[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17215]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



       TRIBUTE TO ST. ANDREW'S AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 6, 2000

  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to St. Andrew's African 
Methodist Episcopal Church of Sacramento. On October 1, 2000, St. 
Andrew's will be celebrating its 150th anniversary. It is the oldest 
church of its kind on the Pacific Coast. As the Congregation members 
gather to celebrate, I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in 
saluting this monumental achievement.
  St. Andrew's was founded in 1850, three months before California was 
admitted as the 31st state to the Union. It is the first African 
Methodist Episcopal Church and the first African-American religious 
congregation established on the Pacific Coast of the United States.
  In the beginning, a small group of worshipers gathered in Sacramento 
at the home of Daniel Blue. Under the leadership of Barney Fletcher, 
this group would form the church that would later be known as St. 
Andrew's A.M.E. Church. In the fall of 1850, Reverend Isaac Owen, 
pastor of the Seventh Street Methodist Episcopal Church, participated 
in the formal organizing of the church.
  The first trustees, James R. Brown, John Barton, George Fletcher, 
John L. Wilson, and Chesterfield Jackson purchased part of the lot in 
the square between G and H Streets. At this site, the first church was 
erected and named the Methodist Church of Colored People of Sacramento. 
In 1851, the members of the church petitioned the Indiana Conference 
for admission to the African Methodist Episcopal Church and officially 
became the Bethel African Methodist Church. Later in the 19th century, 
the church acquired its current name, St. Andrew's African Methodist 
Episcopal Church.
  St. Andrew's has been a pioneer in organizing an educational and 
religious haven for people of color. In 1854, the first A.M.E. Sunday 
School in the far west was organized. This also became the site of the 
first public school organized for children of African, Asian, and 
Native American descent. In 1855, the church was the site of the first 
statewide convention of the colored citizens of California. This was 
the first organized political activity by people of African descent in 
California aimed at securing citizenship rights.
  During the following years of westward expansion in the United 
States, St. Andrew's became a pivotal point in the far west for African 
Methodism, and it hosted numerous political, secular, educational, and 
cultural activities for African Americans. The church helped to develop 
educated and trained leaders of the African American community, even 
before the end of slavery.
  Today, St. Andrew's continues to shine as a pillar for the community. 
In 1995, the church was recognized as a California Registered Landmark 
for being the oldest African-American Church on the Pacific Coast. For 
150 years, the church has admirably served the ethnically diverse 
Sacramento community.
  Mr. Speaker, as the exceptional people of St. Andrew's African 
Methodist Episcopal Church gather to celebrate their 150th anniversary, 
I am honored to pay tribute to one of Sacramento's most outstanding 
institutions. Throughout their proud history, the people of St. 
Andrew's have maintained an impressive tradition of service to the 
African-American community and other minority communities in greater 
Sacramento. I ask all my colleagues to join with me in wishing the 
people of St. Andrew's continued success in all their future endeavors.

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