Richard Allen was born the slave of a Quaker named Benjamin Chew on February 14, 1760 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Chew was the Chief Justice of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1774-1177. Allen, his parents and three other children were sold to a Mr. Stokeley wo resided near Dover, Delaware. Allen later recalled that Stokeley was a very tender and humane man who was more like a father to his slaves than a master. As Richard and his brother grew older, they were permitted to attend meetings of the Methodist Society. In 1777, when Richard was 17 years old, he was converted to Methodism after hearing a freeman by the name of Garrettson preach. He then offically joined the Methodist Society.

In 1783, after saving up 2,000 'Continental' dollars, the currancy of the budding American nation, Richard Allen purchased his own freedom and began traveling. He later returned to Philadelphia and joined the white congregation at St. Georges's Methodist Episcopal Church. He was licensed to preach in 1784 and was permitted to hold services at 5am in the morning. In 1801 he and Sarah Bass were joined in holy matrimony by Rev. Ezekiel Cooper. They had six children, four boys and two girls. Described as a woman of noble character, the register book at St. Goerge's noted that she "gave all the assistance she could to several families. for which she did not recieve anything; and when anything was offered, she left it to the option of thsoe she served. Indeed, Sarah Allen was the first missionary of the AME Church.

Richard Allen was known as a man of "sublime courage and indestructible and passionate faith." After Negro worshipers were chastized for praying in the 'white' section of Philadelphia's St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church in 1787, he and others politely withdrew from the congregation and planted the seeds of the flower that later blossomed into the African Methodist Church, overwhich he was elected the first bishop in 1816. Not one to be 'mastered by disappointing and ugly experiences' Bishop Allen adopted a positive frame of mind toward life. Despite the injustice he and his people encountered at the hands of the parishioners of St. George's, Allen did not loose faith or control. He simply and calmly decided on the best path for him and his people and that was to establish a seperate and new church, one administered by people of African descent. As if to bear witness to his determination to promote brotherhood among all peoples, Bishop Allen decreed that the motto of the AME faith would be, "God as our Father, Christ as our Redemmer, and Man as our Brother."

It is a tesimony to the greatness of the man that was Richard Allen to note that even today the AME Church has never departed from the spiritual course first chartered by our founder. The Church has through the ages remained faithful to its motto by providing leaders to help our people do battle with our enemies during the struggle for human dignity and civil liberty. AME Indeed, AME churches served as safe-havens during moments of crisis when we as a people stepped up to demand or rights as Christians as well as Americans. One need only read the actual words of Bishop Allen to comprehend how sersiously the Church considers it's role as a champion of the dignity of its members. In his "Address to the People of Colour" the Bishop proclaimed "I entreat you to consider the obligations we lie under to help forward the cause of freedom. We who know how bitter the cup is of which the slave hath to drink, oh, how we ought to feel for those who yet remain in bondage!"

Bishop Richard Allen remained active in the AME Church until his passing on March 26, 1831. Sarah Allen, known reverently as the "Mother of African Methodism", survived the Bishop by 18-years, dying at the age of 85 in the year 1849. Like her august husband, her name will forever be a associated with and endeared by the AME Church as a whole. Today, as we ponder on the significance of the lives of Richard and Sarah Allen we must ask ourselves what lessons we have learned by their example. Bishop Allen showed what blessings God can bestow on a great people by following that simple adage and 'turn the other cheek,'while Mother Allen personified the spirit that continues to embody the charitable deeds of the AME Missionary Society which she herself organized. The African Methodist Episcopal Church is certainly a great and wondrous institution. No doubt, that greatness has everything to do with the Allen legacy, the dedication and devotion of those who followed, and above all, the Church's unshakable faith in its time-tested spiritual doctrine, "God the Father, Christ the Redemmer, and Man our Brother."