Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church
The Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is an historic church and congregation which is located at 419 South 6th Street in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The congregation, founded in 1794, is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal congregation in the nation.
Its present church, completed in 1890, is the oldest church property in the United States to be continuously owned by African Americans.[3] It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972.[1]
History of the congregation
External video
Mother Bethel Philly b.JPG
video icon Mother Bethel AME Church - Philadelphia, PA, Wanda Kaluza, 2:54
The church was proposed in 1791 by members of the Free African Society of Philadelphia, including Absalom Jones, out of a desire to create a space for autonomous African-American worship and community in the city.[4] The desire to create the church was strengthened in 1792, after African-American members of St. George's Methodist Church walked out due to racial segregation in the worship services.[5] Mother Bethel was one of the first African-American churches in the United States, dedicated July 29, 1794, by Bishop Francis Asbury.
On October 12, 1794, Reverend Robert Blackwell announced that the congregation was received in full fellowship in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1816, Rev. Richard Allen brought together other black Methodist congregations from the region to organize the new African Methodist Episcopal Church denomination. He was elected bishop of this denomination. After the American Civil War, its missionaries went to the South to help freedmen and planted many new churches in the region.
In 1838, the building was damaged during the riots that followed the destruction of Pennsylvania Hall.
Allen and his wife, Sarah Allen are both buried in the present church's crypt.[6] The current church building was constructed in 1888–1890, and it has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
On October 25, 2009, "The Great Gathering" took place at St. George's Church in which the community of Mother Bethel AME and St. George's congregations gathered for Sunday worship at St. George's for the first time since the historic walkout. The Rev. Dr. Mark Kelly Tyler preached for this service.[7][8]
Building history
The property was acquired for the new congregation in 1794. Its first building was a frame structure originally used as a blacksmith's shop, which was hauled to the site.
This building was later replaced by frame structures in 1805 and 1841. The 1841 church was reported to have a tunnel connecting it with a nearby Quaker meetinghouse to facilitate the movements of fugitive slaves.
The present building, which was completed in 1890, is a three-story masonry structure with Romanesque styling. Its large round-arch windows are adorned with stained glass from Germany.[9]
Gallery
Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church Historical Marker
Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church Historical Marker
National Historic Landmark Plaque
National Historic Landmark Plaque
Richard Allen Historic Plaque
Richard Allen Historic Plaque
Free African Society Historical Marker
Free African Society Historical Marker
See also
Philadelphia portal
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List of African-American firsts
List of Pennsylvania firsts
Daniel Coker
List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia
National Register of Historic Places listings in Center City, Philadelphia
History of African Americans in Philadelphia
The legacy of leaders from Mother Bethel AME Church’s history… Pictured are just a few of the distinguished pastors who have graced the pulpit of Mother Bethel. Below is a brief description of those on the banner and a complete list of all 52 pastors of Mother Bethel may be found here
Bishop Richard Allen
Founder of the AME Church & Mother Bethel AME Church
Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler, Ph.D.
Currently serving as the 52nd Pastor
Bishop Morris Brown
Bishop Willis Nazrey
Bishop Jabez Campbell
Bishop Cornelius Shaffer
Bishop Levi Coppin
Bishop William Heard
Bishop John Bright
Bishop Richard Franklin Norris
Bishop Jeffrey Nathaniel Leath
A BRIEF HISTORY
Upon this rock…
The story of Mother Bethel cannot be told without first telling the story of the founder, Bishop Richard Allen.
According to Allen, he was born on February 14, 1760 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the condition of slavery to a Quaker lawyer, Mr. Benjamin Chew. Chew, who at one point served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and personal attorney to the Penn Family, was a wealthy landowner who owned property near the Philadelphia water front, at Cliveden (which is now the Germantown section of the city), and farms in Delaware. Allen, whose father was African and whose mother was bi-racial, literally could have been born at any of these Chew properties. What is known for certain is that the family was purchased by a Delaware planter, Mr. Stokley Sturgis, when Allen was seven years old. Later, Allen’s mother was again sold along with three of her six children, leaving Allen, his older brother, and a sister on the Sturgis plantation. There is no record of the fate of Allen’s father after this time.
