Allen, Richard (1760–1831)
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Richard Allen (1760–1831)
Do you believe that people have the right to worship as they please? Richard Allen believed that no one should tell another person how to pray. Allen acted on that belief.
Allen was born into slavery in 1760. That means he was not free. Allen became a Methodist at the age of 17. A Methodist is a Christian who follows the teachings of the Methodist church. Allen quickly became a Methodist leader. He spoke to other slaves about Christianity.
Allen’s slave owner also became a Methodist. He decided it was wrong to have slaves. He encouraged Allen to buy his freedom. Allen worked hard to do so and was soon preaching throughout the eastern United States.
In 1784, the U.S. Methodist church held its first conference, or national meeting. During the conference, Allen became a minister. He was the first African American minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Allen joined St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. He was permitted to lead prayer services for the African American members, early in the morning.
Allen drew more African American members to St. George’s. But the white leaders of the church did not welcome the new members. They forced African Americans to sit along the walls instead of in the pews.
Allen began to think that African Americans should have their own church. One day in 1787, two African Americans were kneeling and praying in a part of the church that was reserved for whites. Leaders of the church pulled them up and told them they could not kneel there. Allen led the African Americans out of the church.
Later that year, Allen bought property in Philadelphia. The lot became the site of Mother Bethel Church. The country’s first African Methodist Episcopal Church opened in 1794.
Other African Americans followed Allen’s example. They began their own AME churches. Today, there are more than 8,000 churches in the United States, with more than 3 million members.
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