The Methodist movement is a group of religious denominations of Protestant Christianity. ==The Wesleyan revival== The Methodist revival originated in England. It was started by John Wesley and his younger brother Charles Wesley as a movement within the Church of England in the 18th century, focused on Bible study, and a methodical approach to scriptures and Christian living. The term "Methodist" was a pejorative college nickname that was bestowed upon a small society of students at Oxford, who met together between 1729 and 1735 for the purpose of mutual improvement. They were accustomed to communicate every week, to fast regularly and to abstain from most forms of amusement and luxury. They also frequently visited poor and sick persons and prisoners in the prison. The early Methodists reacted against the apathy of the Church of England, became open-air preachers and established Methodist societies wherever they went. They were notorious for their enthusiastic sermons and often accused of fanaticism. In those days, members of the established church feared that the powerful new doctrines promulgated by the Methodists, such as the necessity to salvation of a New Birth, of Justification by Faith, and of the constant and sustained action of the Holy Spirit upon the believer's soul, would produce ill effects upon weak minds. Theophilus Evans, an early critic of the movement, even wrote that it was "the natural Tendency of their Behaviour, in Voice and Gesture and horrid Expressions, to make People mad." In one of his prints, William Hogarth likewise attacked Methodists as "enthusiasts" full of "''[http://www.haleysteele.com/hogarth/plates/credulity.html Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism]''." But the Methodists resisted the many attacks against their movement. (See John Wesley and George Whitefield for a much more complete discussion of early Methodism.) John Wesley came under the influence of the Moravians (religion) and Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, while George Whitefield adopted Calvinism views. Consequently, their followers separated, those of Whitefield becoming Calvinistic Methodists. Generally Methodists have followed Wesley in Arminianism theology. ==Separation from the Church of England== Wesley originally had no intention of separating from the Church of England. However, following the American Revolution, the Church of England cut off those of its members who were Americans, refusing to ordain ministers for them. Wesley decided to ordain ministers, and since he was not a bishop this put him at odds with the English Church. He and the other early leaders formed the Methodist Church as a separate body partly in response to those events. Wesley never, however, ceased to be or to act as a priest of the Church of England and died an Anglican. (See also the Episcopal Church.) Wesley chartered the first Methodist Church on February 28, 1784. ==Theology and liturgy== Traditionally, Methodism has believed in the Arminianism view of free will, via God's Prevenient Grace, as opposed to predestination. This distinguishes it, historically, from Calvinist traditions such as Presbyterianism. However, in strongly Calvinist areas such as Wales, Presbyterian church of Wales remain. Also, more recent theological debates have often cut across denominational lines, so that theology liberal Methodist and Reformed churches have more in common with each other than with more conservative members of their own denominations. John Wesley was not a systematic theologian, though Methodist ministerial students and trainee Methodist local preacher do study his sermons for his theology. The popular expression of Methodist theology is in the hymns of Charles Wesley. Since enthusiastic congregational singing was a part of the Evangelicalism movement, Wesleyan theology took root and spread through this channel. Methodism follows the traditional and near-universal Christian belief in the triune God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In devotional terms, this confession is said to embrace the biblical witness to God's activity in creation, encompass God's gracious self-involvement in the dramas of history, and anticipate the consummation of God's reign. For them, there are two Sacraments ordained of Christ: Baptism and Communion (Supper of the Lord). It is a traditional position of the church that any disciplined theological work calls for the careful use of reason. By reason, it is said, one reads and interprets Scripture. By reason one determines whether one's Christian witness is clear. By reason one asks questions of faith and seeks to understand God's action and will. This church insists that personal salvation always involves Christian mission and service to the world. Scriptural holiness entails more than personal piety; love of God is