appear to Give an account of
your transactions,
And how you spent your time,
when here.”
~ The Rev. Absalom Jones 1746-1818
Absalom Jones was born enslaved to Abraham Wynkoop a wealthy Anglican planter in 1746 in Sussex County, Delaware. He was working in the fields when Abraham recognized that he was an intelligent child and ordered that he be trained to work in the house. Absalom eagerly accepted instruction in reading. He also saved money he was given and bought books (among them a primer, a spelling book, and a bible). Abraham Wynkoop died in 1753 and by 1755 his younger son Benjamin had inherited the plantation. When Absalom was sixteen Benjamin Wynkoop sold the plantation and Absalom’s mother, sister, and five brothers. Wynkoop brought Absalom to Philadelphia where he opened a store and joined St. Peter’s Church. In Philadelphia, Benjamin Wynkoop permitted Absalom to attend a night school for black people that was operated by Quakers following the tradition established by abolitionist teacher Anthony Benezet. He continued to work for the wages that eventually allowed him to purchase his and his wife's freedom. The short version of his extensive biography* is that he became the first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church in the US, founded several churches, multiple organizations to aid freed and runaway slaves, and a Literary Circle.
your transactions,
And how you spent your time,
when here.”
~ The Rev. Absalom Jones 1746-1818
Absalom Jones was born enslaved to Abraham Wynkoop a wealthy Anglican planter in 1746 in Sussex County, Delaware. He was working in the fields when Abraham recognized that he was an intelligent child and ordered that he be trained to work in the house. Absalom eagerly accepted instruction in reading. He also saved money he was given and bought books (among them a primer, a spelling book, and a bible). Abraham Wynkoop died in 1753 and by 1755 his younger son Benjamin had inherited the plantation. When Absalom was sixteen Benjamin Wynkoop sold the plantation and Absalom’s mother, sister, and five brothers. Wynkoop brought Absalom to Philadelphia where he opened a store and joined St. Peter’s Church. In Philadelphia, Benjamin Wynkoop permitted Absalom to attend a night school for black people that was operated by Quakers following the tradition established by abolitionist teacher Anthony Benezet. He continued to work for the wages that eventually allowed him to purchase his and his wife's freedom. The short version of his extensive biography* is that he became the first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church in the US, founded several churches, multiple organizations to aid freed and runaway slaves, and a Literary Circle.
His words in the quote above may sound trivial at first glance, but when measured against the institution of slavery these words become profound and should reverberate within us all.
On New Year's Day in 1808, Jones said the following in his sermon giving thanksgiving for the passage of the Abolition of African Slave Trade Act by the US Congress:
Let not our expressions of gratitude to God for his late goodness and mercy to our countrymen, be confined to this day, nor to this house: let us carry grateful hearts with us to our places of abode, and to our daily occupations; and let praise and thanksgivings ascend daily to the throne of grace, in our families, and in our closets, for what God has done for our African brethren.
His graciousness may be considered premature inasmuch as slavery itself was not abolished in the US for 55 more years. And so, as those supporters of slavery then and now, we each will give the accounts of our own transactions while on this earthly plane. As for me, I ought to be too busy taking my own inventory to account for the transactions of others.
O Loving and Forgiving God,
Through the inspiration of Your true servant Absalom, we find the graciousness, joy, and reconciliation that should be the hallmarks of every Christian life. For today, I will give up counting up the faults of others and take on re-framing my thoughts from judgment to tolerance; my actions from thoughtless to reconciling. I will pray for the insight to acknowledge my own faults, the contrite heart to make amends, and the wisdom to think first of God before I act on my own. amen.
On New Year's Day in 1808, Jones said the following in his sermon giving thanksgiving for the passage of the Abolition of African Slave Trade Act by the US Congress:
Let not our expressions of gratitude to God for his late goodness and mercy to our countrymen, be confined to this day, nor to this house: let us carry grateful hearts with us to our places of abode, and to our daily occupations; and let praise and thanksgivings ascend daily to the throne of grace, in our families, and in our closets, for what God has done for our African brethren.
His graciousness may be considered premature inasmuch as slavery itself was not abolished in the US for 55 more years. And so, as those supporters of slavery then and now, we each will give the accounts of our own transactions while on this earthly plane. As for me, I ought to be too busy taking my own inventory to account for the transactions of others.
O Loving and Forgiving God,
Through the inspiration of Your true servant Absalom, we find the graciousness, joy, and reconciliation that should be the hallmarks of every Christian life. For today, I will give up counting up the faults of others and take on re-framing my thoughts from judgment to tolerance; my actions from thoughtless to reconciling. I will pray for the insight to acknowledge my own faults, the contrite heart to make amends, and the wisdom to think first of God before I act on my own. amen.
The Rev. Absalom Jones is celebrated by the Episcopal Church in the U.S. on February 13.
*For more information about The Rev. Absalom Jones, click here: Absalom Jones Biography
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