Founder of African Methodist Episcopal Church celebrated
RADNOR » About three dozen people spent time last week commemorating the 263rd anniversary of the birth of Bishop Richard Allen at the Radnor park that bears the name of the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
The annual ceremony at Bishop Richard Allen Park, a small park on Brook Street in the Bryn Mawr section of Radnor, has taken place each February for the past several years.
The park also marks the site where Allen stayed when he visited Radnor in 1784 and later wrote about the community in his autobiography
“The Bishop Richard Allen Park honors the memory of Allen’s 1784 walk to Radnor Township as an itinerant preacher, connecting Radnor to the important history of the founding in Philadelphia of the first African American church in the United States,” according to information about the park on Radnor Township’s website.
In his autobiography, Allen wrote about having preached to people of different persuasions when he made his visit to Radnor.
The Rev. Carolyn C. Cavaness, pastor of Bethel AME Church of Ardmore, said a unifying message is sent with people of different backgrounds taking part in the ceremony — black, brown, white — all walking together side-byside with township commissioners and police officers in the mix.
“What stood out about this gathering is that it is what communities should look like: people of all walks of life. To hear him talk about it in 1784 and how his story brings us together, and we should be on the lookout for opportunities for us to spread the goodness,” Cavaness said.
While visiting Radnor, Allen rested at the cabin home of Ceasar and Phebe Waters, a free black couple. Their house was on the site of the park.
In 1784 Allen walked the 12 miles from Philadelphia to the Waters’ home and stayed with them while preaching in the area.
“I found him and his wife very kind and affectionate to me. In the evening they asked me if I would come and take tea with them; but after sitting awhile, my feet became so sore and painful that I could scarcely be able to put them to the floor. I told them that I would accept of their kind invitation, but my feet pained me so that I could not come to the table. They brought the table to me. Never was I more kindly received by strangers that I had never before seen, than by them,” Allen wrote.
Organizers of the annual wreath-laying event marking his Feb. 14 birthday say it is a good time for people to learn more about Allen and the population of African American residents that lived on what would later become the Main Line.
“It gives us the opportunity to share the story of Richard’s walk to Radnor in 1784 when he was greeted by Ceaser and Phebe Waters, whose home was located at what we know as 227 Brook St.,” said Cavaness.