Wooden collection boxes (two)
Item
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Title
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Wooden collection boxes (two)
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Description
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Original to Bethel AME Church. A booklet printed in 1966 in honor of the church’s 150th anniversary says: “Two of the original collection boxes are prize possessions of the church and are still used on special occasions.” On loan from the members of Bethel AME Church in Pennington, NJ
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Congregational tithes and offerings were collected in collection boxes. At least 10% of their income was expected to be tithed by church members. These funds often served as mutual aid for members requiring assistance and were used for the church operations.
Bethel AME Church, a historic Black church in Greenwich Township, New Jersey, had a diverse congregation prior to the 1800s. Its members, who came from various ethnic groups and Methodist Episcopal churches in southern New Jersey, were united in their opposition to slavery. According to the National Park Service, “the church and its congregation offered lodging to freedom seekers travelling north after leaving Maryland's Eastern Shore and Delaware. Oral histories attest that Harriet Tubman used the Springton/Greenwich station from 1849-1853 during her passage north through Delaware to Wilmington - one of her most famous routes” (National Park Service, 2020).
However, as the church grew, White Methodist enslavers joined, exerting pressure on the congregation's anti-slavery stance. After feeling unwelcome, they eventually founded the African Society of Methodists in Greenwich and joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. The church is currently private property and not open to the public.
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Bethel AME
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Contributor
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Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum
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Date Created
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(c. 1850)
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Creator
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Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
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Rights
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This work is believed to be in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States. For more information, see http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/
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Identifier
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L.2024.2.1 and 2
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Format
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Physical Object
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Extent
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2 items
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Spatial Coverage
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Pennington, NJ
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Publisher
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SSAAM
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Is Part Of
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L.2024.2.1 and 2
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Subject
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Black churches
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Black churches--History
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Collection boxes (Fund raising equipment)
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Tithes
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Underground railroad
