[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 64 (Wednesday, May 5, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     JOHN WESLEY A.M.E. ZION CHURCH ``THE NATIONAL CHURCH OF ZION 
                METHODISM'' CELEBRATES 150TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                        of district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 5, 1999

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me 
in saluting the John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church, ``The National Church 
of Zion Methodism,'' on the occasion of their 150th Anniversary.
  Mr. Speaker, the John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church was established in 
the nation's capital during a period when free black Americans began 
and expanded a major effort for self-expression, self-esteem, and 
freedom. Free blacks established their own churches after they became 
dissatisfied with their treatment in white-controlled churches, 
treatment which included their segregation in religious services and 
disqualification from holding church offices and preaching. Founders of 
John Wesley experienced this treatment, and were led to leave churches 
that were discriminating against them.
  Led by John Brent and John Ingham, a group called the ``Little 
Society of Nine'' withdrew from Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church which 
was under the ministry of white leaders. They met in the home of John 
Brent at 1800 L Street, NW and formulated plans, which culminated in 
the Organization of John Wesley Church in 1849. At that time, John 
Wesley was a dependent church which selected its own locations and 
ministers. One member of the group, Martha Pennington, organized a 
``Woman's Aid Society,'' and raised $300.00--the greater part of the 
down payment of $349.00 required to purchase the church site at 1120 
Connecticut Avenue NW. It took two years to build the church. The 
congregation, led by Rev. Abraham Cole, the first minister, moved into 
the new church in 1851. In that same year, the Board of Trustees and 
the Board of Stewards were created. The church established a 
relationship with the A.M.E. Zion Church, and was legally confirmed in 
1904.
  Mr. Speaker, founders and early members of John Wesley, like those of 
many other black churches, were attracted by the doctrine of Methodism. 
This doctrine, expressed strongly in the sermons of John Wesley and in 
the hymns of his brother, Charles, proclaimed that no one was too poor, 
too humble, or too degraded to share in the privilege of divine grace, 
have a personal intimacy with God, and have assurance of eternal life. 
Pioneering black Methodists in New York City, led by James Varick, 
paved the way for the creation of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion 
Church. From the founders of this church, the organizers and leaders of 
John Wesley Church in Washington, D.C. were destined to draw their 
inspiration and guidance. Since 1851, the leadership of the church has 
been vested in forty ministers.
  Mr. Speaker, from 1855 to 1866, John Wesley Church was an important 
community facility for black education during a time when public 
schools in Washington were not available to blacks. The church, with 
the support of philanthropic groups, provided substantial elementary 
education under instruction from black and white teachers.
  The early growth of the church was stimulated by a remarkable group 
of able ministers. Five of them had been elected bishops of the A.M.E. 
Zion Church by 1904. Very substantial growth was indicated as early as 
1884, when the church expanded its edifice by adding a second story. 
The architectural expansion was made under the supervision of Calvin 
Brent, the son of founding member John Brent who was one of 
Washington's first black architects.
  For a dozen years before its move to its present location in 1914, 
John Wesley Church was located at 1121 18th Street, NW. The relocation 
to 14th Street provided a beautiful, large edifice that many persons 
felt was an appropriate place to have a national church of Zion 
Methodism, just as other denominations had a national church in the 
nation's capital. At the General Conference of the A.M.E. Zion Church, 
held at John Wesley in 1940, John Wesley was officially designated the 
National Church of Zion Methodism.
  During the twentieth century, the history of John Wesley Church has 
been characterized by increasing concern for the social welfare and the 
general quality of life of its members. The church has shown this 
concern while maintaining a strong interest in the spiritual well-being 
of its members and others. The ministerial and lay leadership of the 
church has been in the vanguard of the civil rights movement and the 
general effort to make Washington and the nation a better place in 
which to live. Two former pastors, The Right Reverend Stephen Gills 
Spottswood and Dr. E. Franklin Jackson, national civil rights leaders, 
were instrumental in the desegregation of public accommodations in 
Washington, D.C. The church has held sustained leadership roles in the 
NAACP, assisted in the coordination of the 1963 March on Washington, 
hosted President Bush in 1989, and will be hosting the cultural program 
for the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Conference 
later this year. John Wesley Church is a member of the Interfaith 
Council and Downtown Cluster of Churches. Outreach programs at John 
Wesley include workshops on domestic violence, care for the senior 
citizens, feeding the homeless, and awarding scholarships to high 
school seniors and college students.
  Mr. Speaker, I salute the pastor, The Reverend Vernon A. Shannon, the 
officers and members of the John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church, ``The 
National Church of Zion Methodism''--a Washington monument beyond the 
monuments.

                          ____________________