John Gloucester and the First African Presbyterian Church

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
February 7th 2010
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“John Gloucester and the First African Presbyterian Church”
Matthew 13:44-52

The names that often stand out when talking about the development of the black church in North America are Richard Allen and Absalom Jones. In talking about denominations we hear about the organic growth of the Black Baptist church, the various wings of the Methodist and Episcopal churches, but mention the Presbyterian churches and most folks will think we are making things up. But in speaking about the growth and development of the black church in North America to leave out John Gloucester is a grave oversight. With over a two hundred year history, the Presbyterian Church is a part of the fabric of the black church, even if the story is seldom told.
John Gloucester was born in 1776 in Tennessee. If I was to tell you that a gifted young preacher from Tennessee came to become one of Philadelphia’s most prominent ministers you would not assume he was Presbyterian. Because his parents were enslaved, so was John. But a young Presbyterian minister crossed his path and noticed his keen intellect and love for theology. In fact, even before the church officially recognized his ministry, Gloucester had converted many black and white people to the Christian faith. Gideon Blackburn was a Presbyterian pastor who evangelical and abolitionist leanings led him to purchase Gloucester’s and helps him seek his freedom. He petitioned the state of Tennessee for his freedom.
The Tennessee legislature was not keen on the idea. Their concern was that Reverend Blackburn was not only going to free Gloucester but train him to become a minister. The idea of preaching to those who were enslaved was fine if the preacher was white or enslaved himself. But, if the preacher was a freedman then those who were listening might hear that freedom in Christ might mean freedom in life. It does sound as if they understood the Gospel quite well and were afraid. Undeterred by this setback, both Blackburn and Gloucester moved to Philadelphia.
It was there that life began to change for John Gloucester. This time it was due to a relationship he found in the pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. The Reverend Archibald Alexander, one of the founders of Princeton seminary was not only a pastor and professor of Theology but an ardent abolitionist. Alexander was a son of the south who had left his native Virginia and become a force in the movement. His impact has repercussions even in St. Louis. One of his other students came here to lead the abolitionist movement and was eventually martyred because of his ideas. His name was Elijah Parish Lovejoy. But that is a sermon for another day.
With the support of Alexander, John Gloucester was freed and entered the process to become ordained as a Presbyterian minister. It was the plan for Gloucester to become the pastor of the first Presbyterian Church for free men and women in Philadelphia. But the road to the establishment of First African church was not easy. Gloucester was undeterred by the many roadblocks. His first challenge was the unwillingness of the Presbytery to ordain him. Despite having the support of such a significant figure in the person of Rev Alexander, the Presbytery decided that Tennessee would have to ordain him. Gloucester moved confidently through the process and was ordained after having to travel all the way back to Tennessee.
First African church began with John Gloucester preaching on the street corners. The first members of the church moved from the street and become a house church. At Gloucester’s first sermon to the church there were one hundred and twenty-three people. When the house could no longer hold them they were finally able to get enough support to build their own church. With the support of the Presbytery of Philadelphia that is exactly what happened.
Throughout the journey to start this church John Gloucester was fighting a very personal battle. Having found freedom himself, Gloucester’s wife and children were still enslaved. As he raised money to build the church he was also personally raising money to get freedom for his family. When the cornerstone of the First African Presbyterian church was laid on May 31st 1811, he had won the freedom for his family. There was no hurdle that kept him from pressing on to his calling from God.
In Philadelphia Gloucester was part of the elite Committee of Twelve, which consisted of Philadelphia's most prominent African American ministers. He was also associated with the Free African Society which was the first black rights organization in the United States. Many of his children joined the struggle for justice and his entire son’s become prominent Presbyterian ministers in their own right.
And while his life was cut short in 1822 after struggling with tuberculosis, John Gloucester’s impact was tremendous. He was indeed like the householder who brings out what is old and what is new. Becoming part of a tradition which had come from Scotland, he learned that freedom in Christ means freedom in life. He was able to take what was old, what had been handed on to him and understood how it could be a word of liberation for others. Gloucester had found his home and knew others would to and his evangelical passion and passion for justice walked hand in hand. John Gloucester’s story is our story. The story of First African Presbyterian church is our story. It is part of the old that we need to recover so that the new we are creating right here, by the Spirit of God, is tied to the rich history of liberation that truly is a Presbyterian story too. Amen.