our faith
On May 24, 1738, during a meeting at St. Paul's Cathedral in Aldersgate, Methodism was born, through John Wesley's spiritual experience, which he articulated in this manner, "I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." This experience brought on a fiery-preaching John Wesley who preached in the fields and "open air" and would soon organize the first Methodist Society in London in 1739.
Methodism was introduced to America's 13 colonies after 1760, and the great circuit rider Francis Asbury became the first bishop. Some of the doctrines and practices of Methodism are as follows:
- Christian Perfection (Holiness)—Most important is the teaching that every Christian must strive towards perfection and should evidence some progress in that direction;
- Justification by Faith—One is saved by faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ alone;
- The Witness of the Holy Spirit—the inner certainty that assures that one is a child of God; and
- Kneeling – Methodist kneel for prayer, Holy Communion, and ordinations. This denotes humility before God.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church adheres to Methodist Polity and Doctrine. Born of the sparks from the anvil of oppression, African Methodists did not object to white Methodists on theological grounds; they objected to whites discriminating against them. Bishop Tanner understood the nature of this relationship and at a service commemorating the 119th anniversary of Mother Bethel (1908) said; "The church's originality lay in its ecclesiastical independence, which allowed African Americans to administer their own affairs."