[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 3, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ABSALOM JONES DAY CELEBRATION BENEFITS BLACK EPISCOPAL SCHOLARSHIP AND 
                            ENDOWMENT FUNDS

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 3, 1999

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to join me in a tribute to 
the legacy and spirit of Absolom Jones, an 18th century slave and join 
the 1999 Absalom Jones Day Celebration presented by the Washington 
Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians. ``Standing Firm in Faith: 
Accepting the Challenge'' is the theme of the celebration.
  Mr. Speaker, Absalom Jones, a house slave, was born in 1746 in 
Delaware. He taught himself to read from the New Testament and other 
books. At the age of sixteen, he was sold to a store owner in 
Philadelphia where he attended a night school for Blacks that was 
operated by the Quakers. At the age of twenty, he married another slave 
and purchased her freedom with his earnings. Abaslom Jones bought his 
own freedom in 1784.
  At St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church, he served as lay minister 
for its Black membership. Jones's active evangelism, and that of his 
friend Richard Allen, greatly increased Black membership at St. 
George's. The alarmed vestry decided to segregate Blacks into an 
upstairs gallery without notifying them. During a Sunday service when 
ushers attempted to remove them, the Black parishioners walked out in a 
body.
  In 1787, Black Christians organized the Free African Society, the 
first African-American society Absalom Jones and Richard Allen were 
elected overseers. Members of the Society paid monthly dues for the 
benefit of those in need, and established communication with similar 
Black groups in other cities. In 1792, the Society began to build a 
church which was dedicated on July 17, 1794.
  The African Church applied for membership in the Episcopal Diocese of 
Pennsylvania with the following conditions: 1. That they be received as 
an organized body; 2. That they have control over their local affairs; 
and 3. That Absolom Jones be licensed as a layreader and, if qualified, 
be ordained as minister. In October 1794, it was admitted as St. Thomas 
African Episcopal Church. Absalom Jones was ordained as a deacon in 
1795 and as a priest on September 21, 1802. The Reverend Absalom Jones 
was the first Black priest in the Episcopal Church.
  Reverend Jones was an earnest preacher who denounced slavery. His 
constant visiting and mild manner made him beloved by his own flock and 
by the community. St. Thomas Church grew to more than 500 members 
during its first year. Known as the ``Black Bishop of the Episcopal 
Church'', Reverend Jones was an example of persistent faith in God and 
in the Church as God's instrument.
  Mr. Speaker, the Washington Chapter of the Union of Black 
Episcopalians uses its Absalom Jones Day Celebration in two significant 
ways. First, the proceeds which are generated will be used for the 
benefit of the Black Episcopal College scholarship and endowment funds. 
Scholarship recipients include Saint Augustine's College which was 
founded in 1867 and is affiliated with the Protestant Episcopal Church. 
The college is committed to teaching the importance of achievement, 
leadership and community service. Saint Paul's College was founded in 
1888 as Saint Paul's Normal and Industrial School, and became Saint 
Paul's Polytechnic Institute in 1941. It received authority to offer a 
four-year degree program in 1941, and the name was changed to St. 
Paul's College in 1957. Its liberal arts, career-oriented, and teacher 
education programs prepare graduates for effective participation in 
various aspects of human endeavor. Voorhees College stands as testimony 
to the faith and determination of its founder, Elizabeth Evelyn Wright. 
A former student of Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee, Miss Wright, at 
23, dreamed the seemingly impossible dream of starting a school for 
Black youth in Denmark, South Carolina. From its founding in 1897 as 
Denmark Industrial School, Voorhees has evolved into a leading four-
year, liberal arts college--the first historically Black institution in 
the state of South Carolina to achieve full accreditation by the 
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Secondly, the celebration 
will include recognition of a person whose life and work in the church 
and community exemplifies the legacy and spirit of the Reverend Absalom 
Jones. Mr. Speaker, I ask this body to join this tribute to the legacy 
and spirit of Absalom Jones and salute the honoree of the evening.

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