ST. JAMES A.M.E. ZION CHRUCH
410 UNION STREET
ALLENTOWN, PA 18102

Looking back to 1914, St. James A.M.E. Zion Church originated in the minds of two ladies who during the dark days of the Christmas holidays, when the whole world was grief stricken by the war, realized that they did not have a church where they could go and pray for their husbands, brothers, or any of the male members of their families.

These two ladies decided to take it upon themselves to do something about it.  They set out the next day to solicit the cooperation of every black family in the city.  They found the community eager to start a church.

St. James first location was at the corner of Penn and Green Streets in the basement of a home.  The second location was also in a basement at 6th and Walnut Streets.  The third location was in a home that was gutted out as Law Street.

St. James was accepted into the Philadelphia Baltimore Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion denomination in 1917.

The church has seen many Pastors and Presiding Elders come and go and it is still striving.

In 1969, Rev. A. Addison Cash became the Pastor of St. James and the membership was to face a new challenge that would lead to the addition of the new edifice that stands at the Union Street site today.

In September 1970, the first step toward realizing a dream was taken as the congregation and Rev. Cash took part in a dedication ceremony of the ground breaking where the church was to be built, with the Rt. Reverend Stephen Gil Spottswood officiating. 

In November 1971, the Allentown Redevelopment Authority sold 25,740 square feet of land to St. James.  The ground was broken in late November. 

On November 12, 1987, the Rt. Rev. Charles Foggie, Bishop of the Philadelphia and Baltimore area, delivered the dedication ceremony for the new building.

As of today, the edifice still stands in its radiant light at 410 Union Street.  The Pastor is Rev. Thomas Sweatt.  Activities continue to grow within the church and the surrounding communities.

The church motto is “The Hallmark of St. James – Peace, Harmony and Togetherness Cemented by Love”

For we enter to praise and be in fellowship, we leave to serve.