How it all started...
The Wesleyan Church is the result of an 18th-century revival, two 19th-century movements, and a 20th-century merger . . . strong roots which sustain a 21st-century vision for spiritual transformation across North America and around the world.
Our name honors John Wesley, whose life-changing experience of God’s grace in a small-group meeting on Aldersgate Street in London in 1738 was the catalyst not only for a spiritual revival of historic proportions but also for significant social reforms in the name of Christ. That dual emphasis on revival and reform found expression among Wesley’s followers in America too.
In 1843, when the silence of America’s churches on the issue of slavery was deafening, a new denomination arose – an abolitionist denomination. Led by Orange Scott, the Wesleyan Methodists called for an immediate end to slavery. Wesleyans even planted anti-slavery churches in the South before the Civil War and were active in the Underground Railroad as well. Laura Smith Haviland, often mentioned in the same breath as anti-slavery heroes like Harriet Tubman, opened Michigan’s first “station” on the Underground Railroad in her home, started the first racially-integrated school in her state, and personally led groups of escaping slaves to freedom herself.
It’s not surprising, then, that Wesleyan Methodists also championed women’s rights. The first convention on women’s rights in American history was held in 1848 at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, now a national historic site. Luther Lee, a prominent Wesleyan minister, preached the ordination sermon for the first woman ordained to the Christian ministry when no one in her Congregationalist church would accept the challenge. The second woman to be ordained was a Wesleyan, Mary A. Will of Illinois. Wesleyans have been ordaining women for more than 150 years.
In addition, Wesleyans were among the first to give the laity significant roles in church leadership. It was an extension of that same commitment to the marginalized and undervalued in church and society that drove their efforts on behalf of women and slaves. They had learned from Wesley that loving God and loving others, in deeds as well as words, is applied holiness.
Our name honors John Wesley, whose life-changing experience of God’s grace in a small-group meeting on Aldersgate Street in London in 1738 was the catalyst not only for a spiritual revival of historic proportions but also for significant social reforms in the name of Christ. That dual emphasis on revival and reform found expression among Wesley’s followers in America too.In 1843, when the silence of America’s churches on the issue of slavery was deafening, a new denomination arose – an abolitionist denomination. Led by Orange Scott, the Wesleyan Methodists called for an immediate end to slavery. Wesleyans even planted anti-slavery churches in the South before the Civil War and were active in the Underground Railroad as well. Laura Smith Haviland, often mentioned in the same breath as anti-slavery heroes like Harriet Tubman, opened Michigan’s first “station” on the Underground Railroad in her home, started the first racially-integrated school in her state, and personally led groups of escaping slaves to freedom herself.
It’s not surprising, then, that Wesleyan Methodists also championed women’s rights. The first convention on women’s rights in American history was held in 1848 at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, now a national historic site. Luther Lee, a prominent Wesleyan minister, preached the ordination sermon for the first woman ordained to the Christian ministry when no one in her Congregationalist church would accept the challenge. The second woman to be ordained was a Wesleyan, Mary A. Will of Illinois. Wesleyans have been ordaining women for more than 150 years.
In addition, Wesleyans were among the first to give the laity significant roles in church leadership. It was an extension of that same commitment to the marginalized and undervalued in church and society that drove their efforts on behalf of women and slaves. They had learned from Wesley that loving God and loving others, in deeds as well as words, is applied holiness.
Expanding the vision...
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Where we are headed...
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum faucibus accumsan nulla, non faucibus velit convallis et. Nulla tempus placerat massa. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum faucibus accumsan nulla, non faucibus velit convallis et. Nulla tempus placerat massa. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et.
