A.U.M.P. Church
Encyclopedia
The African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection, usually called "the A.U.M.P. Church," is a Methodist Christian denomination
and the oldest independent black denomination in the U.S. It was chartered by Peter Spencer
(1782–1843) in Wilmington, Delaware
, in 1813 as the "Union Church of Africans." It was usually called the "African Union Church" until a Maryland offshoot of the A.M.E. Church (the "First Colored Methodist Protestant Church") merged into it in 1866, when the denomination added that church's name to its own. A schism in the 1860s caused some of the congregations to form the "Union American Methodist Episcopal Church" in 1865. The two denominations are now referred to collectively as the "Spencer Churches
" (or, less often, the "Union Churches").
Although it was a Methodist Protestant church in its earlier years, by the 1880s the A.U.M.P. Church was considering adopting an episcopal structure, and in 1922 it consecrated its first bishop, Daniel Russell, Jr. But it was not until 1967 that the Church actually made the switch to the episcopal structure and consecrated its two leaders as bishops.
The A.U.M.P. Church currently has a total of about 40 congregations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
and the oldest independent black denomination in the U.S. It was chartered by Peter Spencer
Peter Spencer
Peter Spencer was born under slavery in Kent County, Maryland, in 1782 and grew up to be the founder of the first independent black Christian Church the United States, the A.U.M.P. Church in Wilmington,Delaware,which was a great success.The A.U.M.P. Church is still in existence....
(1782–1843) in Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, in 1813 as the "Union Church of Africans." It was usually called the "African Union Church" until a Maryland offshoot of the A.M.E. Church (the "First Colored Methodist Protestant Church") merged into it in 1866, when the denomination added that church's name to its own. A schism in the 1860s caused some of the congregations to form the "Union American Methodist Episcopal Church" in 1865. The two denominations are now referred to collectively as the "Spencer Churches
Spencer Churches
The Spencer Churches are the two religious denominations that resulted from a schism in the "Union Church of Africans" , the first independent black denomination, founded by Peter Spencer in Delaware in 1813.The two denominations created by the schism are the African Union Methodist Protestant...
" (or, less often, the "Union Churches").
Although it was a Methodist Protestant church in its earlier years, by the 1880s the A.U.M.P. Church was considering adopting an episcopal structure, and in 1922 it consecrated its first bishop, Daniel Russell, Jr. But it was not until 1967 that the Church actually made the switch to the episcopal structure and consecrated its two leaders as bishops.
The A.U.M.P. Church currently has a total of about 40 congregations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.
Notable churches
- St. John's Church (Ruxton, Maryland), listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1982 - St. John's African Union Methodist Protestant ChurchOlivet ChapelOlivet Chapel, since 1965 known as the A.U.M.P. affiliated St. John's African Union Methodist Protestant Church, is a historic Presbyterian African American mission chapel located at Goshen in Orange County, New York. It was built about 1910 and is a load-bearing masonry building with a bluestone...
, Goshen, New YorkGoshen (village), New YorkGoshen is a village in and the county seat of Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,676 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 - Saint Paul African Union Methodist ChurchSaint Paul African Union Methodist ChurchSaint Paul African Union Methodist Church is an historic structure located in the Navy Yard section of Washington, D.C., United States. It is the only congregation in the District of Columbia of the oldest incorporated, independent African- American denomination in the country...
, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011