Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. Methodists Mark Bicentennial "Our Heritage" By Claude Moore October 12, 1984 During this year there have been many observances and programs of the bicentennial of the organization of the Methodist Church (now known as the United Methodist) in the United States. I have already spoken at several churches on this subject. At the present time there are well over 10 million Methodists in the United States and over 13 million in the world. The Anglican Church was the established Church of England, and by the 18th Century puritanism within the Church had just about disappeared. In fact, religion was at a low ebb at that time. John (1703-1791) and Charles Wes)ey (1707-1788), brothers, began the Methodist movement while they were students at Oxford University in 1729. They were the sons of the Reverend Samuel Wesley (1662-1735), the Anglican minister at Epworth, Lincolnshire, England. Their mother, Susannah Wesley came from a long line of puritans. The Wesleys emphasized bible reading, fasting, prayer meetings, the power of preaching, evangelical conversion, and visitation of the sick, the poor and prisoners. John and Charles were ordained as ministers of the Anglican Church and remained Anglicans for the remainder of their lives. John Wesley rode horseback and preached all over England, Scotland, and Ireland. In 1735-36 he and his brother, Charles preached in Georgia. He set up headquarters for the Methodist Society in London at an abandoned foundry. In 1769, John Wesley sent Thomas Coke to the American colonies to preach and organize Methodist groups. The first Methodist Church organized in America was in the dity of New York in 1769. In 1772, Franci Asbury came to America and remained here to become the first Methodist Bishop. The Reverend Joseph Pilmore preached the first Methodist sermon in North Carolina at the Currituck Courthouse in 1772. Methodism spread rapidly in all of the colonies. At the end of the American Revolution John Wesley recommended that the Methodists in America organize an independent church. Sixty ministers, along with Thomas Coke, convened in Baltimore on December 24, 1784, and organized the Methodist Episcopal Church. They adopted Wesley's plan for an episcopal organization, and accepted his liturgy, hymnal, and Articles of Religion. There was much interest in evangelism. In 1830 there was a division in the Church and the Methodist Protestant Church was organized. In 1844, the Church split again over the subject of slavery, and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was formed. In 1939, the Northern and Southern Churches, as well as the Methodist Protestants were united into one Church. The Church later united with the United Brethern and was renamed the United Methodist Church. At the present time, the United Methodist Church supports nine Universities, 10 schools of theology, 69 senior colleges, 26 junior colleges, 71 hospitals, 55 homes for the aged, and 41 homes for children. John Wesley published many hymnals and books of sermons and continued his preaching until his death in 1791. He was buried in London. Charles Wesley wrote 65 hundred hymns during his lifetime. He died in 1788. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ==============================================================