A Bit of History: Absalom Jones and the Episcopal Church

Yesterday, February 13, the church celebrated the life and ministry of the Rev. Absalom Jones. He was born in 1746, enslaved. As a young man, he bought the freedom of his wife Mary, then himself. Toward the end of his life, he became the first African American Episcopal priest.

The Rev. Absalom Jones

Black Episcopal Churches

Absalom Jones and his friend Richard Allen were on fire for the Holy Spirit. They increased the membership at St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia—too much for the white leadership’s taste. The white vestry started segregating the Black members to the balcony.

After the Black worshipers walked out in protest, they founded the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, the first Black Episcopal church.

Stories like this are prevalent in the history of our denomination (see also: Trinity Church on the Green and St. Luke’s in New Haven, Connecticut). As a diocese last year, we asked each church to begin uncovering the stories of their parish’s past: the beautiful and the challenging alike.

Jones' Ordained Ministry

The Rev. Absalom Jones

When the Rev. Jones was ordained a deacon in 1795, Eli Whitney had only just patented the cotton gin, thus increasing the value of enslaved labor. Slaveholders could cross state lines to pursue the enslaved people fleeing them, and it was illegal to help someone fleeing enslavement.

What was it like for him to enter into ordained ministry at that time?

The Rev. Jones built up the body of Christ at his church as a talented preacher and pastor, preaching God’s word of liberation for all oppressed people.

From the Episcopal Church’s book of saint commemorations, Lesser Feasts and Fasts (2018), I offer this prayer this weekend:

Set us free, heavenly Father, from every bond of prejudice and fear; that, honoring the steadfast courage of your servant Absalom Jones, we may show forth in our lives the reconciling love and true freedom of the children of God, which you have given us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

But doth suffer a sea-change...

Today the Church remembers Katarina von Bora: “A Roman Catholic nun who left the convent, made her way to Wittenberg and in time became the wife of Protestant reformer Martin Luther, Katharina von Bora became the quintessential pastor’s wife and ministered in many ways to her tempestuous husband. Although Luther married her more for practical than for romantic reasons, he grew to love her deeply and to depend upon her emotional stability and good common sense.”1

She died on this day in 1552. I wanted to lift her up to you today because of the momentous change that took place in her life as she tried to follow where God was calling her. Going from being a nun to being Martin Luther’s wife is a big change! You could even call it a sea change.

Have you heard this term before, ‘sea change’? It means a significant transformation – think of it like a paradigm shift. For Katarina to understand God’s call on her life to be a married Reformer as opposed to a Roman Catholic nun is quite a paradigm shift!

It was William Shakespeare who coined the phrase ‘sea change’, in his play The Tempest: In referring to someone who had died he pens the following,

“Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change, into something rich and strange”.

My friends, 2020 has been a sea change for all of us. There has been a great paradigm shift, the size of which we have not yet fully realized.

As we look toward 2021, I encourage you to savor every good thing that returns to our corporate life together over time. Gathering in public. Not having to wear a mask everywhere you go. Feeling safe.

Yet, even as you enjoy these gradual improvements in our common life, know that things won’t be the same as they were. Instead we have been forever changed.

But fear not. As long as we follow where Christ beckons us, no change is too great for us to handle. Rather, we will move from strength to strength and grace to grace. With Christ by our side, there is nothing that we as His Body cannot overcome. Amen.

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1 Feldmeth, N. P. (2008). In Pocket Dictionary of Church History: Over 300 Terms Clearly and Concisely Defined (p. 27). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.