About Us….
Our Vision and Mission The Mother African Union Church is a historic African American congregation with deep roots in the past, but branches reaching into the future. We believe God calls us to be a beacon of light to all, building the Kingdom of God, as a loving family. Our mission from God is to teach, study and know God’s word, to actively pray for the whole community, to reach out using the gifts God has given us, and to remember and reclaim our African American heritage.
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It is said that it was Spencer and this church congregation that fired the shot
of religious freedom for people of African descent that was heard around the
world. In the years following the start of this congregation several other
African American churches broke from white churches and incorporated as
independent religious denominations.
One year later, in 1814 there were 31 churches associated with Spencer and
the Union Church of Africans. In that year the church launched an annual
meeting and festival called The Big Quarterly. Always held in August, the
event became known as the August Quarterly, and continues to this day as an
historic African American festival celebrating religious freedom.
Our Present
God has called us to serve the present age, like the original church, in and
with the African American community. We preach and teach God’s word, and
we live out the justice and righteousness of God in the ministry to which God
calls our congregation. Taking a note from a sister church in Chicago, Ill. with
a similar mission, we are unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian. In
ministry to the human soul and the human condition we have several ministry
programs.
We serve our immediate community with a number of programs including the
Spencer Heritage Hallway Museum, the Ujima After School Program,
Kwanzaa Summer Camp for children grades K-5, Harambee Rites of Passage
Program for Boys, the Elders Ministry, and several Bible Study and fellowship
opportunities.
We serve God’s world, living out the phrase “think globally, act locally” with a
Mission to Africa with four mission projects: the Save Africa’s Children’s
Fund, the Happy Life Children’s Home, our Mission to Liberia, and our Mission
to Kenya through the Delaware Kenya Association.
Mother African Union Church
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...A beacon of light to all, building the Kingdom of God as a loving family.
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Our History
Our congregation was started in 1813 by
Peter Spencer, when he and about 40 others
felt they could not get justice and self
determination as part of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. The congregation was
incorporated in September 1813 as the
Union Church of African Members. It was
the first incorporated African American
denomination in the nation, completely under
the control of African Americans.