always linked with love of neighbor, a passion for justice and renewal in the life of the world. In liturgical matters, a unique feature of the Methodist Church is its observance of the season of Kingdomtide, which encompasses the last 13 weeks before Advent, thus dividing the long season after Pentecost into two discrete segments. During Kingdomtide, Methodist liturgy emphasizes charitable work and alleviating the suffering of the poor. A second distinctive liturgical feature of Methodism is the use of Covenant services. Although practice varies between different national churches, most Methodist churches annually follow the call of John Wesley for a renewal of their covenant with God. In UK Methodism, each church normally holds an annual Covenant Service on the first convenient Sunday of the year, and Wesley's Covenant Prayer is still used, with minor modification, in the order of service. It is a striking and sobering piece of liturgical writing, as the following excerpts illustrate: :''...Christ has many services to be done. Some are easy, others are difficult. Some bring honour, others bring reproach. Some are suitable to our natural inclinations and temporal interests, others are contrary to both... Yet the power to do all these things is given to us in Christ, who strengthens us.'' :''...I am no longer my own but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, exalted for you or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal...'' ==Methodism in Britain== [[Image:WesleyMemOxford20040124CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Wesley Memorial Church, a Methodist church in Oxford, where the Wesley brothers studied.]] British Methodism does not have bishops. It has however always been characterised by a strong central organization, the Connexion, which holds an annual Conference (note that the Church retains the 18th century spelling "connexion" for many purposes). The connexion is divided into Districts in the charge of a Chairman (who may be female). Methodist districts often correspond approximately to the dioceses of the Church of England. The districts are divided into circuits governed by a "superintendent minister", and Religious ministers are appointed to these rather than to individual churches (though some large inner-city churches, known as Central Halls, are designated as circuits in themselves - Westminster Central Hall, opposite Westminster Abbey in central London is the best known). Most circuits have many fewer ministers than churches, and the majority of services are led by lay Methodist local preachers, or by retired ("supernumerary") ministers. Schisms within the original Methodist church, and independent revivals, led to the formation of a number of separate denominations calling themselves Methodist. The largest of these were the Primitive Methodist Church church, deriving from a revival at Mow Cop in Staffordshire,the Bible Christians and the United Methodist Church (not connected with the American denomination of the same name, but a union of three smaller denominations). The original church became known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church to distinguish it from these bodies. The three major streams of British Methodism united in 1933 to form the current Methodist Church of Great Britain. In the 1960s, the Methodist Church made ecumenical overtures to the Church of England, aimed at church unity. Formally, these failed when they were rejected by the Church of England's General Synod in 1972; conversations and co-operation continued, however, leading in 2003 to the signing of a covenant between the two churches. From the 1970s onward, the Methodist Church also started several "Local Ecumenical Projects" (LEPs) both with the Church of England and with the United Reformed Church, which involved sharing churches, schools and in some cases ministers. Traditionally, Methodism proved particularly popular in Wales and Cornwall, both regions noted for their non-conformism and distrust of the Church of England. (see also. 1904-1905 Welsh Revival and Welsh Methodist revival) ==Methodism in the United States== [[Image:Methodist cross.gif|thumb|left|100px|® The United Methodist cross, adopted in 1968, is known as the Cross and Flame. The cross represents Christ while the flame represents the Holy Spirit of Pentecost.]] The first American Methodist Bishop was Francis Asbury, whose boyhood home, ''Bishop Asbury Cottage'', in Sandwell, England, is now a museum. Upon the formation of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, the new denomination ordained Asbury a deacon, elder (religious)#United Methodism, and bishop each on three successive days. Circuit riders, many of which were laymen, traveled by horseback to preach the gospel and establish churches until there was scarcely any crossroad community in