British Methodist Episcopal Church

The British Methodist Episcopal Church (BMEC) is a

History
The AMEC had been formed in 1816 when a number of black
congregations banded together under the leadership of Richard
Allen, and by the mid-1850s it had seven conferences in the
United States. AMEC preachers began to work in Upper
Canada in 1834, and a conference was formed in 1840.

In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in the United States
causing some ex-slave AMEC preachers in the United Canadas Denomination Protestant
to be fearful of attending conferences in the U.S.
Administration
Reverend Benjamin Stewart of Chatham, Ontario proposed Province Canada
that the AME churches in the United Canadas separate from
Diocese African Methodist
the U.S. association and form their own church. At an AME
Episcopal Church
conference the new church was named the British Methodist
Episcopal Church in appreciation of finding a safe haven from Parish Ontario
slavery in British North America. In Philadelphia in 1856,
Stewart's proposal was adopted and the new church association was founded. Reverend Augustus R.
Green, later BME Bishop Green (though he is reported as being thrown out of the Church when he and
colleagues later challenged Nazrey, whereupon they began the Independent Methodist Episcopal
Church[1]), publisher and editor of the True Royalist and Weekly Intelligencer was also a part of this
movement.[2]

Its first bishop was Reverend Willis Nazrey of Virginia. When Nazrey died in 1875, Richard Randolph
Disney was chosen as his successor, and he was ordained by an AMEC bishop that year. His administrative
area consisted of Ontario, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, the West Indies, and British Guiana (Guyana).

By 1880, the BMEC had "grown from 250 to 2,684 members, and boasted 77 ministers, 37 Sabbath-
schools, 1,727 scholars, 156 officers and teachers, 10 church buildings, and over 25,000 attendees in the
Caribbean".[3] However, the mission work outside Canada stretched the church's funds, and in 1880
Disney negotiated a reunion with the AMEC at the quadrennial General Conference, setting into motion a
union between the AMEC and the BMEC that was later ratified at a BMEC convention held at Hamilton in
June 1881. The merger seemed beneficial for the AMEC because of the step that it represented towards the
consolidation of Black Methodists across the United States. A merger would also stretch the AMEC's
influence. A referendum of members showed that although a majority in Ontario was opposed, 86 per cent
of the membership was in favour. Disney was accepted as an AMEC bishop and was assigned to its Tenth
Episcopal District, a region embracing his former territory and some of the AMEC churches in Canada that
had not joined the BMEC.
A majority of the Ontario churches and preachers, led by the Reverend Walter Hawkins of Chatham,
sought to re-establish the BMEC. This group feared the loss of their distinctive identity, and may have been
concerned that the opinions of Ontario members had been overwhelmed by those of the Caribbean groups.

In 1886 this group held an ecclesiastical council at Chatham, at which it was claimed that Disney had
defected to the AMEC. At a subsequent general conference that year the BMEC was reconstituted. The
conference deposed Disney, agreeing to "erase his name and ignore his authority, and cancel his official
relationship as bishop." The reconstituted BMEC elected Hawkins as its general superintendent, avoiding
the title of bishop for several years.

Disney continued with what was left of his AMEC district until 1888, when he was transferred to Arkansas
and Mississippi.

By 1898 the BMEC had 27 preaching points and 25 preachers, the AMEC 130 churches in Canada. The
two denominations continue their separate work to this day.

Modern day
The BME church has seen a major decline in membership over the years,
resulting in many closures. In 1985, the BME church in Woodstock,
Ontario, Hawkins Chapel, shut its doors and was converted into a single-
family home.[4] The BME church of Collingwood followed a similar fate
in 1990.[5] In 2003, the North Buxton congregation broke with the church
- choosing to operate as an independent community church instead.[6] The
most recent church to close its doors was in Guelph in 2011. The former
BME building was put up for sale, and purchased by the Guelph Black
Heritage Society in 2012.[7]

Although now closed, other BME churches existed in Stratford, Fort Erie,
Queen's Bush, Puce (Lakeshore), Simcoe, Ingersoll, Dresden, and S.R. Drake Memorial Church
in Brantford, ON
Harrow.[8] These churches would have formed the centre of a sizable
black community in these towns.[9]

Two BME churches have been designated National Historic Sites of Canada due to their roles in
welcoming Underground Railroad refugees to the United Canadas and their historic importance to the
Black community in the Niagara region: one in Niagara Falls, Ontario, named in honour of Robert
Nathaniel Dett,[10][11] and the Salem Chapel, British Methodist Episcopal Church in St. Catharines, due to
its association with Harriet Tubman.[12][13]

