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130-880: George Whitefield , Jonathan Edwards , and Gilbert Tennent were influential during the First Great Awakening. Some of the influential groups during the Great Awakening were the New Lights and the Old Lights . The First Great Awakening in the American colonies is closely related to the Evangelical Revival in the British Isles. Pulling away from ritual and ceremony, the Great Awakening made religion more personal by fostering

260-646: A dissenting church and "the congregation's response was dismal," he ascribed the response to "the people's being hardened" as were "Pharaoh and the Egyptians" in the Bible. Many New Englanders claimed that Whitefield destroyed "New England's orderly parish system, communities, and even families". The "Declaration of the Association of the County of New Haven, 1745" stated that after Whitefield's preaching "religion

390-611: A "sorcerer" and a "vain-glorious, self-seeking, puffed-up creature". In addition, Whitefield's collecting money for his Bethesda orphanage, combined with the hysteria evoked by his open-air sermons, resulted in bitter attacks in Edinburgh and Glasgow." Whitefield's itinerant preaching throughout the colonies was opposed by Bishop Benson who had ordained him for a settled ministry in Georgia. Whitefield replied that if bishops did not authorize his itinerant preaching, God would give him

520-524: A bishop shall be heard, at the second, the decisions of the council shall be made public. All decisions shall be in writing. The Board of Incorporators, also known as the General Board of Trustees, has the supervision, in trust, of all connectional property of the church and is vested with authority to act in behalf of the AME Church wherever necessary. The AME General Board is in many respects

650-874: A central founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church , was quoted describing one such incident of racial discrimination in a predominantly white church in Philadelphia, in which fellow preacher and a former slave from Delaware, Absalom Jones , was grabbed by a white church trustee in the midst of prayer and forcefully told to leave. Closely related to the Second Great Awakening were other reform movements such as temperance , abolition , and women's rights . The temperance movement encouraged people to abstain from consuming alcoholic drinks in order to preserve family order. The abolition movement fought to abolish slavery in

780-815: A church, so he began preaching in parks and fields in England on his own, reaching out to people who normally did not attend church. In 1738 he went to Christ Church in Savannah , Province of Georgia , in the American colonies which had been founded by John Wesley while he was in Savannah. While there Whitefield decided that one of the great needs of the area was an orphan house. He decided this would be his life's work. In 1739 he returned to England to raise funds, as well as to receive priest's orders . While preparing for his return, he preached to large congregations. At

910-527: A dead dog as I am". He now said that he "highly esteemed bishops of the Church of England because of their sacred character". He confessed that in "many things" he had "judged and acted wrong" and had "been too bitter in my zeal". In 1763, in a defense of Methodism, Whitefield "repeated contrition for much contained in his Journals ". Among the nobility who heard Whitefield in the Countess of Huntingdon's home

1040-501: A fierce battle within the denomination. Angered by the Democrats ' regaining power and instituting Jim Crow laws in the late nineteenth century South, Turner was the leader of black nationalism and proposed emigration of blacks to Africa. The African Methodist Episcopal Church has a unique history as it is the first major religious denomination in the western world that developed because of race rather than theological differences. It

1170-588: A load and burden" to him. In 1743 after four miscarriages, Elizabeth bore the couple's only child, a son. The baby died at four months old. Twenty-five years later, Elizabeth died of a fever on 9 August 1768 and was buried in a vault at the Tottenham Court Road Chapel. At the end of the 19th century the Chapel needed restoration and all those interred there, except Augustus Toplady, were moved to Chingford Mount cemetery in north London; her grave

1300-614: A mark of divine favor) all served to help make him one of the first celebrities in the American colonies. Like Edwards, Whitefield preached staunchly Calvinist theology that was in line with the "moderate Calvinism" of the Thirty-nine Articles. While explicitly affirming God's sole agency in salvation, Whitefield freely offered the Gospel , saying at the end of his sermons: "Come poor, lost, undone sinner , come just as you are to Christ ." To Whitefield "the gospel message

1430-652: A moral judgment on slavery itself as an institution". Whitefield is remembered as one of the first to preach to slaves. Some have claimed that the Bethesda Orphanage "set an example of humane treatment" of black people. Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784), who was a slave, wrote a poem "On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield" in 1770. The first line calls Whitefield a "happy saint". Benjamin Franklin attended

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1560-486: A new Wesleyan denomination. Sixteen representatives, from Bethel African Church in Philadelphia and African churches in Baltimore, MD, Wilmington, DE, Attleboro, PA, and Salem, NJ, met to form a church organization or connection under the title of the "African Methodist Episcopal Church". It began with eight clergy and five churches, and by 1846 had grown to 176 clergy, 296 churches, and 17,375 members. Safe villages like

1690-812: A new form of pulpit oratory. Whitefield's "Abraham Offering His Son Isaac" is an example of a sermon whose whole structure resembles a theatrical play. Divinity schools opened to challenge the hegemony of Yale and Harvard; personal experience became more important than formal education for preachers. Such concepts and habits formed a necessary foundation for the American Revolution . Whitefield's preaching bolstered "the evolving republican ideology that sought local democratic control of civil affairs and freedom from monarchial and parliamentary intrusion." Whitefield's sermons were widely reputed to inspire his audience's devotion. Many of them, as well as his letters and journals, were published during his lifetime. He

1820-536: A new nature within that wants to serve God, not in order to be saved, but because one has been graciously and undeservedly saved. In 1736, after Whitfield's conversion, the Bishop of Gloucester ordained him a deacon of the Church of England . Whitefield preached his first sermon at St Mary de Crypt Church in his home town of Gloucester, a week after his ordination as deacon. The Church of England did not assign him

1950-510: A place of strong Gospel influence, with a wholesome atmosphere and strong discipline. Having raised the money by his preaching, Whitefield "insisted on sole control of the orphanage". He refused to give the trustees a financial accounting. The trustees also objected to Whitefield's using "a wrong method" to control the children, who "are often kept praying and crying all the night". In 1740 he engaged Moravian Brethren from Georgia to build an orphanage for negro children on land he had bought in