Allen later contended that Sturgis was a tender and humane man who was more like a father to his slaves. However, even with a “kind” owner, Allen still held that slavery “was a bitter pill”. As he and his brother grew older, they were permitted to attend religious meetings of the Methodist Society. In 1777, at the age of seventeen, Allen was converted to Christianity by the preaching of Freeborn Garretson and joined the Methodist Society. Allen’s conversion was such a powerful experience that later wrote about saying that “all of a sudden my dungeon shook, my chains flew off, and glory to God, I cried. My soul was filled. I cried, enough for me--the Saviour died.” Allen and his brother’s new religion led them to work even harder in their assignments on the plantation, as they knew that the prevailing myth of the day was that Christianity made slaves useless.
Allen’s industrious example was so convincing that his owner was convinced that Christianity made slaves better, not worse and he allowed Allen to invite Methodist preachers to hold worship services in the Sturgis home. It was during this time that Sturgis was also converted and joined the Methodist Society. Garretson, like many of the early Methodist preachers, had adopted an anti-slavery stance and he reminded Sturgis that he couldn’t get to Heaven owning slaves. This ultimately led Sturgis into a deal that allowed the Allen brothers buy their freedom. Allen earned 2,000 Continental dollars over the next few years by working extra jobs and hauling salt for the American Army during the Revolutionary War, thus earning his freedom.
Allen was now free to go and do what his heart truly wanted, to preach the Gospel. He began traveling in 1783 and set about preaching in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. He often walked so much from one place to another that his feet would become severely blistered. In the winter of 1784, Allen attended the “Christmas Conference” of Methodists in America. This historic event was held in Baltimore, Maryland and the Methodist Church established itself as a separate denomination from the Church of England. Allen turned down an invitation by Bishop Francis Asbury to travel with him to preach in the southern states, choosing instead to continue preaching in the northeast.
Allen’s choice would prove to be providential. In 1786, the pastor of St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) in Philadelphia invited Allen to begin preaching a 5am worship service. Allen accepted and as a result, the attendance of Black worshipers at St. George’s began to increase. However, the hostile attitude of the White officers and members also began to increase. Although St. George’s began as a church where Blacks and Whites worshiped together without regard to race, attitudes began to change quickly with the influx of new Black converts.
Once in Philadelphia, Allen became fast friends with Absalom Jones, who would remain his co-laborer in the Gospel throughout his life. The two men, along with other free Blacks, recognized the need for organization to meet the many unmet needs of their fellow Black citizens. Their conversations led to the founding of the Free African Society (FAS) on April 12, 1787. This mutual aid society provided assistance to the sick, to widows, to orphans, and helped in the burying of the dead for families regardless of religious affiliation. Although a founder, Allen was often at odd with the body due to the heavy Quaker influence which he often found at odds with his Methodist style of worship. However rocky the relationship was, Allen and Jones were both committed to the uplift of their fellow free Blacks.
Back at St. George’s, Allen’s preaching was drawing so many new Black congregants that the building could no longer accommodate the growing congregation. He met with other Blacks to discuss the possibility of organizing a church of their own, but was met with opposition (with the exception of Absalom Jones, William White, and Darius Jinnings). White church elders also rejected Allen’s vision of an independent Black church, preferring a segregated St. George’s. To that end, a new balcony was constructed and upon its completion, Allen and others arrived at church only to be shown the new seating arrangement. In his own words, Allen describes the events of that morning:
"The (the Sexton) told us to go, and we would see where to sit. We expected to take the seats over the ones we formerly occupied below, not knowing any better. We took those seats. Meeting had begun, and they were nearly done singing, and just as we got to the seats, the elder said, ’Let us pray.’ We had not been long upon our knees before I heard considerable scuffling and low talking. I raised my head up and saw one of the trustees, H-- M--, having hold of the Rev. Absalom Jones, pulling him off of his knees, and saying, ’You must get up--you must not kneel here.’ Mr. Jones replied, ’Wait till prayer is over.’ Mr. H-- M-- said, ’No, you must get up now, or I will call for aid and force you away.’ Mr. Jones said, ’Wait until prayer is over and I will get up and trouble you no more.’ With that he beckoned to one of the other trustees, Mr. L-- S-- to come to his assistance. He came, and went to William White to pull him up. By this time prayer was over, and we all went out of the church in a body, and they were no more plagued with us in the church."
Who is the pastor of Mother Bethel Ame?
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Mark Kelly Tyler
Mother Bethel A.M.E Church. Mark Kelly Tyler is a native of Oakland, CA and he is the third child of Bill and Elroy Tyler. In 1987, he accepted God's call to preach the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.