Sourlands AME Church- 1899
African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church), is a black Methodist denomination originating in the United States, formally organized in 1816. It developed from a congregation formed by a group of blacks who withdrew in 1787 from St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia because of restrictions in seating; blacks had been confined to the gallery of the church. Those who withdrew formed the Free African Society, the forerunner of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and built Bethel African Methodist Church in Philadelphia.
Prior to the American Civil War, the AME Church was largely limited to the free states of the Northeast and Midwest, and congregations were established in many of the major cities in those areas. However, the most significant period of growth occurred in the final months of the Civil War and in the subsequent Reconstruction. The title of a sermon by Theophilus G. Steward, “I Seek My Brethren,” became a call to evangelize newly freed slaves in the collapsing Confederacy, and congregations grew rapidly south of the Mason and Dixon Line. By 1880 AME membership had reached some 400,000. African Methodism then spread to Africa itself through the work of Bishop Henry Turner, who visited Liberia and Sierra Leone in 1891 and South Africa in 1896.
The AME Church has played a significant role in the higher education of African Americans in the United States. Several historically black colleges and universities, including Wilberforce University, are or were previously affiliated with the church, and there are three AME seminaries.
This one room church was built in the late 1800s and served the surrounding community from 1899-2005. It is currently listed as a national historic landmark.
Sourlands AME Church- 1899
African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church), is a black Methodist denomination originating in the United States, formally organized in 1816. It developed from a congregation formed by a group of blacks who withdrew in 1787 from St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia because of restrictions in seating; blacks had been confined to the gallery of the church. Those who withdrew formed the Free African Society, the forerunner of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and built Bethel African Methodist Church in Philadelphia.
Prior to the American Civil War, the AME Church was largely limited to the free states of the Northeast and Midwest, and congregations were established in many of the major cities in those areas. However, the most significant period of growth occurred in the final months of the Civil War and in the subsequent Reconstruction. The title of a sermon by Theophilus G. Steward, “I Seek My Brethren,” became a call to evangelize newly freed slaves in the collapsing Confederacy, and congregations grew rapidly south of the Mason and Dixon Line. By 1880 AME membership had reached some 400,000. African Methodism then spread to Africa itself through the work of Bishop Henry Turner, who visited Liberia and Sierra Leone in 1891 and South Africa in 1896.
The AME Church has played a significant role in the higher education of African Americans in the United States. Several historically black colleges and universities, including Wilberforce University, are or were previously affiliated with the church, and there are three AME seminaries.
This one room church was built in the late 1800s and served the surrounding community from 1899-2005. It is currently listed as a national historic landmark.