2080-929: A plain reading of Article 17 —the Church of England's doctrine of predestination —and disagreed with the Wesley brothers' Arminian views on the doctrine of the atonement . However, Whitefield finally did what his friends hoped he would not do—hand over the entire ministry to John Wesley. Whitefield formed and was the president of the first Methodist conference, but he soon relinquished the position to concentrate on evangelistic work. Three churches were established in England in his name—one in Penn Street, Bristol , and two in London, in Moorfields and in Tottenham Court Road —all three of which became known by

2210-489: A preacher's eloquence and fervency". During Whitefield's 1744–1748 visit to America, ten critical pamphlets were published, two by officials of Harvard and Yale . This criticism was in part evoked by Whitefield's criticism of "their education and Christian commitment" in his Journal of 1741. Whitefield saw this opposition as "a conspiracy" against him. Whitefield would be derided with names such as "Dr. Squintum", mocking him for his esotropia . When Whitefield preached in

2340-613: A predominantly white denomination, in sponsoring the second independent historically black college (HBCU), Wilberforce University in Ohio. Among Wilberforce University's early founders was Salmon P. Chase , then-governor of Ohio and the future Secretary of Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln . Other members of the FAS wanted to affiliate with the Episcopal Church and followed Absalom Jones in doing that. In 1792, they founded

2470-676: A revival meeting in Philadelphia and was greatly impressed with Whitefield's ability to deliver a message to such a large group. Franklin had previously dismissed as exaggeration reports of Whitefield preaching to crowds of the order of tens of thousands in England. When listening to Whitefield preaching from the Philadelphia court house, Franklin walked away towards his shop in Market Street until he could no longer hear Whitefield distinctly—Whitefield could be heard over 500 feet. He then estimated his distance from Whitefield and calculated

2600-470: A sense of spiritual conviction of personal sin and need for redemption, and by encouraging introspection and a commitment to personal morality. It incited rancor and division between traditionalists, who insisted on the continuing importance of ritual and doctrine, and revivalists who encouraged emotional involvement and personal commitment. It had a major impact in reshaping the Congregational church,

2730-865: A storm in 1839. The inscription on the foundation stone included: Mr. James Dawson is the gratuitous Architect; Mr. Robert Lavis Brown, the Overseer. The Lot of Land on which the Chapel is built was purchased, April 24th, 1839, from Miss Caroline Lewis, for Two hundred and fifty pounds currency. The names of the Trustees are, William Arthur Outerbridge, William Gibbons, Thomas Stowe Tuzo, Alfred Tucker Deane, James Richardson, Thomas Richardson, John Stephens, Samuel Rankin Higgs, Robert Lavis Brown, James Andrew Durnford, Thomas Argent Smith, John P. Outerbridge, and Benjamin Burchall. The AME First District website records that in

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2860-512: A tree to urinate on him." In 1760, Whitefield was burlesqued by Samuel Foote in The Minor . Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, made Whitefield her personal chaplain. In her chapel, it was noted that his preaching was "more Considered among persons of a Superior Rank" who attended the countess's services. Whitefield was humble before the countess saying that he cried when he was "thinking of your Ladyship's condescending to patronize such

2990-600: A true Christian than had Muhammad". He also attacked Richard Allestree's The Whole Duty of Man , one of Anglicanism's most popular spiritual tracts. At least once Whitefield had his followers burn the tract "with great Detestation". In England and Scotland (1741–1744), Whitefield bitterly accused John Wesley of undermining his work. He preached against Wesley, arguing that Wesley's attacks on predestination had alienated "very many of my spiritual children". Wesley replied that Whitefield's attacks were "treacherous" and that Whitefield had made himself "odious and contemptible". However,

3120-471: A wife, yet wanting to live as if without one—brought Whitefield a disappointing love life and a largely unhappy marriage. On 14 November 1741 Whitefield married Elizabeth (née Gwynne), a widow previously known as Elizabeth James. After their 1744–1748 stay in America, she never accompanied him on his travels. Whitefield reflected that "none in America could bear her". His wife believed that she had been "but

3250-611: A woman to become bishop. While always being open to people of all racial backgrounds, the AME has advocated for the civil and human rights of ethnic minorities, such as African Americans, through social improvement, religious autonomy, and political engagement. The African Methodist Episcopal Church unanimously voted to forbid ministers from blessing same-sex unions in July 2004. The church leaders stated that homosexual activity "clearly contradicts [their] understanding of Scripture" and that

3380-564: Is a prevailing misconception that Whitefield was not primarily an organizer like Wesley. However, as Luke Tyerman, a historian of Wesley, states, "It is notable that the first Calvinistic Methodist Association was held eighteen months before Wesley held his first Methodist Conference ." He was a man of profound experience, which he communicated to audiences with clarity and passion. His patronization by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, reflected this emphasis on practice. Whitefield welcomed opposition because as he said, "the more I am opposed,

3510-514: Is composed of the bishops, as ex officio presidents, according to the rank of election, and an equal number of ministerial and lay delegates, elected by each of the annual conferences and the lay electoral colleges of the annual conferences. Other ex officio members are: the general officers, college presidents, deans of theological seminaries; and chaplains in the regular United States Armed Forces. The General Conference meets every four years, but may have extra sessions in certain emergencies. At

3640-505: Is in the collection of the Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery . It was John Wesley who preached his funeral sermon in London, at Whitefield's request. Whitefield left almost £1,500 (equivalent to £263,000 in 2023) to friends and family. Furthermore, he had deposited £1,000 (equivalent to £175,000 in 2023) for his wife if he predeceased her and had contributed £3,300 (equivalent to £578,000 in 2023) to

3770-520: Is now in a far worse state than it was". After Whitefield preached in Charlestown , a local newspaper article attacked him as "blasphemous, uncharitable, and unreasonable." After Whitefield condemned Moravians and their practices, his former London printer (a Moravian) called Whitefield "a Mahomet, a Caesar, an imposter, a Don Quixote , a devil, the beast, the man of sin, the Antichrist". In

