History
Saint Philip AME Church began in 1875 on Renfroe St in Reynoldstown, a neighborhood in East Atlanta, under the leadership of Rev. Browning. A second edifice was erected on Oliver St (now known as Kenyon St). In 1922, another building was erected at the corner of Wylie St. & Selma St. This building still stands and is the home to another AME church.
In 1970, Rev. George A. Moore, Sr. became pastor at Saint Philip AME Church. In 1977, a group of trustees, under Pastor Moore's leadership, purchased a building at the corner of Candler Rd. & Memorial Dr. At this location, the church membership grew to over 10,000.
In 1998, also under the leadership of Pastor Moore, a new edifice was erected to accommodate 2,500 worshipers every Sunday at three services at 7:30am, 9:00 am & 11:00am. The former sanctuary at the corner of Candler Rd. & Memorial Dr. is still utilized by the church on various occasions.
In May 2011, after serving as senior pastor at Saint Philip for four decades, Rev. George A. Moore, Sr. was retired by the AME denomination and Rev. William D. Watley, PhD was appointed as the new minister.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the A.M.E. Church or AME, is a predominantly African-American Methodist denomination. It is the first independent Protestant denomination to be founded by black people. It was founded by the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816 from several black Methodist congregations in the mid-Atlantic area that wanted independence from white Methodists. It was among the first denominations in the United States to be founded on racial rather than theological distinctions and has persistently advocated for the civil and human rights of African Americans through social improvement, religious autonomy, and political engagement. Allen, a deacon in Methodist Episcopal Church, was consecrated its first bishop in 1816 by a conference of five churches from Philadelphia to Baltimore. The denomination then expanded west and south, particularly after the Civil War. By 1906, the AME had a membership of about 500,000, more than the combined total of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, making it the largest major African-American Methodist denomination. The AME currently has 20 districts, each with its own bishop: 13 are based in the United States, mostly in the South, while seven are based in Africa. The global membership of the AME is around 2.5 million and it remains one of the largest Methodist denominations in the world.
The Cathedral of Saint Philip, also known as St. Philip's Cathedral or St. Philip's is an Episcopal cathedral in the U.S. State of Georgia, in the City of Atlanta. Located on Peachtree Road in Buckhead (Atlanta) at what is popularly called "Jesus Junction". St. Philip's has become one of the largest Episcopal congregations in the United States, with a membership of approximately 7,000. St. Philip's is named in honor of St. Philip the Evangelist, a deacon in the early Christian Church. The Cathedral of St. Philip is the seat of The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta.
Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates ministers, scholars of religion and other leaders. It is also one of 13 seminaries affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, with jurisdiction over middle and north Georgia. It is in Province IV of the Episcopal Church and its cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Philip, is in Atlanta, as are the diocesan offices.
Arthur James Moore was an American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MECS), the Methodist Church, and the United Methodist Church, elected in 1930.
The Young People's Christian Union (YPCU), organized in 1889, was a Universalist youth group created to develop the spiritual life of young people and advance the work of the Universalist church. Soon after it was founded, the YPCU focused its attention on missionary work. It was instrumental in the founding of new southern churches and the creation of a Post Office Mission for the distribution of religious literature.
The Wesley United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas, United States, was founded in 1865, at the end of the American Civil War. Its original members were Austin-area freedmen, and it remains a predominantly African-American congregation. On March 4, 1865, the Reverend Joseph Welch, Presiding Elder of the Texas District of the Mississippi Mission Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, presided over the meeting at which Wesley was founded. This historical meeting was held in the basement of the old Tenth Street M. E. Church, South in Austin, Texas.
Robert McGrady Blackburn was an American Bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1972.
The Allen Temple AME Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, is the mother church of the Third Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest operating black church in Cincinnati and the largest church of the Third Episcopal District of the AME Church.
The Turner Memorial A.M.E. Church is an African Methodist Episcopal Church located in Hyattsville, Maryland. It is at 7201 16th Pl. Rev. Daryl K. Kearney is pastor. Pieces of the church's history will be preserved at Martin Luther King Jr. memorial Library in Washington D.C.
Religion in Atlanta, while historically centered on Protestant Christianity, now involves many faiths as a result of the city and metro area's increasingly international population. While Protestant Christianity still maintains a strong presence in the city, in recent decades Catholic Christians have gained a strong foothold due to migration patterns. Atlanta also has a considerable number of ethnic Christian congregations, such as Korean Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches, the Tamil Church Atlanta, Telugu Church, Hindi Church, Malayalam Church, Ethiopian, Chinese, and many more traditional ethnic religious groups. Large non-Christian faiths are present in the form of Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism. Overall, there are over 1,000 places of worship within Atlanta.
The Big Bethel AME Church is the oldest African-American congregation in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, and according to AME historical documents, it is the mother church of AME in North Georgia. It is located at 220 Auburn Avenue NE in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood. It is the "first" church on the North Atlanta District, in the Atlanta-North Georgia Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church, more commonly called Old St. Paul's Church today, is a historic Episcopal church located at 233 North Charles Street at the southeast corner with East Saratoga Street, in Baltimore, Maryland, near "Cathedral Hill" on the northern edge of the downtown central business district to the south and the Mount Vernon-Belevedere cultural/historic neighborhood to the north. It was founded in 1692 as the parish church for the "Patapsco Parish", one of the "original 30 parishes" of the old Church of England in colonial Maryland.
Historic First Bryan Baptist Church is an African-American church that was organized in Savannah, Georgia, by Andrew Bryan in 1788. Considered to be the Mother Church of Black Baptist, the site was purchased in 1793 by Bryan, a former slave who had also purchased his freedom. The first structure was erected there in 1794. By 1800 the congregation was large enough to split: those at Bryan Street took the name of First African Baptist Church, and Second and Third African Baptist churches were also established. The current sanctuary of First Bryan Baptist Church was constructed in 1873.
St. Bartholomew's is an Episcopal parish in Atlanta, Georgia, which is notable for its ministries, choral music, and architecture.
Eugene Maxwell Frank was an American Bishop of the Methodist and United Methodist Churches, elected in 1956. He was notable for his passion for racial equality in the Church and beyond. He also distinguished himself as a pastor, as both the youngest Methodist bishop and as the most senior United Methodist bishop, and as the one person more than any other responsible for the establishment of the Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, MO.
Peachtree Presbyterian Church is a megachurch located in Atlanta, Georgia. Peachtree averages about 3200 in weekly worship at two venues on both sides of Roswell Road in the Buckhead region of Atlanta, and is one of the largest Presbyterian congregations in the United States of America.
Bishop Reginald Thomas Jackson is the 132nd elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Jackson is the husband of Christy Davis-Jackson, Esquire and the father of two children, daughter Regina Victoria Jackson and son Seth Joshua Jackson. Jackson received a bachelor's degree in history from Delaware State University and a Masters of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center.
Bethany Baptist Church of South Norfolk, Virginia is a prominent Black church in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Founded in the late 1950s to early 1960s, it has since had a major influence on the local black community and others. It has become one of the largest churches in the Hampton Roads area.
The Greater Hood Memorial AME Zion Church was the first black church in Harlem, New York. It now receives notoriety as the "Oldest Continuing" church in Harlem. The church’s first house of worship was erected on East 117th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in 1843.