America without a Methodist expression of Christianity. Disputes over slavery placed the church in difficulty in the first half of the 1800s, with the northern church leaders fearful of a split with the South, and reluctant to take a stand. The Wesleyan Methodists and the Free Methodist Churches were formed by staunch abolitionists, and the Free Methodists were especially active in the Underground Railroad, which helped to free the slaves. Finally, in a much larger split, in 1845 at Louisville, the churches of the slaveholding states formed The Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The northern and southern branches were reunited in 1939, when slavery was no longer an issue. In this merger also joined the Methodist Protestant Church. Some southerners, conservative in theology, and strongly segregationist, opposed the merger, and formed the Southern Methodist Church in 1940. The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 as a result of a merger between the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist Church. The former church had resulted from mergers of several groups of German Methodist heritage. There was no longer any need or desire to worship in the German language. The merged church had approximately 9 million members as of the late 1990s. While the United Methodist Church in America has been shrinking, associated groups in developing countries are growing rapidly. American Methodist churches are generally organized on a connectional model, related but not identical to that used in Britain. Ministers are assigned to churches by bishops, distinguishing it from presbyterian government. Methodist denominations typically give laity members representation at regional and national meetings (conferences) at which the business of the church is conducted, making it different from episcopalian government. This connectional organizational model differs further from the congregationalism model, for example of Baptist, and Congregationalist Churches, among others. In addition to the United Methodist Church, there are over 40 other denominations that descend from John Wesley's Methodist movement. Some, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Free Methodist Church and the Wesleyan Church (formerly Wesleyan Methodist), are explicitly Methodist. Others do not call themselves Methodist, but are related to varying degrees. The Salvation Army was founded by William Booth, a former Methodist. It derives some of its theology from Methodism. Another related denomination is the Church of the Nazarene. Some of the charismatic or pentecostal churches such as the Pentecostal Holiness Church and the Assemblies of God also have roots in or draw from Wesleyan thought. The Holiness movement Revival was primarily among people of Methodist persuasion, who felt that the church had once again become apathetic, losing the Wesleyan zeal. Some important events of this revival were the writings of Phoebe Palmer during the mid-1800s, the establishment of the first of many holiness camp meetings at Vineland, New Jersey in 1867, and the founding of Asbury College, (1890), and other similar institutions in the US around the turn of the 20th century. From its beginnings in England, Methodism laid emphasis on social service and education. Numerous originally Methodist institutions of higher education were founded in the United States in the early half of the 19th century, and today altogether there are about twenty universities and colleges named as "Methodist" or "Wesleyan" still in existence. ==Other countries== *In Australia, the Methodist Church merged with the Presbyterian Church and the Congregationalist Church in 1977, becoming the Uniting Church. The Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia continues to operate independently. There are also other independent Methodist congregations. Some of these were established by, or have been impacted by, Tongan immigrants. *In Canada, the Methodist Church of Canada was an 1884 union of pioneering groups. In 1925, they merged with a large number of Presbyterian Church in Canada, most Congregationalists, ''Union Churches'' in Western Canada, and the American Presbyterian Church in Montreal, to form the United Church of Canada. In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethren Church's Canadian congregations joined after their American counterparts joined the United Methodist Church. *Bermuda's Methodist Synod, is a separate presbytery of the United Church of Canada's Maritime Conference. *There are small Methodist Churches in many European countries, the strongest being in Germany. These mostly derive from links with the American rather than the British church. *The strongest Methodist church in the world is probably now in South Korea. There are many Korean-language Methodist churches in North