3900-473: Is now my parish'. In 1740, Whitefield had attacked Tillotson and Richard Allestree's The Whole Duty of Man . These attacks resulted in hostile responses and reduced attendance at his London open-air preaching. In 1741, Whitefield made his first visit to Scotland at the invitation of "Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine , leaders of the breakaway Associate Presbytery . When they demanded and Whitefield refused that he preach only in their churches, they attacked him as

4030-490: Is unmarked in its new location. Cornelius Winter , who for a time lived with the Whitefields, observed of Whitefield, "He was not happy in his wife." And, "He did not intentionally make his wife unhappy. He always preserved great decency and decorum in his conduct towards her. Her death set his mind much at liberty." After Elizabeth's death, however, Whitfield said, “I feel the loss of my right hand daily.” In 1770,

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4160-597: The AME Church or AME , is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. It cooperates with other Methodist bodies through the World Methodist Council and Wesleyan Holiness Connection . Though historically a black church and the first independent Protestant denomination to be founded by Black people ,

4290-507: The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas , the first Episcopal church in the United States with a founding black congregation. In 1804, Jones was ordained as the first black priest in the Episcopal Church . While the AME is doctrinally Methodist, clergy, scholars, and lay persons have written works that demonstrate the distinctive racial theology and praxis that have come to define this Wesleyan body. In an address to

4420-652: The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church , African Union Methodist Protestant Church , Christian Methodist Episcopal Church , and Union American Methodist Episcopal Church , in which these churches agreed to "recognize each other's churches, share sacraments, and affirm their clergy and ministries", bringing a semblance of unity and reconciliation to those church bodies which follow in the footsteps of John and Charles Wesley . The AME motto, "God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family", reflects

4550-669: The American War of 1812 , and being the primary port through which European-manufactured weapons and supplies were smuggled into the Confederacy during the American Civil War . Other Bermudians, such as First Sergeant Robert John Simmons of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment , fought to end slavery in the United States. Among the numerous residents of the American South with ties to Bermuda

4680-838: The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1793. In general, they adopted the doctrines and form of government of the Methodist Episcopal Church . In 1794 Bethel AME was dedicated with Allen as pastor. To establish Bethel's independence, Allen successfully sued in the Pennsylvania courts in 1807 and 1815 for the right of his congregation to exist as an institution independent of white Methodist congregations. Because black Methodists in other middle Atlantic communities also encountered racism and desired religious autonomy, Allen called them to meet in Philadelphia in 1816 to form

4810-518: The British Empire . Whitefield could enthrall large audiences through a potent combination of drama, religious eloquence, and patriotism . He used the technique of evoking strong emotion, then using the vulnerability of his enthralled audience to preach. Whitefield was born on 27 December [ O.S. 16 December] 1714 at the Bell Inn, Southgate Street, Gloucester . Whitefield

4940-966: The British Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada). Although the Church of England (since 1978, titled the Anglican Church of Bermuda) remains the largest denomination in Bermuda (15.8%), the AME quickly flourished (accounting for 8.6% of the population today), overtaking the Wesleyan Methodists (2.7% today). The rise of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement in Methodism influenced the African Methodist Episcopal Church, with Jarena Lee and Amanda Smith preaching

5070-682: The Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania . Following a theological disagreement, he dismissed them and was unable to complete the building, which the Moravians subsequently bought and completed. This now is the Whitefield House in the center of the Moravian borough of Nazareth, Pennsylvania . Beginning in 1740, Whitefield preached nearly every day for months to large crowds as large as eighty thousand people as he travelled throughout

5200-809: The United States , mostly in the South , while seven are based in Africa . The global membership of the AME is around 2.5 million members, and it remains one of the largest Methodist denominations in the world. The AME Church worked out of the Free African Society (FAS), which Richard Allen , Absalom Jones , and other free blacks established in Philadelphia in 1787. They left St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church because of discrimination. Although Allen and Jones were both accepted as preachers, they were limited to black congregations. In addition,

5330-641: The Village of Lima , Pennsylvania, were setup with nearby AME churches and in sometimes involved in the Underground Railroad. The 20,000 members in 1856 were located primarily in the North. AME national membership (including probationers and preachers) jumped from 70,000 in 1866 to 207,000 in 1876. The church also expanded internationally during this period. The British Overseas Territory of Bermuda , 640 miles from Cape Hatteras , North Carolina,

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5460-556: The " Preaching Braes " of Cambuslang in 1742—two journeys to Ireland, and one each to Bermuda, Gibraltar, and the Netherlands. In England and Wales, Whitefield's itinerary included every county. Whitfield County, Georgia , is named after Whitefield. When the act by the Georgia General Assembly was written to create the county, the "e" was omitted from the spelling of the name to reflect the pronunciation of

5590-416: The " Rodborough congregation"—a gathering of 10,000 people—at a place now known as "Whitefield's tump". Whitefield sought to influence the colonies after he returned to England. He contracted to have his autobiographical Journals published throughout America. These Journals have been characterized as "the ideal vehicle for crafting a public image that could work in his absence." They depicted Whitefield in

5720-459: The "best possible light". When he returned to America for his third tour in 1745, he was better known than when he had left. Whitefield was a plantation owner and slaveholder and viewed the work of slaves as essential for funding his orphanage's operations. John Wesley denounced slavery as "the sum of all villainies" and detailed its abuses . However, defenses of slavery were common among 18th-century Protestants, especially missionaries who used

5850-457: The 'marvel of the age'. Whitefield was a preacher capable of commanding thousands on two continents through the sheer power of his oratory. In his lifetime, he preached at least 18,000 times to perhaps 10 million hearers. In terms of theology, Whitefield, unlike Wesley, was a supporter of Calvinism. The two differed on eternal election , final perseverance, and sanctification, but were reconciled as friends and co-workers, each going his own way. It

5980-441: The 1730s and lasted to about 1740, though pockets of revivalism had occurred in years prior, especially amongst the ministry of Solomon Stoddard , Jonathan Edwards 's grandfather. Edwards's congregation was involved in a revival later called the "Frontier Revivals" in the mid-1730s, though this was on the wane by 1737. But as American religious historian Sydney E. Ahlstrom noted, the Great Awakening "was still to come, ushered in by

