Absalom Jones Sunday

The Historic African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas has invited St. Peter’s parishioners to worship with them on the Feast of Absalom Jones on February 5. The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, will be the guest preacher at St. Thomas at their 10 AM worship service. The Right Rev. Daniel G.P. Gutiérrez, Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, will be the Celebrant.

St. Thomas is located at 6361 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia. If you need a ride to the church, or if you have an extra seat in your car, please contact Parish Administrator Kate Randall at [email protected] and she will arrange carpools. St. Thomas expects a big crowd on February 5, so please plan to arrive at the service early!

There will not be 9 a.m. Family Worship or 11 a.m. worship services at St. Peter’s that Sunday, as we encourage parishioners to attend St. Thomas’s service either in-person or virtually. You can view the livestream from St. Thomas online here. We will offer a spoken Eucharist service at St. Peter’s at 8 a.m. that day.

Absalom Jones was the first black priest ordained in the Episcopal Church in the United States. Jones was born into slavery but went on to fight for his freedom and the freedom of many others. He attended St. Peter’s when he was enslaved (his enslaver was a member) and he went on to found St. Thomas.