Methodist Episcopal Church was organized. While itinerating in Liberia, Bishop Levi Scott ordained the first African deacons and elders in 1853. In 1856, the General Conference created a new position, the missionary bishop, to oversee the foreign mission fields. The Liberian Conference elected Francis Burns to be its missionary bishop, and he was consecrated in 1858, becoming the Methodist Episcopal Church's first African American bishop. As a missionary bishop, Burns was not considered a general superintendent of the church, and his episcopal authority was limited to his assigned field. Domestically, there were efforts among Native American tribes, such as the Wyandotte of Ohio;
Trinity Episcopal Church (Winchester, Tennessee) The building was completed in 1874. Through its history, Trinity has experienced fluctuations in membership, and has at times fallen below the size threshold necessary to be a recognized parish. In 2008, Trinity's priest and a number of members of the congregation left the Episcopal Church to form Christ the King Anglican Church, affiliated with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America under the ecclesiastical authority of the Church of Nigeria. The group was one of several that left the Episcopal Church after the Diocese of Tennessee's convention in 2006 because of objections to the actions of Episcopal leadership, particularly