6110-604: The 1850s–1900s was characterized by new denominations, active missionary work, Chautauquas , and the Social Gospel approach to social issues. The YMCA (founded in 1844) played a major role in fostering revivals in the cities in the 1858 Awakening and after. The revival of 1858 produced leaders such as Dwight L. Moody who carried out religious work in the Civil War armies. The Christian and Sanitary Commissions and numerous Freedmen's Societies were also formed during

6240-462: The 1893 World's Parliament of Religions, Bishop Benjamin W. Arnett reminded the audience of blacks' influence in the formation of Christianity. Bishop Benjamin T. Tanner wrote in 1895 in The Color of Solomon – What? that biblical scholars wrongly portrayed the son of David as a white man. In the post- civil rights era, theologians James Cone , Cecil W. Cone, and Jacqueline Grant, who came from

6370-433: The 55-year-old Whitefield continued preaching in spite of poor health. He said, "I would rather wear out than rust out." His last sermon was preached in a field "atop a large barrel". The next morning, 30 September 1770, Whitefield died in the parsonage of Old South Presbyterian Church , Newburyport, Massachusetts , and was buried, according to his wishes, in a crypt under the pulpit of this church. A bust of Whitefield

6500-634: The AME General Conference voted against allowing same-sex marriage, the vote was 896 to 722; following that vote, the Conference voted to continue the "sexual ethics discernment committee" through 2028. The AME Church voted to take "a stand against climate change". The African Methodist Episcopal Church has been one of the forerunners of education within the African-American community. Former colleges and universities of

6630-441: The AME tradition, criticized Euro-centric Christianity and African-American churches for their shortcomings in resolving the plight of those oppressed by racism, sexism, and economic disadvantage. The World Council of Churches estimates the membership of the AME Church at around 2,510,000; 3,817 pastors, 21 bishops and 7,000 congregations. The General Conference is the supreme body of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It

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6760-414: The African Methodist Episcopal Church and instructed pastors of the denomination to read it to their congregations: The official position of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is not in favor of the ordination of openly gay persons to the ranks of clergy in our church. This position reaffirms our published position papers, public statements and prior rulings, all of which indicate that we do not support

6890-417: The African Methodist Episcopal Church welcomes and has members of all ethnicities. The AME Church was founded by Richard Allen (1760–1831) in 1816 when he called together five African American congregations of the previously established Methodist Episcopal Church with the hope of escaping the discrimination that was commonplace in society, including some churches. It was among the first denominations in

7020-414: The American Civil War, Turner was appointed as the first black chaplain in the United States Colored Troops . Afterward, he was appointed to the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia. He settled in Macon, Georgia, and was elected to the state legislature in 1868 during Reconstruction. He planted many AME churches in Georgia after the war. In 1880 he was elected as the first southern bishop of the AME Church after

7150-607: The Bethesda Orphanage. "Questions concerning the source of his personal wealth dogged his memory. His will stated that all this money had lately been left him 'in a most unexpected way and unthought of means.'" In an age when crossing the Atlantic Ocean was a long and hazardous adventure, he visited America seven times, making 13 ocean crossings in total. (He died in America.) It is estimated that throughout his life, he preached more than 18,000 formal sermons, of which 78 have been published. In addition to his work in North America and England, he made 15 journeys to Scotland—most famously to

7280-427: The Church of England's Archdeacon of Bermuda Aubrey Spencer . Her visit lasted two years, and her ‘’Sketches of Bermuda’’ (a collection of letters she had written en route to, and during her stay in, Bermuda, and dedicated to Archdeacon Spencer) was published in 1835, immediately following the 1834 abolition of slavery in Bermuda and the remainder of the British Empire (Bermuda elected to end slavery immediately, becoming

7410-474: The Church of England, the Presbyterian Church, and the Wesleyan Methodists were permitted to conduct baptisms, weddings and funerals until after the First World War). As the Imperial Government had ruled that the AME Church could operate in the United Kingdom, the first AME church in Bermuda was erected in 1885 in Hamilton Parish , on the shore of Harrington Sound, and titled St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church (the congregation had begun previously as part of

7540-469: The Church of England. In response, clergy called Whitefield one of "the young quacks in divinity" who are "breaking the peace and unity" of the church. From 1738 to 1741, Whitefield issued seven Journals . A sermon in St Paul's Cathedral depicted them as "a medley of vanity, and nonsense, and blasphemy jumbled together". Trapp called the Journals "blasphemous" and accused Whitefield of being "besotted either with pride or madness". In England, by 1739 when he

7670-488: The Commissary, Alexander Garden , suspended him as a "vagabond clergyman." After being suspended, Whitefield attacked all South Carolina's Anglican clergy in print. Whitefield issued a blanket indictment of New England's Congregational ministers for their "lack of zeal". In 1740, Whitefield published attacks on "the works of two of Anglicanism's revered seventeenth-century authors". Whitefield wrote that John Tillotson , archbishop of Canterbury (1691–1694), had "no more been

7800-596: The Countess of Huntingdon. This included 4,000 acres of land and 49 black slaves. In 1740, during his second visit to America, Whitefield published "an open letter to the planters of South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland" chastising them for their cruelty to their slaves. He wrote, "I think God has a Quarrel with you for your Abuse of and Cruelty to the poor Negroes." Furthermore, Whitefield wrote: "Your dogs are caressed and fondled at your tables; but your slaves who are frequently styled dogs or beasts, have not an equal privilege." However, Whitefield "stopped short of rendering

7930-411: The General Conference and is amenable to it. * Deceased The African Methodist Episcopal Church cooperates with other Methodist bodies through the World Methodist Council and Wesleyan Holiness Connection . In May 2012, the African Methodist Episcopal Church entered into full communion with the racially-integrated United Methodist Church , and the predominantly black/African American members of

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8060-413: The General Conference of the AME Church, notable and renowned speakers have been invited to address the clergy and laity of the congregation. Such as in 2008, the church invited then Senator Barack H. Obama , and in 2012, the church invited then First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama . The Council of Bishops is the executive branch of the church. It has the general oversight of the church during

