This week in Christian history: US missionary leaves for Africa, first female Anglican priest ordained

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, January 21, 2024

Lott Cary leaves America for Africa – Jan. 23, 1821

Lott Cary (circa 1780-1828), a former slave born in Virginia who became the first African American missionary to Africa and acting governor of Liberia. | Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the anniversary of when Lott Cary, a former slave who became the first African American missionary to Africa, left for Sierra Leone to found a mission post.

Cary left the United States with his wife and three children, accompanied by a couple of other missionaries, but faced financial difficulties early on in his evangelism efforts.

“After they arrived in Sierra Leone, they were confronted with financial difficulties when they discovered that the American Colonization Society had neglected to purchase land, which left the team without any means of support,” wrote Lesley Hildreth of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board in 2018.

“In conjunction with his missionary activities, Cary served as health officer and government inspector in Liberia. While in Liberia’s capital, Cary pastored several churches and established the Monrovia Mission Society among the Liberian Christians to raise support for missions and communicate the need to Christians in America.”