Many people know Bethel AME Church as Mother Bethel.

As the first congregation organized by black Pittsburghers, in 1808, it gave birth to many others. But after 200 years, it could also be called Daddy Bethel for its efforts to help single mothers raise sons.

Few families in the Mother to Son program belong to Bethel, but "the church was established to reach beyond its walls, and that is what Bethel is doing," said the Rev. Nathaniel Colvin, who became pastor of the Hill District church in November.

He and his wife, the Rev. Nicole Colvin, who is associate pastor, knew about Bethel before their bishop sent them from Mansfield, Ohio.

"This church is the first church of color west of the Allegheny Mountains," he said. "Just about all of the churches of color come out of Bethel AME Church."

The 300-member church was always about salvation in this world and the next. In the 19th century, the Underground Railroad ran through it; in 1831 Bethel started a school for black children that became Miller African-Centered Academy. Today, in addition to Mother to Son, the church operates a food pantry and a transportation ministry, and awards college scholarships.

That history will be celebrated this week, starting with a service at 4 p.m. today led by Bishop Robert Vaughn Webster. Services will be held each weeknight at 7. Highlights will be Tuesday with the Rev. Frank Reid III, a Baltimore pastor whose services are televised nationally, and Thursday with the Rev. Cain Hope Felder, New Testament professor at Howard Divinity School and co-editor of The Original African Heritage Study Bible. (For details see www.bethel-ame-pgh.com)

But the church's living legacy can be found at St. James AME Church in East Liberty. It's one of four Mother to Son sites, including Bethel, Hosanna House in Wilkinsburg and the Rankin Christian Center.

After a recent shared meal in the church hall, the mothers settled in to learn about summer camps, while the boys went to another room to play chess.

The program is for boys ages 9 to 13, but Leon Poindexter, 14, is staying on as a junior leader. Chess, which is an important part of Mother to Son, has taught him a lot about life.

"It really helps calm me down," he said. "I have a bad problem with anger. Chess makes me sit and think about decisions, because I usually don't do that."

His mother Alicia, a 45-year-old medical assistant, was raising four girls and Leon alone four years ago when a friend urged her to try Mother to Son. "I was so into the girls that he was falling through the cracks," she said. "This is the only place he gets to bond with men."

The need for Mother to Son is immense, said program director Valetta Ford, who cited a study that found nearly half of all East End children had single parents, most women. A former pastor of Bethel, the Rev. James McLemore, saw that need. Eight years ago he started Mother to Son as a separate nonprofit organization, eligible to receive government funds. Most of its budget comes from the county.

Women range from former teen mothers now in their 20s to grandmothers raising sons of parents lost to the streets.

"We do it as a program for African-American sons. But we have had Anglo moms who have biracial children," Ms. Ford said. Enrollment is 82 families.

Mothers get coaching on communication, parenting, nutrition, health, stress management and personal finance. They've done "lifetime makeovers," to find and pursue better careers.

Boys receive "manhood training," which involves teaching about safety, hygiene, communication, manners and how to avoid bullying. They learn things that mystify their mothers, such as how to tie a tie.

Chess is a hallmark. "A lot of times the boys are being told at some other level that they are not capable of critical thinking and doing well at academics. We have found that when we have them sit down and play chess, they suddenly understand, 'Oh, I can think,' " Ms. Ford said.

Inner-city mothers of black sons are hounded by fear that their sons will be killed, Ms. Ford said. They worry about them falling into gangs, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because fear can be paralyzing, some mothers must learn to ease up.

"Sometimes it feels stifling, when they are trying to fashion an identity as a young man, to have this very caring, loving, but sometimes overbearing, woman in their lives," she said.

"We try hard to help those moms understand that you have to [losen] some apron strings. ... But we tell them, 'You have really good kids. If you set some boundaries, affirm them and step out of the way, they'll make it.' "

Helping mothers understand male development solves many problems, including maternal guilt, Ms. Ford said.

"They wonder, 'Why is he so angry?' Sometimes it's not because Dad isn't there. It's just because my hormones are out of control and today the teacher yelled at me in school and I'm not feeling good," she said.

Talisa Cameron, an enrollment representative at Highmark, has brought her son, Toor Canty, from Garfield each week for nearly four years. Now 14 and a junior leader, Toor is the youngest of her four children.

After she separated from Toor's father, a friend told her about Mother to Son.

"I like the fact that my child has a good role model. He needed a good mentor," she said.

Navarre Dixon, the family services supervisor, is that role model. He was at the most recent meeting with his leg in a brace because he injured it playing basketball with the boys.

Toor is "a child we are very, very proud of," Mr. Dixon said.

Toor was initially a reluctant participant, but grew to love it. It taught him to handle everyday problems, he said. Most of all, it helped his relationships.

"It tells you how to be around your mother," he said.

That goes both ways, said Ms. Cameron, who is grateful for sessions at which experts spoke on the nitty-gritty of male development. "We heard about things that grown men don't even know about their own bodies," she said.

Toor, who wants to become an engineer, has had many opportunities through Mother to Son, she said. He's been to three summer camps and will attend City High School, a charter school Downtown.

No study has been done of boys who complete Mother to Son, but Ms. Ford says the signs are good. Few boys have ended up in the juvenile justice system, and many do well in school.

She recently received a call from a mother who had attended the program with a son who is now a sophomore in college.

"She invited us all to his graduation and thanked Mother to Son for being part of his growth and development," she said.