America catering to Korean-speaking immigrants, not all of which are named as Methodist. There are several denominations which are of Wesleyan/Methodist heritage, but not explicitly Methodist. *A high proportion of the Polynesian population of Fiji are Methodists. Fiji has the highest percentage of Methodists in the world. *Missionary from Britain, North America, and Australia founded Methodist churches in many Commonwealth of Nations countries. These are now independent and many of them are stronger than the former "mother" churches *Almost all Methodist churches are members of a consultative body called the World Methodist Council, which has its headquarters at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, USA. ==See also:== * Albert Outler * Articles of Religion (Methodist) * Assurance (theology) * Atonement (Governmental view) * :Category:Methodism * :Category:Methodists * :Category:Methodist theologians * Christian perfection * Holiness movement * Imparted righteousness * List of Methodist theologians * Means of Grace * New Birth * Personalism * Pietism * Prevenient Grace ==External links== * [http://www.worldmethodistcouncil.org World Methodist Council] * [http://www.geocities.com/dentonemc/methodism.html Divisions and Reunions in North American Methodism] * [http://www.umc.org/ United Methodist Church] * [http://www.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=1686 United Methodist Social Principles] * [http://www.francisasbury.org Francis Asbury] * [http://www.ame-church.com/ African Methodist Episcopal Church] * [http://www.amezionchurch.com/ African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church] * [http://www.c-m-e.org/ Christian Methodist Episcopal Church] * [http://www.methodist.org.uk/ Methodist Church in Britain] * [http://www.ku.edu/heritage/um/time~1.html Methodist History Bookmarks] * [http://www.drew.edu/books/200Years/200UM/toc.htm 200 Years of United Methodism] * [http://www.fwponline.cc/v17n2reasoner.html Faith, Feeling, and Fanaticism] * [http://search.yahoo.com/search?csz=&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-web-t&cop=mss&tab=&toggle=1&dups=1&p=%22Methodism.%22+site%3Aworldcatlibraries.org Library resources about Methodism] * [http://www.methodist.org.hk/ Methodist Church in Hong Kong] * [http://www.kymc.org.hk/ Kwong Yuen Methodist Church of Hong Kong (循道衛理聯合教會廣源堂) ] Religion in the United Kingdom Protestantism Methodism kw:Eglos an Vethodysi
How does the "connectional" model of organization compare with the episcopalian model described in that article? They sound similar; are they the same, or are there some important differences? User:Wesley : ''It is important to note that we are not a connectional people because of biblical or theological or even historical mandates. The evolution of our polity has, however, been a natural response to these elements in our background and they continue to inform and direct our efforts.'' [http://www.umc.org/genconf/PETS/BD92/TEXT/d0112.html] :If I'm interpreting this correctly, the term is adopted in order to express the fact that Methodist episcopalianism does not claim any biblical, theological or historical mandate for this form of government, and adopts that form of polity for practical reasons (although the Bible, theology and history have had a measure of influence on its development). To make a difference between ''jus divinum'' (divine law) episcopalianism, and the Methodist aim to construct a maximal network for pragmatic reasons (which happens to be episcopal), the Methodists appear to prefer the term "connectional" to "episcopalian", as introducing less confusion and implying more completely the principle upon which polity has developed (although the latter is still an accurate term, it appears - with the appropriate qualifiers). User:Mkmcconn Wouldn't it be better to call this article "Methodism" rather than "Methodist"? -- Mike Hardy :I was just coming here to ask that. -- User:Zoe :: I'd go for that. We'd have to delete the redirect that's there, to move this page. Right? User:Mkmcconn == Number of adherents == I came to this article wondering how many adherents the Methodist denominations had, and how these adherents were distributed geographically. The article has no such information. Can someone who knows add it? If this is not the right article to answer these questions, at least there should be a crosslink to the right one. I also wondered how the number of Methodists grew between Wesley's time and the present. Thank you. == Universities == Where does "the most famous of these is the prestigious Ohio Wesleyan University" come from? This seems POV, and I replaced it with "...and altogether there are about twenty universities and colleges named after John Wesley still in existance," unless there is a good source (Also see Wikipedia:Avoid peacock terms).
