Union American Methodist Episcopal Church

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Stapleton, Staten Island

The Union American Methodist Episcopal Church, which is usually called the U.A.M.E. Church, was formally organized as a separate denomination in 1865 by some congregations of the African Union Church founded by Peter Spencer in 1813.

Religious denomination identifiable religious subgroup with a common structure and doctrine

A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.

The Spencer Churches are two African-American religious denominations in the United States that resulted from an 1860s schism in the Union Church of Africans. This independent black denomination was founded by Peter Spencer, a freed slave, in Wilmington, Delaware in 1813.

Peter Spencer (religious leader) he wanted to be a Muslim

Peter Spencer (1782–1843) was an American freedman who in 1813 founded the Union Church of Africans in Wilmington, Delaware. The denomination is now known as the African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection, or A.U.M.P. Church for short. Born into slavery in 1782 in Kent County, Maryland, Spencer was freed after his master died, by the terms of his will.

In May 2012, The Union American Methodist Episcopal Church entered into full communion with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, African Union Methodist Protestant Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and the United Methodist Church, in which these Churches agreed to "recognize each other’s churches, share sacraments, and affirm their clergy and ministries." [1]

Full communion is a communion or relationship of full understanding among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but typically when two or more denominations are in full communion it enables services and celebrations, such as the Eucharist, to be shared among congregants or clergy of any of them with the full approval of each.

African Methodist Episcopal Church African American denomination

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.

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church predominantly African American religious organization

The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, or the AME Zion Church or AMEZ, is a historically African-American Christian denomination based in the United States. It was officially formed in 1821 in New York City, but operated for a number of years before then.

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Churches Uniting in Christ ecumenical organization of mainline U.S. Christian denominations, founded in 2002

Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC) is an ecumenical organization that brings together mainline American denominations, and was inaugurated on January 20, 2002 in Memphis, Tennessee on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. It is the successor organization to the Consultation on Church Union.

Episcopal polity Hierarchical form of church governance

An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. It is the structure used by many of the major Christian Churches and denominations, such as the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Anglican, and Lutheran churches or denominations, and other churches founded independently from these lineages.

Methodism Group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity

Methodism, also known as the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity which derive their practice and belief from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. It originated as a revival movement within the 18th-century Church of England and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, today claiming approximately 80 million adherents worldwide.

The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a mainline Protestant denomination and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical, holiness, and evangelical elements.

The African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection, usually called "the A.U.M.P. Church," is a Methodist denomination. It was chartered by Peter Spencer (1782–1843) in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1813 as the "Union Church of Africans," where it became known as the "African Union Church".

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

The Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.) Church is a historically black denomination within the broader context of Methodism. It is also occasionally considered to be a mainline denomination. The group was organized on December 16, 1870 in Jackson, Tennessee, when several black ministers, with the full support of their white sponsors in the former Methodist Episcopal Church, South, met to form an organization that would allow them to establish and maintain their own polity. They ordained their own bishops and ministers without their being officially endorsed or appointed by the white-dominated body. They called this fellowship the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America, which it remained until their successors adopted the current name in the 1950s.

Consultation on Church Union organization

The Consultation on Church Union (COCU) was an effort towards church unity in the United States, that began in 1962 and in 2002 became the Churches Uniting in Christ. It was a significant part of the Christian movement towards Ecumenism. This effort can be seen in the context of the worldwide ecumenical attitude that was manifested in the 1948 formation of the World Council of Churches, the 1950 formation of the National Council of Churches, the 1957 formation of the United Church of Christ, and the formation of the Roman Catholic Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity during the Second Vatican Council. The original task of COCU was to negotiate a consensus between its member denominations.

Church of South India union of Anglican and Protestant churches in South India

The Church of South India (CSI) is the second largest Christian church in India based on the number of members and is result of union of Anglican and number of Protestant churches in South India. The Church of South India is the successor of a number of Anglican and Protestant denominations in India, including the Church of England, the British Methodist Church and the Church of Scotland after Indian Independence. It combined the South India United Church ; the then 14 Anglican Dioceses of South India and one in Sri Lanka; and the South Indian District of the Methodist church. With a membership of nearly four million, CSI is one of four united churches in the Anglican Communion, the others being the Church of North India, the Church of Pakistan and the Church of Bangladesh.

A missionary bishop is one assigned in the Anglican Communion to an area that is not already organized under a bishop of a church. The term was also used in the Methodist churches at one time, but this was discontinued in 1964.

James Varick American methodist bishop

James Varick was the first Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

The ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) clergy who are open about their sexuality, are sexually active if lesbian, gay, or bisexual, or are in committed same-sex relationships is a debated practice within some contemporary Christian Church communities.

Episcopal Church may refer to various churches in the Anglican, Methodist, and Open Episcopal traditions.

Jordan Winston Early American slave

The Reverend Jordan Winston Early was an American Methodist african american preacher, considered to have been one of the pioneers of African Methodism in the West and South of the United States. In 1868, he married Sarah Jane Woodson Early, and the couple were prominent in spreading Methodism and black nationalism, and his wife taught wherever he preached.

Charles Spencer Smith American politician

Charles Spencer Smith (1852–1923) was a Methodist minister and afterwards bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Born and raised in Canada, Smith moved to the United States at age fourteen and after a series of jobs and two years in the Alabama Legislature, he became an ordained minister, pastoring in several southern states before being assigned to the Chicago Conference of the AME Church. Exposed to the work of the Sunday School Union there, he proposed that a similar organization be established for the AME Church. He founded the organization and the first publishing house in the country owned by a person of African descent using steam presses. After his appointment as Bishop, Smith traveled widely and was assigned conferences in Canada, the Caribbean, Africa, and several in the United States. Upon retiring from conference work, he became the historian of the AME Church and wrote at least two books.

References

  1. ↑ Banks, Adelle M. (7 May 2012). "Methodists Reach Across Historic Racial Boundaries with Communion Pact". Christianity Today. Retrieved 11 November 2012. (access url updated 16 June 2016)


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