8190-431: The Grand Itinerant", the British evangelist George Whitefield . Whitefield arrived in Georgia in 1738 and returned in 1739 for a second visit of the Colonies, making a "triumphant campaign north from Philadelphia to New York, and back to the South". In 1740, he visited New England, and "at every place he visited, the consequences were large and tumultuous". Ministers from various evangelical Protestant denominations supported

8320-412: The Great Awakening. In the middle colonies, he influenced not only the British churches, but the Dutch and German. Additionally, pastoral styles began to change. In the late colonial period, most pastors read their sermons, which were theologically dense and advanced a particular theological argument or interpretation. Nathan O. Hatch argues that the evangelical movement of the 1740s played a key role in

8450-469: The Presbyterian church, the Dutch Reformed Church, and the German Reformed denomination, and strengthened the small Baptist and Methodist denominations. It had less impact on Anglicans and Quakers. Unlike the Second Great Awakening, which began about 1800 and reached out to the unchurched, the First Great Awakening focused on those who were already church members. It changed their rituals, their piety, and their self-awareness. The First Great Awakening began in

8580-437: The Proprietor of the Hamilton Hotel in 1876): the colored people deserve some notice, forming, as they do, a large majority of the population. The importation of negroes from Africa ceased long before the abolition of slavery, which may account for the improved type of physiognomy one encounters here. The faces of some are fine, and many of the women are really pretty. They are polite, about as well dressed as anybody, attend all

8710-470: The South, particularly after the American Civil War (1861–1865). By 1906, the AME had a membership of about half a million, more than the combined predominantly black American denominations—the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church , making it the largest major African-American denomination of the Methodist tradition. The AME Church currently has 20 districts, each with its own bishop : 13 are based in

8840-418: The South, with 155,000 students. For school houses they used church buildings; the ministers and their wives were the teachers; the congregations raised the money to keep schools operating at a time the segregated public schools were starved of funds. After the America Civil War, Bishop Henry McNeal Turner (1834–1915) was a major leader of the AME and played a role in Republican Party politics. In 1863 during

8970-465: The United States to be founded for this reason (rather than for theological distinctions). Allen, a previously ordained deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church , was elected by the gathered ministers and ordained as its first bishop in 1816 by the first General Conference of the five churches—extending from the three in the Philadelphia area in Pennsylvania to ones in Delaware and Baltimore , Maryland. The denomination then expanded west and through

9100-425: The United States. The women's rights movement grew from female abolitionists who realized that they could fight for their own political rights, too. In addition to these causes, reforms touched nearly every aspect of daily life, such as restricting the use of tobacco and dietary and dress reforms. The abolition movement emerged in the North from the wider Second Great Awakening 1800–1840. The Third Great Awakening in

9230-414: The University of Pennsylvania campus. On 2 July 2020, the University of Pennsylvania announced they would be removing the statue because of Whitefield's connection to slavery. "I believe it is God's will that I should marry", George Whitefield wrote to a friend in 1740. But he was concerned: "I pray God that I may not have a wife till I can live as though I had none." That ambivalence—believing God willed

9360-719: The Whitefield meeting house, with its Charity School, to be purchased as the site of the newly-formed Academy of Philadelphia which opened in 1751, followed in 1755 with the College of Philadelphia, both the predecessors of the University of Pennsylvania . A statue of George Whitefield was located in the Dormitory Quadrangle, standing in front of the Morris and Bodine sections of the present Ware College House on

9490-416: The administrative body and comprises various departmental commissions made up of the respective treasurer/CFO, the secretary/CIO of the AME Church, the treasurer/CFO and the members of the various commissions, and one bishop as presiding officer with the other bishops associating. The Judicial Council is the highest judicatory body of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It is an appellate court, elected by

9620-431: The area of a semicircle centred on Whitefield. Allowing two square feet per person he computed that Whitefield could be heard by over 30,000 people in the open air. After one of Whitefield's sermons, Franklin noted the: wonderful ... change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seem'd as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro'

9750-533: The authority. In 1740, Jonathan Edwards invited Whitefield to preach in his church in Northampton. Edwards was "deeply disturbed by his unqualified appeals to emotion, his openly judging those he considered unconverted, and his demand for instant conversions". Whitefield refused to discuss Edwards' misgivings with him. Later, Edwards delivered a series of sermons containing but "thinly veiled critiques" of Whitefield's preaching, "warning against over-dependence upon

9880-475: The autumn of 1869, three farsighted Christian men—Benjamin Burchall of St. George’s, William B. Jennings of Devonshire and Charles Roach Ratteray of Somerset—set in motion the wheels that brought African Methodism to Bermuda. By the latter Nineteenth Century, the law in Bermuda specified that any denomination permitted to operate in the United Kingdom should also be permitted in the colony (although only

10010-538: The basic beliefs of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The basic foundations of the beliefs of the church can be summarized in the Apostles' Creed , and the 25 Articles of Religion , held in common with other Methodist denominations. The church also observes the official bylaws of the AME Church. The "Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church" is revised at every AME General Conference and published every four years. The AME Church also follows

10140-487: The blacks were made to sit in a separate gallery built in the church when their portion of the congregation increased. These former members of St. George's made plans to transform their mutual aid society into an African congregation. Although the group was originally non-denominational, eventually members wanted to affiliate with existing denominations. Allen led a small group who resolved to remain Methodist. They formed

10270-656: The call of the African Methodist Episcopal Church "is to hear the voice of God in our Scriptures". In the same year, the General Conference voted to "appoint a sexual ethics discernment committee to make recommendations to the denomination about LGBTQ matters." As of 2015, "the AME Church’s Doctrine and Discipline [had] no explicit policy regarding gay clergy." Regarding LGBT clergy, in 2003, Bishop Richard Franklin Norris declared his position for his region of

10400-540: The church of England. This blessing is now imparted to nearly 1000 persons, in which number I do not include those who are educated in the schools under the dissenters, some of which are very flourishing. Lloyd's negative comments on the dissenters was in reference to the Wesleyan Methodists. The degree of education of coloured Bermudians would be noted by later visitors, also. Christiana Rounds wrote in Harper's Magazine (re-published in an advertising pamphlet by A.L Mellen,

