Source: The Baltimore Sun

On October 30, 2000, The Baltimore Sun reported that "African-Americans and African nationals living in Baltimore, Washington and Virginia gathered yesterday in the auditorium of William H. Lemmel Middle School in West Baltimore to plant a new congregation in the city: the Kalafong African Methodist Episcopal Church. Kalafong is a congregation started by an expatriate South African human rights activist-turned-minister for other Africans living far from their homelands. A couple hundred gathered yesterday, United Nations Sunday - among them several African diplomats and an ecumenical cross-section of ministers - to sing, clap, dance and pray its genesis. Encouraged to attend in African dress, congregants walked into the auditorium-turned-sanctuary in vibrant reds, oranges, greens and golds as they lifted their voices to African gospel tunes. 'We feel wonderful. We finally feel we've come home,' said Marry Moeng, a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, now living in Washington, dressed in a bright orange gown and head wrap. 'Usually when we get together, it's for something like a party,' said Lerato Kitleli, from Lesotho and now living in Washington. 'This is a celebration of the Lord, and we're coming together as a people.'"