The Methodists took an even more active role in social justice  The Methodists took an even more active role in social justice when one of its first African-American members, a slave named Peter Williams, expressed fear of going on the auction block after his Loyalist master high-tailed it back to Europe. Wesley Chapel bought Williams, and granted him his freedom in 1784. A decade later, Williams had his own prosperous tobacco business and a home on Liberty Street nearby. And in 1796, he and one of John Street’s black deacons formed the country’s first all-black Methodist congregation, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, out of Wesley Chapel. That church now operates out of Harlem.

Current Building erected in 1841  When a fire ravaged John Street Church’s entire block in 1839, many of its members wondered if the parish should move uptown. “No one was living downtown anymore,” Radmacher said. “It had become the Financial District, and many churches had already left the neighborhood.” But the trustees — loath to abandon such a historic spot — decided to stay put, erecting the current John Street structure in 1841.

Loosely affiliated with the nearby Episcopal Trinity Church, a revolutionary stronghold,  Wesley Chapel still had strong ties to the Church of England and became a refuge for loyalists during the War of Independence.

One time, drunken military men — one dressed as a devil — disrupted a service.   It wasn’t immune, to the pranks perpetrated by occupying British soldiers, who would slash women’s skirts or dig pits in front of the chapel so churchgoers would trip on their way out of services. The British government had to give the Methodists a guard to protect them during worship, which was far more than they gave John Street’s treasonous neighbors.

After the Revolution, the church became an early advocate for the abolition movement.   Even before the war, the John Street community was surprisingly diverse — black men and women, including slaves, could become members — and it even welcomed black preachers and deacons, although black and white members had to sit apart from one another.

Landmark of New York - John Street Methodist Church - Plaque erected 1964 by the New York Community Trust  'The oldest Methodist Society in America organized in 1766 by Philip Embury and Barbara Heck, constructed here in 1768 Wesley Chapel, the first Methodist meeting house in America. The present church, the third on this site was completed in 1841'

Site plan 

Basement Plan 

First Floor Plan 

Gallery Plan 

Longitudinal Section 

North Elevation 

South Elevation 

Section and Interior Details 

Interior and Exterior Details 

Auditorium Details 

Methodist Church in John St. Erected in 1758 

The First Methodist Church, in John Street, New York. Philip Embury, the first Methodist Preacher in America 

Respectfully inscribed to the trustees & members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church in John Street New York 

The First Methodist Episcopal Church in America 

Barbara Heck insisted that Philip Embury preach to five people in their home on October 12, 1766.