St. Thomas African Episcopal Church
*This date in 1794 marks the founding of one of the first Black Episcopal churches in America.
This occurred in Philadelphia, PA, where Richard Allen, a minister and notable orator, worked extremely hard to ensure a growing church membership. In 1787, Allen, Absalom Jones, and William White were pulled from their knees during prayer by a white usher for being in an area reserved for white congregation members.
Allen fulfilled his dream seven years later by founding the Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church. His efforts continued to produce beyond Philadelphia as other Black congregations developed in Norristown, PA, Wilmington, DA, Baltimore, MA, and Camden, NJ.
An Encyclopedia of African American Christian Heritage
by Marvin Andrew McMickle
Judson Press, Copyright 2002
ISBN 0-817014-02-0