--User:Asbestos 17:52, 4 Nov 2004 (UTC) I've reverted an edit by an anonymous user (who can be identified as User:Pnikolov by his IP address) who reverted my edit. The sentence under dispute was originally: "Numerous originally Methodist institutions of higher education were founded in the United States in the early half of the 19th century. The most famous school among these institutions is the prestigious Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio." I changed this to "Numerous originally Methodist institutions of higher education were founded in the United States in the early half of the 19th century, and today altogether there are about twenty universities and colleges named after John Wesley still in existance." This would seem to me to be more NPOV, but if you wish to discuss, please do so here and not by reverting without signing in. --User:Asbestos 15:54, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC) I feel that the changed sentence is written from a more NPOV standpoint, and is therefore more encyclopedic, and should thus remain in this article. If the anonymous user/Pnikolov, or whatever, does not want his edits changed then maybe he should create a website on this topic, because the nature of Wikipedia is that articles will constantly be updated and improved beyond their original content. User:Rje 03:28, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC) ======== I know I am adding my two cents worth almost four months later, but it seems to me that statement "the most famous of these is the prestigious Ohio Wesleyan University" couldn't be qualified in an objective way, and if it could be, who would make that determination As an OWU grad I can tell you that it was a nice place to be, made lifelong friends, met my husband and a received a good solid education. But prestigious? ;-) User:Jrossman 02:25, Feb 8, 2005 (UTC) == Methodists and Catholics == Can someone please state the big differences between the two religions; United - (Methodist) & Roman Catholic. Is it necessary for one to convert to the other for marriage ? In reply: I can't speak authoritatively, but I think the big difference is the Apostolic Succession. I suspect that the Methodists would recognoze a Catholic marriage, but that the Catholics would not recognize a Methodist marriage. I don't think it's neccessary to convert to Catholicism to marry a Catholic. A preacher or priest should be able to tell you for sure, and would probably not be surprised at the questions. :I am a United Methodist pastor who married a Roman Catholic. Married in a United Methodist Church by a United Methodist pastor, our marriage is not recognized as sacramental by the Roman Catholic Church. I don't believe I would have needed to convert in order to have a Roman Catholic wedding, but I probably would have had to agree to raise the children as Roman Catholics. While I certainly have nothing against Roman Catholicism (and my wife has since become a United Methodist), I wasn't going to make that promise, wanting my children to, of course, be a part of my own church family. A Roman Catholic priest might be able to enlighten you a bit more. User:KHM03 22:27, 5 Apr 2005 (UTC) ==Evans ?== I removed Clement A. Evans from the "see also" section; he's not very prominent, but might be better listed on a different page. User:KHM03 00:19, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
This category comprises articles pertaining to Methodism, a Protestant Christian List of Christian denominations. ---- Christian denominations Protestantism
{| class="toccolours" cellspacing="3px" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; text-align:center;" |- | colspan="2" |Part of the series on
Methodism |- | |- | style="font-size:11px" | John Wesley |- | style="font-size:11px" | Background
Protestantism
Pietism
Anglicanism
Arminianism |- | style="font-size:11px" | Doctrinal distinctives
Prevenient Grace
Imparted righteousness
Christian perfection
Atonement (Governmental view)
Articles of Religion (Methodist) |- | style="font-size:11px" | People
Charles Wesley
George Whitefield
Thomas Coke (Methodist)
Francis Asbury
Richard Allen (Reverend) |- | style="font-size:11px" | Largest groups
World Methodist Council
United Methodist Church
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Church of Great Britain |- |- | style="font-size:11px" | Related movements
Holiness movement
The Salvation Army
Personalism
Pentecostalism |}
==Wesley/Cross== Instead of John Wesley, you might consider using :Image:Methodist cross.gif. User:Thames—User:Thames 13:59, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC) :That cross is the official symbol of the United Methodist Church, but is not representative of other Wesleyan groups, such as the AME Church or the British Methodists or the Holiness groups. John Wesley's image seemed a little more universal to me. User:KHM03 14:23, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Methodism:
Methodism
Methodism
Methodism
Methodism
Methodism
Methodism