As of 2018, fewer than 9 churches remain in operation, with churches operating in the following cities:

Ontario
Toronto (2) - East York and York
London
Owen Sound
Brantford
Windsor
Mississauga
Niagara Falls
 St. Catharines

Brantford [14]

Bishops
1. Reverend Willis Nazrey (1856-1875)
2. Bishop Richard Randolph Disney (1875-

See also R. Nathaniel Dett British Methodist

References
1. Brown-Kubisch, Linda (2004-02-20). The Queen's Bush Settlement: Black Pioneers 1839–
1865 (https://books.google.com/books?id=XDg6gcUjikEC&dq=Reverend+Augustus+R.+Gr
een&pg=PA168). Dundurn. p. 169. ISBN 9781770704367.
2. Prince, Bryan (2015-01-10). My Brother's Keeper: African Canadians and the American Civil
War (https://books.google.com/books?id=JEJXcV9_YukC&dq=Reverend+Augustus+R.+Gr
een&pg=PA70). Dundurn. p. 70. ISBN 9781459705715.
3. Davidson, Christina (2021). "An Organic Union: Theorizing Race, Nation, and Imperialism
within the Black Church". Journal of African American History: 577–600.
4. "Hawkins Chapel British Methodist Episcopal Church Park Row Community Chapel" (http
s://www.cityofwoodstock.ca/en/live-and-play/resources/museum/Collections/British-Methodi
st-Episcopal-Church.pdf) (PDF). City of Woodstock. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
5. "Collingwood Collingwood Marks Black History Month Country 93" (http://www.country93.c
a/news_item.php?NewsID=81737l). www.country93.ca.
6. June 19, Jennifer Bieman Updated (19 June 2018). "Congregation ousted from historic
escaped slave church | The London Free Press" (https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/congr
egation-ousted-from-historic-escaped-slave-church).
7. Shelley, Cameron (29 February 2016). "Old Methodist church embodies a lot of Guelph
history" (https://www.therecord.com/living-story/6330624-old-methodist-church-embodies-a-l
ot-of-guelph-history/). TheRecord.com.
8. Deans, Dorothea. "Owen Sound B. M. E. Church Monument to Pioneers' Faith Altar of
Present Coloured Folk" (https://greyroots.com/sites/default/files/dorothea_deans_heritage_a
rticle_owen_sound_b.m.e._church_2010.pdf) (PDF). greyroots.com. Retrieved
12 December 2018.
9. "The doctrine and discipline of the British Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada : revised
and published by order of the General Conference held at North Buxton, September 5th to
12th, 1910" (https://archive.org/details/doctrineanddisci00brituoft/page/n259). University of
Toronto. William Briggs. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
10. R. Nathaniel Dett British Methodist Episcopal Church (http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/lhn-nhs/det
_E.asp?oqSID=1923&oqeName=R%2E+Nathaniel+Dett+British+Methodist+Episcopal+Ch
urch&oqfName=%C9glise+British+Methodist+Episcopal+R%2E+Nathaniel+Dett), Directory
of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada
11. R. Nathaniel Dett British Methodist Episcopal Church (http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-re
g/place-lieu.aspx?id=13333&pid=0), National Register of Historic Places
12. Salem Chapel, British Methodist Episcopal Church (http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/lhn-nhs/det_
E.asp?oqSID=1924&oqeName=Salem+Chapel%2C+British+Methodist+Episcopal+Church
&oqfName=Chapelle+Salem+de+la+British+Methodist+Episcopal+Church), Directory of
Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada
13. Salem Chapel, British Methodist Episcopal Church (http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/
place-lieu.aspx?id=12892&pid=0), National Register of Historic Places
14. "BME Christ Church St. James - Other BME Churches" (https://web.archive.org/web/201710
02142727/http://www.bmechristchurch.org/?i=1239&mid=1000&id=2279). 2 October 2017.
Archived from the original (http://www.bmechristchurch.org/?i=1239&mid=1000&id=2279)
on 2 October 2017.

Sources
Windsor Mosaic (http://www.windsor-communities.com/african-religion-britishepis.php)
Dictionary of Canadian Biography (http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=
6068&&PHPSESSID=ddug124gcp4olku1ois09r7l70)
Ontario Heritage Trust Salem Chapel British Methodist Episcopal Church (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20110706192704/http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_10020_1.ht
ml)

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