Postage stamp honors founder of AME Church

[Tanuki]

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2016/1/12/new_postage_stamp_ho.html



http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160203_Richard_Allen_s_church_celebrates_his_postage_stamp.html

"An overflow crowd packed the sanctuary and the balconies of Mother Bethel AME Church and the first floor of its Fellowship Hall Tuesday for a ceremony celebrating the new stamp in honor of Richard Allen, founder of the historic house of worship.

The stamp's release coincides with the 200th anniversary of the 1816 conference of African American Methodist ministers called by Allen to form a new independent African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Allen was born into slavery on Feb. 14, 1760 on an estate owned by Philadelphian Benjamin Chew.

As a young man, Allen and one of his brothers worked to buy their freedom after their family had been sold to a plantation owner in Delaware.

Allen became a licensed minister and was asked to preach to black worshipers at St. George Methodist Church in Old City.

Allen and his friend the Rev. Absalom Jones founded Mother Bethel after leading a walkout from St. George's when the church began to restrict black congregations to a rear balcony.
........

After opening remarks from the Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler, Mother Bethel's pastor, civil rights leader Vernon Jordan took to the podium as master of ceremonies.
......
After Joshua D. Colin, a vice president for the Postal Service's Eastern Area, recounted the story of Allen's life, he unveiled a huge portrait of the Allen Stamp, which was greeted by a gentle roar of approval came from the crowd followed by a standing ovation.

The Postal Service choir then led the packed church in Kool and the Gang's secular song "Celebration!"



Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160203_Richard_Allen_s_church_celebrates_his_postage_stamp.html#aVkq0Hy5yBOpSs1A.99

[randys1]

1. THanks for this, a close friend of mine is very closely connected to AME and I will

show her this, she probably already knows

[Tanuki]

2. More information about the life of Richard Allen

...."The Underground Railroad

Richard Allen preached abolition. One weapon he used in fighting slavery was pamphlets. In a pamphlet addressed to slave-owners, Allen claimed bondage was anti-American and anti-Bible. In another pamphlet addressed to blacks he exhorted all freed black men to help their enslaved brethren by being exemplary citizens and offering direct assistance.

As early as 1795, Allen helped 30 recently freed Jamaican slaves who had newly arrived in Philadelphia. It fell upon Allen to take care of them by finding housing and providing food.

As some point, the church's basement was used as a stop on the Underground Railroad (a network of houses creating a link from the south to Canada, where escaped slaves would be allowed to remain free). Aided in great part by his wife Sarah, Allen would hide, feed and clothe escaping slaves. Large sums of money were collected in order to facilitate a slave's flight to freedom. Some current members of the Mother Bethel AME church are descendants of those who were escaped slaves assisted by Mother Bethel."

(much more at links)
http://www.ushistory.org/tour/mother-bethel.htm



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Allen_%28bishop%29

[Number23]

3. Wow. He sounds like a genuine hero

Thanks for this thread.