St. Margaret’s Church of Annapolis formally apologizes for history of segregation

For the first time, members of Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church and St. Margaret’s Church of Annapolis have congregated to overcome and repair a relationship plagued by racial division.

“We are all family,” said the pastor of Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church, Stephen Tillett. “It is time we step outside of the narrative and become one, together.”

During Sunday’s joint service at Asbury, a formal apology was issued by St. Margaret’s Church to Asbury, the community and the Annual Father’s Day Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and empowering Black people on the Broadneck Peninsula area of Annapolis.

“St. Margaret’s Church publicly apologizes for, acknowledges and profoundly regrets its involvement and complicity in the sin of slavery on the Broadneck Peninsula,” the apology from St. Margaret’s reads. “We recognize that the economic wealth established through the lasting effects of slavery built our parish and continues to benefit our church. We are extremely sorry that we have been complicit in the church’s role in support of slavery.”

St. Margaret vowed to dismantle systematic racism and to commit to making amends and establishing trust among community members impacted by the church’s past — a task St. Margaret’s pastor, Peter Mayer, said can be done only through an apology.

“To get to the gospel truth of what we are as Christians and what the church needs to be, we need to apologize and I think we have known this,” Mayer said.

Mayer noted that acknowledging wrongdoings is not a weakness, but a way to build strong communities and rebuild damaged relationships.

One of the members of the Annual Father’s Day Foundation, Kenyatta Rowel, 43, said the apology is the first step in reconciliation and repairing the gap between both congregations.

“This event is meant to pave the way for all reconciliation and to foster a deeper understanding and respect for communities involved,” Rowel said. “Annual Father’s Day Foundation envisions this moment as the beginning of truth, reparations and healing.”

Members treated the service as a celebration and fresh start of a newfound friendship between St. Margaret’s and Asbury Broadneck.

The service carried messages of acceptance and community as members of the two congregations bonded over song, prayer and communion. Members were encouraged to “get their 12” which the Rev. Tillett said is the number of hugs needed by one person each day to be “thriving” with human connection.

St. Margaret’s Church of Annapolis was one of 30 parishes established by English colonizers in 1692. The church was constructed by slaves who, once the building was complete, were not permitted inside.

The church’s pastor administered weddings, communions, baptisms and burials for Black people outside the church while never recognizing them as members.

In 1851, African Americans in the Broadneck Peninsula united and created the Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church 2 miles away.

Daylen Huntley, a member of St. Margaret’s Church, used her free time to identify the last names of over 60 Black families who were denied service at St. Margaret’s Church. The names were read aloud during the service.

Nearly all of the members of Asbury Broadneck United Methodist stood when asked whether they identified as having a bloodline connection to at least one of the last names.

“When the names were read off of everyone who was formerly denied service, you could see the emotion on everyone’s faces,” said Brandon Johnson, 35, a member of the Annual Father’s Day Foundation. “Almost our whole congregation is related to those people. They are our family members, so today is a big day for all of us because we have come so far.”

Devon Edwards, 38, a member of the Annual Father’s Day Foundation, said Sunday’s joint service and apology from St. Margaret’s is something he has been working toward since 2022 when he reached out to St. Margaret’s to make amends.

Edwards said his goal was to create a better environment for his community.

“St. Margaret’s Church identified that while they cannot correct the past, they can correct the present and the future,” Edwards said. “That’s a step in the right direction because we are just a group of guys with a vision and we got together and stuck it out through the tough conversations because we want to see better for our people.”

As part of the reconciliation and reparations from St. Margaret’s Church, Asbury will receive a grant writer to assist the congregation in securing state reparation grants.

Members of the Annual Father’s Day Foundation said that once they secure grants they will use them to help members of the Broadneck Peninsula’s Black community establish themselves as wealth participants.

The apology from St. Margaret’s follows a growing national trend of institutions, such as the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, Yale and universities in Maryland acknowledging their ties to slavery and racism.

In February, University of Maryland, College Park released a report on the school’s connection to slavery. The goal of the report was to repair relationships with surrounding communities, connect with descendants of local enslaved people and reckon with the university’s legacy.

Other schools, like the Johns Hopkins University, Loyola University Maryland  and Goucher College took similar approaches to acknowledging ties to slavery through reports and memorials.

“There have been times in St. Margaret’s history where we have conveniently turned away and ignored and not stepped up as a partner in Christ,” Mayer said. “These are the ugly truths and for that we must apologize because we missed an opportunity and denied people equal rights by not doing our part. This is the only way forward.”