#the methodists

[marchesamedici]

who let me and djezhda in the theology building to "study" anyway?

[tumblngphilopoet]

It's the birthday of one of the founders of the Methodist movement: Charles Wesley (books by this author), born in Epworth, England (1707). His older brother John Wesley was the preacher, and Charles was the writer of hymns and song leader. The two of them went to Oxford, and they looked for deliberate ways to serve God throughout the day. Because of this, their fellow students laughed at how methodical they were and named them "Methodists," which they adopted. They traveled around England preaching in the open air to tens of thousands. They were not always successful — they were sometimes met with mobs who threw stones, dirt, and eggs in their faces. They traveled by horseback, and if Charles thought of a hymn while he was riding, he would ride to the house of his nearest acquaintance, demand a pen and ink, and write it down. John did most of the preaching, while Charles led the faithful in hymns at Methodist meetings. Hymnbooks were expensive, and many people couldn't read, so a leader would read out a line at a time, and everyone would sing it. Wesley wrote 8,989 hymns, which averaged out to 10 lines of poetry every day for more than 50 years. His hymns include "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," and "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing."

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2012/12/18