Drawing from Historic St. George’ s United Methodist Church’ s archive. Historic St. George’ s United Methodist Church
Society, a mutual aid organization created by Rev. Jones and Rev. Allen.
Though St. Thomas, now located in the Overbrook Farms neighborhood of Philadelphia, has a congregation of more than 800 members and boasts a legacy just as significant as Mother Bethel’ s, The Rev. Martini Shaw says Mother Bethel has been a lot more effective in promoting its history.
“ Do a lot of people know about Absalom Jones? I don’ t think so,” Shaw said of his church’ s founder.“ We can do a much better job of communicating who we are as a church. But it’ s kind of indicative of who we are as Episcopalians. There’ s an old saying that if you’ re an Episcopalian, you’ re the chosen, frozen few— very stoic, structured, and organized.”
St. Thomas has had a historical society for more than 20 years, but a once robust membership has dwindled to only three people, making it harder to organize archives and artifacts that the church possesses, director Arthur Sudler said. Not only that, but“ it’ s difficult to get young people excited about books and archives,” he said.“ Young people want a different way to engage.”
Sudler pointed to the innovative work of Michiko Quinones and Morgan Lloyd as a possible solution. Quinones and Lloyd’ s interactive website“ The 1838 Black Metropolis” chronicles Black life in antebellum Philadelphia. It’ s full of stories and resources about the people who toiled and triumphed during the early 19th century. It even sponsors walking tours for kids. Of course, the role that Black congregations played is an important part of the narrative.
It is this type of forward thinking that makes history interesting and contemporary. And more congregations are exploring ways to promote the history that is uniquely their own. For example, Gloria
Dei( Old Swedes’) Episcopal Church, constructed by Swedish settlers in 1699, hosts its annual Lucia Fest, a Swedish holiday tradition celebrating St. Lucia, that draws as many as 600 people to the church in Philadelphia’ s Queen Village neighborhood.
“ I love the idea that we have this connection to generations that have gone before, and we are welcoming people into this tradition that dates back centuries,” The Rev. Chris Micklewright, Old Swedes’ rector, said.
Additionally, Tindley Temple United Methodist Church in South Philly is in the process of reimagining how to leverage the music made famous by its founder, The Rev. Charles Albert Tindley.“ I’ ll Overcome Someday,” arguably one of Tindley’ s greatest gospel compositions, is credited as the basis for the world-renowned American civil rights anthem“ We Shall Overcome.”
“ The question is, how do we use our [ musical ] platform to become that‘ beacon on Broad Street’ again?” The Rev. John T. Brice, Tindley’ s pastor, asked.“ We certainly were in 1925, but how do we become that beacon again in 2025?”
To be sure, Philadelphia’ s historic congregations, with their varied origins and traditions, are uniquely qualified to add a fascinating layer of history to the nation’ s semiquincentennial celebrations. But despite the differences among sacred places, the one thread that connects them is its believers, who are rooted in faith— that living, breathing thing that transcends the test of time.
“ We honor church history while at the same time meeting people where they are. How many people can we be kind and generous to?” asked The Rev. Bill Wilson, pastor at St. George’ s.“ You preach the gospel, and the gospel does the rest.”
SACRED PLACES • WINTER 2026 11