10530-502: The churches, and are members thereof, are more interested in schools than the poor whites, and a very large proportion of them can both read and write. The foundation stone of a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was laid in St. George's Town on the 8 June 1840, the local Society (by then numbering 37 class leaders, 489 members, and 20 other communicants) having previously occupied a small, increasingly decrepit building that had been damaged beyond use in

10660-488: The colonies, especially New England . His journey on horseback from New York City to Charleston, South Carolina , was at that time the longest in North America ever documented. Like Jonathan Edwards , he developed a style of preaching that elicited emotional responses from his audiences. But Whitefield had charisma, and his loud voice, his small stature, and even his cross-eyed appearance (which some people took as

10790-427: The colony would never be prosperous unless slaves were allowed to farm the land. Whitefield wanted slavery legalized for the prosperity of the colony as well as for the financial viability of the Bethesda Orphanage. "Had Negroes been allowed" to live in Georgia, he said, "I should now have had a sufficiency to support a great many orphans without expending above half the sum that has been laid out." Whitefield's push for

10920-495: The development of democratic thought, as well as the belief of the free press and the belief that information should be shared and completely unbiased and uncontrolled. Michał Choiński argues that the First Great Awakening marks the birth of the American "rhetoric of the revival" understood as "a particular mode of preaching in which the speaker employs and it has a really wide array of patterns and communicative strategies to initiate religious conversions and spiritual regeneration among

11050-409: The doctrine of entire sanctification throughout pulpits of the connexion. AME put a high premium on education. In the 19th century, the AME Church of Ohio collaborated with the Methodist Episcopal Church , a predominantly white denomination, in sponsoring the second independent historically black college (HBCU) , Wilberforce University in Ohio. By 1880, AME operated over 2,000 schools, chiefly in

11180-438: The dreary dungeon of their African superstition, was at first so faint that it served rather to discover the gloom than to dispel the darkness which shrouded them; and having embraced the profession of the gospel, they adopted its name without receiving its influence in their heart. It is only within the last five or six years that any regular system has been adopted to give the coloured people instruction in schools connected with

11310-531: The efforts of Henry Alline and his New Light movement. The Second Great Awakening (sometimes known simply as "the Great Awakening") was a religious revival that occurred in the United States beginning in the late eighteenth century and lasting until the middle of the nineteenth century. While it occurred in all parts of the United States, it was especially strong in the Northeast and the Midwest. This awakening

11440-442: The financial woes of his Bethesda Orphanage to Georgia's prohibition of black people in the colony. He argued that "the constitution of that colony [Georgia] is very bad, and it is impossible for the inhabitants to subsist" while blacks were banned. Between 1748 and 1750, Whitefield campaigned for the legalisation of African-American emigration into the colony because the trustees of Georgia had banned slavery. Whitefield argued that

11570-508: The first colony to do so, though all other British colonies except for Antigua availed themselves of an allowance made by the Imperial government enabling them to phase slavery out gradually). Lloyd's book gives a rare contemporary account of Bermudian society immediately prior to the abolition of slavery. Among her many observations of the people of Bermuda , Lloyd noted of the coloured population: The gleam of Christianity which penetrated

11700-617: The hearers". All these theological, social, and rhetorical notions ushered in the period of the American Revolution. This contributed to create a demand for religious freedom. The Great Awakening represented the first time African Americans embraced Christianity in large numbers. In the later part of the 1700s, the Revival came to the English colonies of Nova Scotia , New Brunswick , and Prince Edward Island primarily through

11830-513: The idea of "awakenings" in United States history has been put forth by conservative American evangelicals. In the late 2010s and 2020s the term Great Awakening has been used by promoters of the QAnon conspiracy theory to denote awareness of their theory. In 2018, the British political commentator Andrew Sullivan described the " Great Awokening ", describing it as a "cult of social justice on

11960-425: The institution to emphasize God's providence. Whitefield was at first conflicted about slaves. He believed that they were human and was angered that they were treated as "subordinate creatures". Nevertheless, Whitefield and his friend James Habersham played an important role in the reintroduction of slavery to Georgia. Slavery had been outlawed in the young colony of Georgia in 1735. In 1747, Whitefield attributed

12090-442: The interim between general conferences. The AME Council of Bishops shall meet annually at such time and place as the majority of the council shall determine and also at such other times as may be deemed necessary in the discharging its responsibility as the executive branch of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. This council shall hold at least two public sessions at each annual meeting. At the first, complaints and petitions against

12220-600: The left, a religion whose followers show the same zeal as any born-again Evangelical [Christian]" and who "punish heresy by banishing sinners from society or coercing them to public demonstrations of shame". In 2024, The Third Awokening was used as the title of a book by Professor Eric Kaufmann on the same subject. George Whitefield George Whitefield ( / ˈ hw ɪ t f iː l d / ; 27 December [ O.S. 16 December] 1714 – 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield ,

12350-432: The legalization of slave emigration in to Georgia "cannot be explained solely on the basics of economics". It was also his hope for their adoption and for their eternal salvation. Black slaves were permitted to live in Georgia in 1751. Whitefield saw the "legalization of (black residency) as part personal victory and part divine will". Whitefield argued a scriptural justification for black residency as slaves. He increased

12480-591: The more joy I feel". He proved himself adept at creating controversy. In his 1740 visit to Charles Town , it "took Whitefield only four days to plunge Charles Town into religious and social controversy." Whitefield thought he might be martyred for his views. After he attacked the established church he predicted that he would "be set at nought by the Rabbies of our Church, and perhaps at last be killed by them". Whitefield chastised other clergy for teaching only "the shell and shadow of religion" because they did not hold

12610-503: The morning, helping them bathe, cleaning their rooms, carrying their books, and assisting them with work. But, Whitfield would later confess that though he did good works and tried to obey the law of God, he was not yet truly converted to Christ. It was Henry Scougal 's book, The Life of God in the Soul of Man, that Whitfield says opened his eyes to the Gospel and led to his conversion. It was that book he says, that God used to show him that he

