Historic Saint James A M E Church

HSJC News Corner

The Rongen/HSJ Music Academy meets on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

BIG MAK Reading hours need to be turned in weekly to the secretary starting in August.

The Weed & Seed Computer Lab was implemented this year. They meet at the church on Thursdays from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

The Young People's Department is busy selling Worlds Finest Chocolate Bars for $1.00. They will meet on Saturdays before the Third Sunday at 11:00 AM.

Breakfast served every Sunday from 8:15-9:15. The fee is $3.00 for adults and $1.50 for children.

Our church on the corner of 9th and Cypress was built in 1913 by a local black man named Brother Prince Spears. It is a red brick English Gothic Revival building with four matching stained glass windows. It was declared historic in 1992.

Pastor's Appreciation on July 30, 2006. The Theme is Four Years of Inspirational Leadership. The scripture comes from Matthew 28: 19-20: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." The colors are fuchsia and white.

*If you have recently moved or had a phone number change, please contact the church office or email us.*

Please continue to remember our pastor's motto for the church: "We are on a ladder, doing the work for the Lord, and we can not come down."

A Little AME History

In every local church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church shall engage in carrying out the spirit of the original Free African Society, out of which the A.M.E. Church evolved: that is, to seek out and save the lost, and serve the needy through a continuing program of:

(1) preaching the gospel,

(2) feeding the hungry,

(3) clothing the naked,

(4) housing the homeless,

(5) cheering the fallen,

(6) providing jobs for the jobless,

(7) administering to the need of those in prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, caring for the sick, the shut-in, the mentally and socially disturbed, and

(8) encouraging thrift and economic advancement

The Apostle Creed I believe God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, on the third day He arose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit the Church Universal, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the body, Life everlasting.

The African Methodist Episcopal Church Emerges

One morning, at St. George's, while prayer was going on Richard Allen heard considerable scuffling and low-talking. As he raised his head, he saw the trustees pulling Absalom Jones and William White off their knees telling them that they could not kneel there. When the prayer was over, the black people, led by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, withdrew from the Saint George's Church

Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, William Gray and William Wilcher were designated to find a lot to build a church where the worship of God could be carried on without any interference.

A lot was selected on Sixth Street near Lombard, in Philadelphia, and Richard Allen was authorized to negotiate for its purchase. The lot belonged to Mark Wilcox.

This lot, purchased by Richard Allen in 1787, is the oldest parcel of real estate owned continuously by black people in the United States.

Sarah Allen was the first woman missionary of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Jarena Lee was considered to be the first female minister. She became a devout Christian when she was approximately twenty-one and felt as if she wanted to preach seven years later. She asked for a blessing from Richard Allen who was the co-founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He denied her request by stating that the church did not call for women preachers. After a few years, Jarena Lee became more determined on preaching God's word. Bishop Allen eventually granted her permission to hold prayer meetings in her home and to preach the word. Many folks believe that she is the first ordained African Methodist Episcopal Female Minister.

Bishop Sarah Davis made history at the General Conference by being the first bishop to be elected from Texas in 68 years.