information, contact Charleise Young at cyoung9@bellsouth.net and 404-344-4457, or Donna Williams at dmw944@bellsouth.net or call 404-349-5615.