The Methodist movement is a group of religious denominations of Protestant Christianity. ==The Wesleyan revival== The Methodist revival originated in England. It was started by John Wesley and his younger brother Charles Wesley as a movement within the Church of England in the 18th century, focused on Bible study, and a methodical approach to scriptures and Christian living. The term "Methodist" was a pejorative college nickname that was bestowed upon a small society of students at Oxford, who met together between 1729 and 1735 for the purpose of mutual improvement. They were accustomed to communicate every week, to fast regularly and to abstain from most forms of amusement and luxury. They also frequently visited poor and sick persons and prisoners in the prison. The early Methodists reacted against the apathy of the Church of England, became open-air preachers and established Methodist societies wherever they went. They were notorious for their enthusiastic sermons and often accused of fanaticism. In those days, members of the established church feared that the powerful new doctrines promulgated by the Methodists, such as the necessity to salvation of a New Birth, of Justification by Faith, and of the constant and sustained action of the Holy Spirit upon the believer's soul, would produce ill effects upon weak minds. Theophilus Evans, an early critic of the movement, even wrote that it was "the natural Tendency of their Behaviour, in Voice and Gesture and horrid Expressions, to make People mad." In one of his prints, William Hogarth likewise attacked Methodists as "enthusiasts" full of "''[http://www.haleysteele.com/hogarth/plates/credulity.html Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism]''." But the Methodists resisted the many attacks against their movement. (See John Wesley and George Whitefield for a much more complete discussion of early Methodism.) John Wesley came under the influence of the Moravians (religion) and Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, while George Whitefield adopted Calvinism views. Consequently, their followers separated, those of Whitefield becoming Calvinistic Methodists. Generally Methodists have followed Wesley in Arminianism theology. ==Separation from the Church of England== Wesley originally had no intention of separating from the Church of England. However, following the American Revolution, the Church of England cut off those of its members who were Americans, refusing to ordain ministers for them. Wesley decided to ordain ministers, and since he was not a bishop this put him at odds with the English Church. He and the other early leaders formed the Methodist Church as a separate body partly in response to those events. Wesley never, however, ceased to be or to act as a priest of the Church of England and died an Anglican. (See also the Episcopal Church.) Wesley chartered the first Methodist Church on February 28, 1784. ==Theology and liturgy== Traditionally, Methodism has believed in the Arminianism view of free will, via God's Prevenient Grace, as opposed to predestination. This distinguishes it, historically, from Calvinist traditions such as Presbyterianism. However, in strongly Calvinist areas such as Wales, Presbyterian church of Wales remain. Also, more recent theological debates have often cut across denominational lines, so that theology liberal Methodist and Reformed churches have more in common with each other than with more conservative members of their own denominations. John Wesley was not a systematic theologian, though Methodist ministerial students and trainee Methodist local preacher do study his sermons for his theology. The popular expression of Methodist theology is in the hymns of Charles Wesley. Since enthusiastic congregational singing was a part of the Evangelicalism movement, Wesleyan theology took root and spread through this channel. Methodism follows the traditional and near-universal Christian belief in the triune God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In devotional terms, this confession is said to embrace the biblical witness to God's activity in creation, encompass God's gracious self-involvement in the dramas of history, and anticipate the consummation of God's reign. For them, there are two Sacraments ordained of Christ: Baptism and Communion (Supper of the Lord). It is a traditional position of the church that any disciplined theological work calls for the careful use of reason. By reason, it is said, one reads and interprets Scripture. By reason one determines whether one's Christian witness is clear. By reason one asks questions of faith and seeks to understand God's action and will. This church insists that personal salvation always involves Christian mission and service to the world. Scriptural holiness entails more than personal piety; love of God is always linked with love of neighbor, a passion for justice and renewal in the life of the world. In liturgical matters, a unique feature of the Methodist Church is its observance of the season of Kingdomtide, which encompasses the last 13 weeks before Advent, thus dividing the long season after Pentecost into two discrete segments. During Kingdomtide, Methodist liturgy emphasizes charitable work and alleviating the suffering of the poor. A second distinctive liturgical feature of Methodism is the use of Covenant services. Although practice varies between different national churches, most Methodist churches annually follow the call of John Wesley for a renewal of their covenant with God. In UK Methodism, each church normally holds an annual Covenant Service on the first convenient Sunday of the year, and Wesley's Covenant Prayer is still used, with minor modification, in the order of service. It is a striking and sobering piece of liturgical writing, as the following excerpts illustrate: :''...Christ has many services to be done. Some are easy, others are difficult. Some bring honour, others bring reproach. Some are suitable to our natural inclinations and temporal interests, others are contrary to both... Yet the power to do all these things is given to us in Christ, who strengthens us.'' :''...I am no longer my own but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, exalted