Bethel AME Church traces its origins to 1785, when Black members of a Baltimore Methodist meeting house began worshipping separately under lay preacher Richard Allen, later formally separating from the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1797 and incorporating in 1811 under its first official pastor, Daniel Coker. It is recognized as the oldest continuously operating African American church in Maryland. The congregation, now known as "Bethel Nation," is led by Rev. Patrick Clayborn.