PRESS RELEASE – THIS year’s Founders Day celebration takes the form of a panel discussion on the topic: “The Relevance of John and Charles Wesley in the 21 st Century: A Contemporary Christianity perspective”.
This will be held this coming Sunday, 20th May (tomorrow) at 5:00 p.m., at the Castries Methodist Church.
All Wesleyan followers are being invited to share in this act of celebration.
This Sunday’s panel discussion will seek to explore the way forward for Christianity in the 21st century and what can be done to transform society with the gospel.
The speakers will be Pastor Sherwin Griffith from the Wesleyan Holiness Church and Captain Derick Mitchell from the Salvation Army.
The host is Rev. Seth A. Ampadu, Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Church.
THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
John Wesley was born June 28, 1703, in the small town of Epworth in Lincolnshire in north-eastern England. The social environment of his day presented many challenges as we experience today in our culture. London at the time contained about 10 percent of the total population of England. Life in the cities and larger towns was very difficult for most people. Regular employment was uncertain. Housing was frequently inadequate and unaffordable. The poorer sections of the cities were usually overcrowded and filthy. Sanitation was poor. Merchants and families threw their rubbish into the streets and rivers causing a terrible smell as well as health problems. Pure drinking water was scarce. Nourishing food was often costly and in short supply. Disease was common, especially among the poor. Life was difficult. Alcohol, violence, prostitution and gambling were popular because of their desperation and hopelessness.
A slowly growing middle class found life no less challenging. Fourteen hour workdays were common with low wages. In order for families to survive, women and children all worked. Children as young as four or five were employed as chimney sweepers or they worked in mines and factories. In contrast, the wealthy were few in number but very powerful. Some were rich through inheritance. Others gained money and property through dishonest business practices. Extravagance, comfort, and ease marked the lives of the rich.
Most English people lived in rural areas and small towns. They farmed the land, raised cattle and sheep, fished the rivers and seas, and worked the mines and quarries. They also provided the services which every village and town needed to survive such as milling, baking, tailoring, shoeing horses, and repairing wagons. Life was more predictable for many rural people, though it was not easy. It was extremely difficult for the poor to break the bonds of poverty or for anyone new to move into the ranks of the wealthy.
Later in the 18th century, England underwent major economic and social changes. New technologies in farming and manufacturing led to increased production. Textiles and iron smelting made significant improvements. The development of steam power improved industrial growth. Better roads and canals improved the transport of raw materials and manufactured goods. England was in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution.
Against this background, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement opposed slavery with all his being and the Methodist movement condemned the practice in the late 18th century, assisting Wilberforce and others in eliminating this social evil. Wesley worked tirelessly for justice in all domains, including education, sanitation (“cleanliness is next to godliness” meant clean water and housing) and political reforms that would prevent the nobility from getting even richer from government pensions.
As we ponder on the 21st century mission that impacts the whole person and society, it is instructive to go “back to the future” and consider the influence of the Methodist movement of the 18th century, led by John and Charles Wesley. The fervent, holistic and missional faith born in the Great Awakening should drive us as Christians today to impact in our society. 21st century advocacy for justice must integrate personal responsibility with social policy, spiritual transformation with institutional change. Anything less becomes oppressive
Looking at John and Charles Wesley’s social environment at the time, the same thing is replicating itself today in our modern society. Today we are faced with many challenges: drug abuse; unemployment; homosexuality; excessive drunkenness, shabby dressings on the part of some of our young people, irresponsibility of some parents, crime, corruption, laziness, indiscipline and the list could go on and on.
The 21st century Church in our country and beyond needs a renewal of Spirit-empowered proclamation that convicts of sin and compels trust in the atoning work of Christ. Relevance is not an excuse to dilute the heart of the message that transforms women and men to change whole nations.