July 10, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 115 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE METROPOLITAN AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 10, 2019

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in recognizing the Metropolitan African 
Methodist Episcopal Church for its many contributions to the District 
of Columbia. Metropolitan, also known as the National Cathedral of 
African Methodism, was founded in 1838 and has been a leading spiritual 
and community resource ever since.
  On July 2, 2019, Metropolitan held a well-attended and informative 
community meeting on D.C. statehood. This meeting at the church was an 
act of leadership in keeping with its long tradition of deep 
involvement not only with its members but also with the District.
  Metropolitan began as two separate churches, Israel Bethel AME and 
Union Bethel AME. In 1838, these two churches came together. The 
combined churches received an official sanction from the Baltimore 
Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church on July 6, 1838.
  The church retained the name Union Bethel until 1870 when the 
Baltimore Conference designated a new church name and the construction 
of a new ``Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church.'' Along 
with the new designation, the Baltimore Conference attached two key 
conditions--the first was that the church needed to be located near the 
Capitol and White House, and the second was that each Annual Conference 
of AME churches was called upon to donate money for the construction of 
the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. To represent the 
gratitude of the congregation, the church was built with stained glass 
windows for each contributing Annual Conference.
  The church has done pathbreaking work over the years, from hiding 
enslaved Africans in the 19th century, to educating community members 
about AIDS and voting rights. Metropolitan is not only a leading place 
of worship but also a community resource, promoting intellectual and 
political achievement through the Bethel Literary and Historical 
Society since 1850. Metropolitan has opened its doors to many prominent 
visitors such as Barack Obama, Fredrick Douglass and Eleanor Roosevelt.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church for its 180-year 
history of contributions to its members and to the District of Columbia 
for its leadership and for encouraging discussion of the Washington, 
D.C. Admission Act, which would make D.C. the 51st state.

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