Finish Life Loving God

Years spent in slavery, an indomitable determination to live free, industry, hard won manumission, sterling character, social activism, and fruitful gospel ministry are woven together in the remarkable life of Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Central to his story is his conversion to Christianity. In his autobiography, he discloses his abiding ambition: “I entered life without acknowledging Thee. Let me therefore finish it in loving Thee.”

— in Richard S. Newman, Freedom’s Prophet, Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers (New York University Press, 2008), 41.