12740-513: The most conservative religious denominations (such as the Southern Baptists ) grew rapidly in numbers, spread across the United States, had grave internal theological battles and schisms, and became politically powerful. The idea of an "awakening" implies a slumber or passivity during secular or less religious times. Awakening is a term which originates from, and is embraced often and primarily by, evangelical Christians. In recent times,

12870-455: The name of "Whitefield's Tabernacle". The society meeting at the second Kingswood School at Kingswood was eventually also named Whitefield's Tabernacle . Whitefield acted as chaplain to Selina, Countess of Huntingdon , and some of his followers joined the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion , whose chapels were built by Selina, where a form of Calvinistic Methodism similar to Whitefield's

13000-429: The name. George Whitefield College , Whitefield College of the Bible , and Whitefield Theological Seminary are all named after him. The Banner of Truth Trust 's logo depicts Whitefield preaching. Kidd 2014 , pp. 260–263 summarizes Whitefield's legacy. Mark Galli wrote of Whitefield's legacy: George Whitefield was probably the most famous religious figure of the eighteenth century. Newspapers called him

13130-539: The necessity of a new birth, without which a person would be "thrust down into Hell". In his 1740–41 visit to North America (as he had done in England), he attacked other clergy (mostly Anglican) calling them "God's persecutors". He said that Edmund Gibson , Bishop of London with supervision over Anglican clergy in America, knew no "more of Christianity, than Mahaomet , or an Infidel". After Whitefield preached at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Charleston, South Carolina ,

13260-404: The number of the black children at his orphanage, using his preaching to raise money to house them. Whitefield became "perhaps the most energetic, and conspicuous, evangelical defender and practitioner of the rights of black people". By propagating such "a theological defense for" black residency, Whitefield helped slaveholders prosper. Upon his death, Whitefield left everything in the orphanage to

13390-468: The open air in Dublin , Ireland (1757), Whitefield condemned Roman Catholicism , inciting an attack by "hundreds and hundreds of papists" who cursed and wounded him severely and smashed his portable pulpit. On various occasions, a woman assaulted Whitefield with "scissors and a pistol, and her teeth". "Stones and dead cats" were thrown at him. A man almost killed him with a brass-headed cane. "Another climbed

13520-422: The ordination of openly gay persons. In 2021, the AME General Conference voted against a motion to allow same-sex marriages in church, but confirmed that "it does not bar LGBTQ individuals from serving as pastors or otherwise leading the denomination." The same AME General Conference voted "to appoint a sexual ethics discernment committee to make recommendations to the denomination about LGBTQ matters." In 2024,

13650-496: The period between the American revolution and the 1850s, black involvement in largely white churches declined in great numbers, with participation becoming almost non-existent by the 1840s–1850s; some scholars argue that this was largely due to racial discrimination within the church. This discrimination came in the form of segregated seating and the forbiddance of African Americans from voting in church matters or holding leadership positions in many white churches. Reverend Richard Allen,

13780-569: The revivalist preacher and the worldly Franklin. True loyalty based on genuine affection, coupled with a high value placed on friendship, helped their association grow stronger over time. Letters exchanged between Franklin and Whitefield can be found at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. These letters document the creation of an orphanage for boys named the Charity School. In 1749, Franklin chose

13910-446: The rule that a minister of the denomination must retire at age 75, with bishops, more specifically, being required to retire upon the general conference nearest their 75th birthday. The AME Church is active regarding issues of social justice and has invested time in reforming the criminal justice system. The AME Church also opposes "elective abortion". On women's issues, the AME has supported gender equality and, in 2000, first elected

14040-440: The suggestion of friends he preached to the miners of Kingswood , outside Bristol, in the open air. Because he was returning to Georgia he invited John Wesley to take over his Bristol congregations and to preach in the open air for the first time at Kingswood and then at Blackheath, London . Whitefield, like many other 18th century Anglican evangelicals such as Augustus Toplady , John Newton , and William Romaine , accepted

14170-445: The town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street. Franklin was an ecumenist and approved of Whitefield's appeal to members of many denominations but unlike Whitefield was not an evangelical. He admired Whitefield as a fellow intellectual, and published several of his tracts, but thought Whitefield's plan to run an orphanage in Georgia would lose money. A lifelong close friendship developed between

14300-573: The two reconciled in later life. Along with Wesley, Whitefield had been influenced by the Moravian Church, but in 1753 he condemned them and attacked their leader, Count Nicolaus Zinzendorf , and their practices. When Joseph Trapp criticized Whitefield's Journals , Whitefield retorted that Trapp was "no Christian but a servant of Satan". English, Scottish, and American clergy attacked Whitefield, often in response to his attacks on them and Anglicanism. Early in his career, Whitefield criticized

14430-409: The war. The Fourth Great Awakening is a debated concept that has not received the acceptance of the first three. Advocates such as economist Robert Fogel say it happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Jesus Movement is cited as evidence of this awakening, and it created a shift in church music styles. Mainline Protestant denominations weakened sharply in both membership and influence while

14560-410: Was Denmark Vesey , who was brought to South Carolina from Bermuda as a slave before purchasing his freedom. Vesey was a founder of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church before his execution after conviction in a show trial resulting from white hysteria over an alleged conspiracy for a slave revolt in 1822. The majority of the population of Bermuda during the first century of settlement

14690-546: Was European, with free and enslaved blacks primarily from the Spanish West Indies and Native Americans, primarily from New England (anyone not entirely of European ancestry was counted as coloured ). As any child of a coloured and a white parent was counted as coloured, the ratio of the white to coloured population shifted during the course of the 18th century (4,850 whites and 3,514 coloured in 1721; but 4,755 whites and 5,425 coloured in 1811). The Church of England

14820-533: Was Lady Townshend. Regarding the changes in Whitefield, someone asked Lady Townshend, "Pray, madam, is it true that Whitefield has recanted ?" She replied, "No, sir, he has only canted ." One meaning of cant is "to affect religious or pietistic phraseology, especially as a matter of fashion or profession; to talk unreally or hypocritically with an affectation of goodness or piety". In the First Great Awakening, rather than listening demurely to preachers, people groaned and roared in enthusiastic emotion. Whitefield

