Trinity Cathedral
Episcopal Diocese of Arizona
Phoenix, AZ
February 12: The Rev. Rosa Brown will be preaching Absalom Jones
Absalom Jones was born on November 6, 1746, in a house slave in Delaware. He taught himself to read out of the New Testament, among other books. When sixteen, he was sold to a store owner in
Philadelphia. There he attended a night school for blacks, operated by Quakers. At twenty, he married another slave, and purchased her freedom with his earnings.
Jones bought his own freedom in 1784. In 1787, black Christians organized the Free African Society, the first organized Afro-American society, and Absalom Jones and Richard Allen were elected overseers. Members of the Society paid monthly dues for the benefit of those in need.
The African Church applied for membership in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, and in October 1794 it was admitted as St. Thomas African Episcopal Church. Bishop White ordained
Jones as deacon in 1795 and as priest on September 21, 1802. St. Thomas Church, Philadelphia, grew to over 500 members during its first year. Known as “the Black Bishop of the Episcopal Church,” Jones was an example of persistent faith in God and in the church as God’s instrument.
Jones died on February 13th, 1818, in Philadelphia.