African Methodist Episcopal Church Celebrates 200th Anniversary With Bronze Statue Of Founder
SOCIETY HILL (CBS) -- Mother Bethel AME Church in Society Hill was abuzz Sunday as the African Methodist Episcopal faith celebrates a major milestone with the unveiling of a statue of its founder.
The morning began with a celebratory church service at Mother Bethel marking the 200th anniversary of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The milestone also marked the end of a 70 year journey to memorialize church founder Richard Allen.
The statue is six feet tall and made of bronze. It sits atop a granite pedestal with Allen holding a bible next to an anvil at the corner of 6th and Lombard Streets, the place where it all began.
Thousands of AME Pilgrims from all over the world-- like Mable King a fifth Generation AME flocked to Philadelphia for this year's conference and bicentennial celebration.
"It's a beautiful thing to live to see," King said.
The unveiling of the Richard Allen Statute is just part of the celebration, which includes the unveiling of a Richard Allen Mural at First District Plaza on Monday.
