Radnor Township is hosting a wreath-laying ceremony Friday, Feb. 14, for AME Church founder Bishop Richard Allen, reports The Keystone.
The ceremony, at Bishop Richard Allen Park, 227 Brook Street in Bryn Mawr, celebrates Allen’s 265th birthday as it recognizes his religious and civil rights legacy.
Bishop Richard Allen established the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1816 and was elected its first Bishop. It was the first independent Black denomination in the United States.
He also advocated for abolition and equal rights during a critical time in American history.
In 1784, Allen, a 24-year-old itinerant preacher, walked west from New Jersey and ended up in Radnor Township, according to the Radnor Historical Society.
He was welcomed into the home of Caesar Waters and his wife Phebe, staying for several weeks.
“I found him and his wife very kind and affectionate to me… Never was I more kindly received by strangers that I had never before seen, than by them.”
Allen preached to the mixed-race congregation at the Radnor United Methodist Church.
He returned to Radnor in 1785 and stayed with George Gyger, founder of the Radnor Methodist Episcopal Church.
Find out more about the ceremony in The Keystone.
Learn more about Bishop Allen’s time in Radnor at the Radnor Historical Society.
