Religion Class Assignment

I graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School and for my religion class, I did a report on the African Methodist Episcopal Church. I used an encyclopedia for my source of information (we weren't online back then)! I knew that the church arose because freed blacks attending St. George Methodist Church in Philadelphia did not want to be relegated to discrimination as they worshipped. The church that they founded is affectionately called "Mother Bethel" and I took the time many years later to visit this historic and holy place. Richard Allen, a freedman, was the principal organizer of the AME denomination, whose tenets were based upon the Methodists. Richard Allen built the 1 of the 4 churches on property that he owned in July 29, 1794, with the assistance some of his contemporaries, Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Benjamin Rush. The bottom floor of the present church is a museum and it was quite awe inspiring. I examined the bishops of the AME church and immediately realized that I had heard some of their names before. It was easy to recognize Vashti McKenzie, the first female bishop ordained in 2004. However, names like Morris Brown and Daniel Payne rang a bell because they are also the names of HBCUs.
There is a crypt in the museum and it contains the remains of Allen, his wife Sarah and Morris Brown and their presence was palpable as they seemed to say, "Remember, humble yourself and do good works! I finally completed that religion assignment from so long ago! I have a video that I would like to share with Denzel Washington greeting the AME Church. I hope that you enjoy this snippet