14950-423: Was a "passionate preacher" who often "shed tears". Underlying this was his conviction that genuine religion "engaged the heart, not just the head". In his preaching, Whitefield used rhetorical ploys that were characteristic of theater, an artistic medium largely unknown in colonial America. Harry S. Stout refers to him as a "divine dramatist" and ascribes his success to the theatrical sermons which laid foundations to

15080-513: Was an English Anglican minister and preacher who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement . Born in Gloucester , he matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford in 1732. There, he joined the " Holy Club " and was introduced to John and Charles Wesley , with whom he would work closely in his later ministry. Unlike the Wesleys, he embraced Calvinism . Whitefield

15210-606: Was an excellent orator as well, strong in voice and adept at extemporaneity . His voice was so expressive that people are said to have wept just hearing him allude to "Mesopotamia". His journals, originally intended only for private circulation, were first published by Thomas Cooper. James Hutton then published a version with Whitefield's approval. His exuberant and "too apostolical" language were criticised; his journals were no longer published after 1741. African Methodist Episcopal Church Christianity • Protestantism The African Methodist Episcopal Church , usually called

15340-466: Was educated at The Crypt School in Gloucester and at Pembroke College, Oxford . Because business at the inn had diminished, Whitefield did not have the means to pay for his tuition. He therefore came up to the University of Oxford as a servitor , the lowest rank of undergraduates. Granted free tuition, he acted as a servant to fellows and fellow-commoners; duties including teaching them in

15470-653: Was incarcerated in December, 1800, for six months for preaching to slaves. The law and attitudes changed during the course of the following century, but any church organised by blacks and organising blacks would not be welcomed by the white dominated Government. Stephenson was followed in 1808 by the Reverend Joshua Marsden . There were 136 members of the Society when Marsden left Bermuda in 1812. Susette Harriet Lloyd travelled to Bermuda in company with

15600-692: Was ordained after receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree. He immediately began preaching, but he did not settle as the minister of any Church of England parish ; rather, he became an itinerant preacher and evangelist . In 1740, Whitefield traveled to British North America where he preached a series of Christian revivals that became part of the First Great Awakening . His methods were controversial, and he engaged in numerous debates and disputes with other clergymen. Whitefield received widespread recognition during his ministry; he preached at least 18,000 times to perhaps ten million listeners in

15730-449: Was ordained priest, Whitefield wrote that "the spirit of the clergy began to be much embittered" and that "churches were gradually denied me". In response to Whitefield's Journals , the bishop of London, Edmund Gibson , published a 1739 pastoral letter criticizing Whitefield. Whitefield responded by labelling Anglican clergy as "lazy, non-spiritual, and pleasure seeking". He rejected ecclesiastical authority claiming that 'the whole world

15860-663: Was settled in 1609 by the Virginia Company and retained close links with Virginia and the Carolinas (with Charleston settled from Bermuda in 1670 under William Sayle ) for the next two centuries, with Bermudians playing both sides during the American War of Independence, being the point from which the blockade of southern Atlantic ports was maintained and the Chesapeake Campaign was launched during

15990-464: Was so critically important that he felt compelled to use all earthly means to get the word out." Thanks to widespread dissemination of print media, perhaps half of all colonists eventually heard about, read about, or read something written by Whitefield. He employed print systematically, sending advance men to put up broadsides and distribute handbills announcing his sermons. He also arranged to have his sermons published. Much of Whitefield's publicity

16120-466: Was still lost despite all his attempts to gain the favor of God by means of good works. Only by God's grace can a person realize they have offended God and their need for Jesus Christ, God's Son, and His righteousness imputed to them by faith. Henry Scougal's book showed him the need for a man to be born of God from above, and that this is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit creating a new heart and

16250-413: Was taught. Many of Selina's chapels were built in the English and Welsh counties, and one, Spa Fields Chapel , was erected in London. Whitefield's endeavour to build an orphanage in Georgia was central to his preaching. The Bethesda Orphanage and his preaching comprised the "two-fold task" that occupied the rest of his life. On 25 March 1740, construction began. Whitefield wanted the orphanage to be

16380-504: Was the established church , and was the only church originally permitted to operate in Bermuda. Presbyterians were permitted to have a separate church and to conduct their own services during the 18th century. The Wesleyan Methodists sought to include enslaved blacks and a law was passed by the Parliament of Bermuda in 1800 barring any but Church of England and Presbyterian ministers from preaching. The Methodist Reverend John Stephenson

16510-411: Was the fifth son (seventh and last child) of Thomas Whitefield and Elizabeth Edwards, who kept an inn at Gloucester. His father died when he was only two years old, and he helped his mother with the inn. At an early age, he found that he had a passion and talent for acting in the theatre, a passion that he would carry on with the very theatrical re-enactments of Bible stories he told during his sermons. He

16640-567: Was the first African-American denomination organized and incorporated in the United States. The church was born in protest against racial discrimination and slavery. This was in keeping with the Methodist Church's philosophy, whose founder John Wesley had once called the slave-trade "that execrable sum of all villainies." In the 19th century, the AME Church of Ohio collaborated with the Methodist Episcopal Church,

16770-456: Was the work of William Seward, a wealthy layman who accompanied Whitefield. Seward acted as Whitefield's "fund-raiser, business co-ordinator, and publicist". He furnished newspapers and booksellers with material, including copies of Whitefield's writings. When Whitefield returned to England in 1742, an estimated crowd of 20–30,000 met him. One such open-air congregation took place on Minchinhampton Common , Gloucestershire. Whitefield preached to

16900-515: Was unique in that it moved beyond the educated elite of New England to those who were less wealthy and less educated. The center of revivalism was the so-called Burned-over district in western New York. Named for its overabundance of hellfire-and-damnation preaching, the region produced dozens of new denominations, communal societies, and reform. Among these dozens of new denominations were free black churches, run independently of existing congregations that were predominantly of white attendance. During

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