Commemorating the history of Absalom Jones—in The Episcopal Church AND in the Methodist Church

Before Absalom Jones made history as the first black man to be ordained in the newly organized Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, he had made history in the Methodist Church: He and Richard Allen had been the first black men to be granted preaching licenses in the Methodist Episcopal Church, licensed in 1784 to serve the historic St. George’s Church in Philadelphia – a church still active today, and the oldest house of Methodist worship in continuous use in America.

Jones was born an enslaved person in Delaware in 1746. He was sold to a slaveowner in Philadelphia, sometime near the time that Pennsylvania began the gradual abolition of slavery in 1780 — ending the importation of enslaved persons into the state and declaring that all future-born children born in the state to enslaved persons were emancipated. Over the years, Pennsylvania had an increasingly free population of formerly enslaved persons who were operating with some autonomy. Jones worked first to secure his wife’s freedom, and then to secure his own, all the while learning to read, write and become a contributing member of this newly-free society.

Jones and other black worshippers had begun worshipping at St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia; the black persons apparently grew in number and were faithful in worship and in offerings. Jones and Allen preached and ministered to these black worshippers, and it is speculated that white worshippers may have heard these two preachers, as well. On a fateful Sunday in 1791 or 1792, the black worshippers arrived at St. George’s and were asked to sit in a newly-constructed balcony (which it seems the black worshippers may have helped to fund through their offerings). In his writings, Richard Allen later described the encounter in this way:

A number of us usually attended St. George’s Church in Fourth street; and when the coloured people began to get numerous in attending the church, they moved us from the seats we usually sat on and placed us around the wall, and on Sabbath morning we went to church and the sexton stood at the door, and told us to go in the gallery. He 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 up off of his knees and saying, “You must get up — you must not kneel here.” Mr. Jones replied, “wait until prayer is over.” Mr. H— M— said “no, you must get up now, or I will call for aid and I 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…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.

The black worshippers walked out, never to return.

Jones and Allen worked together to raise money to build an edifice for the black worshippers. When the worshippers voted to determine the denomination with which they wished to affiliate, the majority wished to move to the Church of England – by this time, the fledgling new Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States which had separated from the Church of England following the Revolutionary War. Allen says this in his writings:

We then held an election to know what religious denomination we should unite with. At the election it was determined — there were two in favour of the Methodist, the Rev. Absalom Jones and myself, and a large majority in favour of the Church of England. The majority carried. Notwithstanding we had been so violently persecuted by the elder, we were in favour of being attached to the Methodist connection; for I was confident that there was no religious sect or denomination would suit the capacity of the coloured people as well as the Methodist; for the plain and simple gospel suits best for any people, for the unlearned can understand, and the learned are sure to understand; and the reason that the Methodist is so successful in the awakening and conversion of the coloured people, the plain doctrine and having a good discipline. . . .

History might have emerged entirely differently had the worshippers voted another way. It is unclear how Jones may have first sought audience with Bishop William White – the first and fourth Presiding Bishop of this new Episcopal Church, and in-between, Bishop of Pennsylvania. White was, for his time, deeply involved in supporting the vulnerable in society: A supporter of education, he would go on to serve as President of the University of Pennsylvania. As an advocate for the marginalized and outcast, White was credited with having founded a Philadelphia ministry which helped young women begin again after leaving prostitution. White’s reputation for ministry among the marginalized may have preceded him among the black worshippers from St. George’s Church. Jones had one request of White, and that was for a place of worship in which Jones and the black worshippers who had left St. George’s Church could worship and have autonomy over their church affairs. White ordained Jones as a deacon in 1795, and ordained him to the priesthood in 1802.

Allen, with his profound belief in the Methodist Church, chose to remain with that denomination, forming Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in 1794. Ultimately, Allen sued in Pennsylvania courts for the right to establish the A.M.E. Church as a new and independent denomination within the Methodist Church.

Reading Allen’s accounts of the separation (You can find the excerpts at msepiscopalian.com/allen) seems to leave us with even more questions about the Church universal’s relationship to racial separation and segregation. We’ll tackle those topics on Saturday, February 21, as the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi and the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church come together to commemorate the life of Absalom Jones – history-maker in both denominations. We’ll gather on February 21, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. in the Selby and Richard McRae Christian Center on the campus of Millsaps College, where we’ll talk about this shared history, how it has shaped both our denominations, and the lessons we continue to learn. Registration will be required, and information will be forthcoming soon; a modest fee will cover lunch.

Please save the date on your calendar and look for registration info! We look forward to seeing you there!