Look to the Rock From Which You Were Hewn…
The United Methodist Story in its Heritage Landmarks
THE WESLEYS IN AMERICA:
"Friday, February 6, 1736. About eight in the morning we first set
Look to the Rock From Which You Were Hewn…
The United Methodist Story in its Heritage Landmarks
THE WESLEYS IN AMERICA:
"Friday, February 6, 1736. About eight in the morning we first set foot on American ground. It was a small, uninhabited island, over against Tybee. Mr. Oglethorpe led us to a rising ground, where we all kneeled down to give thanks." So John Wesley records his arrival on American soil. Today a marker on Cockspur Island commemorates that event. The marker is part of John Wesley's American Parish in Savannah, Georgia, which also includes the sites of Wesley's first service (March 7, 1736), his parsonage and gardens, and the Town Hall, where Wesley held regular services. Another point of interest is Christ Church, where Wesley served as rector and established the first Sunday School in America.
John Wesley spent twenty-one months in the Georgia colony. He was an unsuccessful missionary, an unpopular preacher, and a disappointed lover. Yet his American sojourn was an important part of his spiritual and intellectual development.
Charles Wesley accompanied his brother to Georgia, settling on St. Simons Island south of Savannah. There he served as General James Oglethorpe's secretary and was pastor to the soldiers and families stationed at Fort Frederica. Charles Wesley's American experience was not a happy one, and he returned to England a few months later.
"Monday, July 26, 1736. The words which concluded the lesson, and my stay in Georgia, were, 'Arise, let us go hence.' Accordingly at twelve I took my final leave of Savannah. When the boat put off I was surprised that I felt no more joy in leaving such a scene of sorrows." Charles Wesley's Journal
"Tuesday, August 1, 1769, our conference began at Leeds. On Thursday I mentioned the case of our brethren at New-York... The society at New-York had lately built a commodious preaching-house, and now desired our help, being in great want of money, but much more of preachers. Two of our preachers, Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmore, willingly offered themselved for service; by whom we determined to send over fifty pounds, as a token of our brotherly love." John Wesley, Ecclesiastical History
Methodism returned to America some twenty-five years after the Wesleys' departure. By the 1760s, immigrants began bringing their Methodist beliefs and practices to the American colonies. Barbara Heck and her cousin Philip Embury, Irish immigrants, settled in New York in 1760.
Embury had been a Methodist local preacher in Ireland, but worked as a carpenter and attended a Lutheran church in New York until his cousin Barbara urged him to resume his status as a Methodist preacher. He organized a society in his home that became the John Street Church in lower Manhattan, established in 1766, the oldest continuous Methodist congregation in the United States. The present building dates from 1841.
Further south, the Robert Strawbridge House in Carroll County, Maryland is the site in about 1764 of the "first Methodist Society in America," according to Francis Asbury. Strawbridge, also an Irish immigrant, preached and organized in Maryland and Virginia. His home, originally a log cabin, was later enlarged and clapboarded. His first class met there until 1768.
Nearby is the home of John Evans, one of the members of that first society, and a replica of the Strawbridge Log Meetinghouse, built in 1764 and possibly the first Methodist chapel in America.
Robert Strawbridge's influence is also recalled at the Old Stone Church Site in Leesburg, Virginia, the first property in America owned by the Methodists. It was deeded to the Methodist Society in Leesburg, May 11, 1766, and the first church building was constructed in 1768. There is little doubt that the Society, the Church, and the church building were the direct results of Robert Strawbridge's missionary zeal. Next to the churchyard is a privately-owned home which was once the first parsonage of the Old Stone Church.
Francis Asbury, the tireless itinerant of American Methodism, spent forty-five years travelling. He visited at least twelve of our historic places, many of them several times. Upon arrival in America in October 1771, his very first stop was at St. George's Church in Philadelphia. "October 27, 1771: This day we landed in Philadelphia, where we were directed to the house of one Mr. Francis Harris, who kindly entertained us in the evening, and brought us to a large church, where we met with a considerable congregation. Brother Pilmoor preached. The people looked on us with pleasure, hardly knowing how to show their love sufficiently, bidding us welcome with fervent affection, and receiving us as angels of God. O that we may always walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called!" Francis Asbury, Journal
St. George's Church was erected in 1763 as a Dutch Reformed church. A Methodist Society later purchased the church, which was dedicated in 1769. Captain Thomas Webb, a veteran of the French and Indian War, was instrumental in the purchase of both St. George's Church and the John Street Church lot. One of the early church's more colorful figures, he was easily recognizable by his eye patch and red uniform, and always preached with a drawn s