African Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist, Historically Black Church
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Date Founded: Members separated from the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1787 in Philadelphia. Denomination officially founded in 1816.
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Membership/Number of Clergy/Number of churches: 2,500,000/6,000/4100 as of 2009.
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Headquarters: 500 8th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203
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Website: https://www.ame-church.com/ There are 21 AME districts, and each maintains its own website. Kentucky is part of the 13th district. The list can be found at https://www.ame-church.com/links/.
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Core Beliefs: The AME Church shares basic Methodist beliefs based on The Apostles’ Creed and The Twenty Five Articles of Religion.
Short History:
The church began in 1794 when African American attendees at St. George's MEC in Philadelphia were not allowed to pray with the white members of the church. The denomination was started by the Rev. Richard Allen who had been ordained by Francis Asbury and started Bethel AME. Bethel joined with other African American congregations to officially form the denomination in 1816. The AME Church grew mainly in the Northeast until the aftermath of the Civil War when missionaries to the south brought in large numbers of former slaves. The church is organized into episcopal districts and the Bishops are the Chief Officers of the Connectional Organization. They are elected for life (and retired at age 73) by a majority vote of the General Conference which meets every four years. A list of current and retired bishops of the church.
Local Churches: There are several AME churches in the Louisville area.
Quinn Chapel, 1901 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40203
Asbury Chapel,1801 W. Chestnut Street, Louisville, KY 40203
Bethel AME Church, 201 West Charlestown Avenue, Jeffersonville, IN 47130
