February 5, 2025

Wednesday Word . . . Black History Month:  Absalom Jones

Absalom Jones was born a house slave in 1746 in Delaware.  As a child he taught himself to read using the New Testament and other books.  When he was sixteen he was sold to a store owner in Philadelphia where he attended a night school for Blacks operated by the Quakers.  He married another slave when he was twenty and purchased her freedom with his earnings.  He was eventually able to purchase his own freedom in 1784.

He attended St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church where he served as a lay minister for its Black membership.  He was an active evangelist and helped to increase Black membership at the church.  This increase, however, scared the parish vestry, and they moved to segregate their Black members into the upstairs gallery.  When the ushers tried to remove them, they all walked out, never to return.

In 1787, Black Christians organized the first-ever Free African Society, with Absalom Jones and his friend Richard Allen elected as overseers.  The Society connected with similar groups in other cities, collected dues to benefit those in need, and built St. Thomas African Episcopal Church, which was dedicated on July 17, 1794.

Parishioners of St. Thomas applied for membership in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania with the following conditions: 1) they be received as an organized body; 2) they have control over local affairs; and, 3) that Absalom Jones be licensed as a lay reader and ordained, if qualified, to the ministry.  The church was admitted to the diocese in October of 1794, and Bishop William White, the second bishop in the Episcopal Church, ordained Absalom Jones to the diaconate in 1795 and as a priest on September 21, 1802.

During his time there, he denounced slavery and preached that God was always on the side of the oppressed and distressed.  The church gained 500 members in its first year.

His Feast Day on the Church Calendar is February 13.

Open our eyes, O Lord, to the injustices committed on our behalf.  Awaken us to the unpleasant truths that a whitewashed history tries to cover up.  Free us from the bonds of prejudice and fear.  Allow us to see the value and contributions of those who are different.  And gives us the strength to work for justice, freedom, and peace, while respecting the dignity of every human being.