for you or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal...'' ==Methodism in Britain== [[Image:WesleyMemOxford20040124CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Wesley Memorial Church, a Methodist church in Oxford, where the Wesley brothers studied.]] British Methodism does not have bishops. It has however always been characterised by a strong central organization, the Connexion, which holds an annual Conference (note that the Church retains the 18th century spelling "connexion" for many purposes). The connexion is divided into Districts in the charge of a Chairman (who may be female). Methodist districts often correspond approximately to the dioceses of the Church of England. The districts are divided into circuits governed by a "superintendent minister", and Religious ministers are appointed to these rather than to individual churches (though some large inner-city churches, known as Central Halls, are designated as circuits in themselves - Westminster Central Hall, opposite Westminster Abbey in central London is the best known). Most circuits have many fewer ministers than churches, and the majority of services are led by lay Methodist local preachers, or by retired ("supernumerary") ministers. Schisms within the original Methodist church, and independent revivals, led to the formation of a number of separate denominations calling themselves Methodist. The largest of these were the Primitive Methodist Church church, deriving from a revival at Mow Cop in Staffordshire,the Bible Christians and the United Methodist Church (not connected with the American denomination of the same name, but a union of three smaller denominations). The original church became known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church to distinguish it from these bodies. The three major streams of British Methodism united in 1933 to form the current Methodist Church of Great Britain. In the 1960s, the Methodist Church made ecumenical overtures to the Church of England, aimed at church unity. Formally, these failed when they were rejected by the Church of England's General Synod in 1972; conversations and co-operation continued, however, leading in 2003 to the signing of a covenant between the two churches. From the 1970s onward, the Methodist Church also started several "Local Ecumenical Projects" (LEPs) both with the Church of England and with the United Reformed Church, which involved sharing churches, schools and in some cases ministers. Traditionally, Methodism proved particularly popular in Wales and Cornwall, both regions noted for their non-conformism and distrust of the Church of England. (see also. 1904-1905 Welsh Revival and Welsh Methodist revival) ==Methodism in the United States== [[Image:Methodist cross.gif|thumb|left|100px|® The United Methodist cross, adopted in 1968, is known as the Cross and Flame. The cross represents Christ while the flame represents the Holy Spirit of Pentecost.]] The first American Methodist Bishop was Francis Asbury, whose boyhood home, ''Bishop Asbury Cottage'', in Sandwell, England, is now a museum. Upon the formation of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, the new denomination ordained Asbury a deacon, elder (religious)#United Methodism, and bishop each on three successive days. Circuit riders, many of which were laymen, traveled by horseback to preach the gospel and establish churches until there was scarcely any crossroad community in America without a Methodist expression of Christianity. Disputes over slavery placed the church in difficulty in the first half of the 1800s, with the northern church leaders fearful of a split with the South, and reluctant to take a stand. The Wesleyan Methodists and the Free Methodist Churches were formed by staunch abolitionists, and the Free Methodists were especially active in the Underground Railroad, which helped to free the slaves. Finally, in a much larger split, in 1845 at Louisville, the churches of the slaveholding states formed The Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The northern and southern branches were reunited in 1939, when slavery was no longer an issue. In this merger also joined the Methodist Protestant Church. Some southerners, conservative in theology, and strongly segregationist, opposed the merger, and formed the Southern Methodist Church in 1940. The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 as a result of a merger between the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist Church. The former church had resulted from mergers of several groups of German Methodist heritage. There was no longer any need or desire to worship in the German language. The merged church had approximately 9 million members as of the late 1990s. While the United Methodist Church in America has been shrinking, associated groups in developing countries are growing rapidly. American Methodist churches are generally organized on a connectional model, related but not identical to that used in Britain. Ministers are assigned to churches by bishops, distinguishing it from presbyterian government. Methodist denominations typically give laity members representation at regional and national meetings (conferences) at which the business of the church is conducted, making it different from episcopalian government. This connectional organizational model differs further from the congregationalism model, for example of Baptist, and Congregationalist Churches, among others. In addition to the United Methodist Church, there are over 40 other denominations that descend from John Wesley's Methodist movement. Some, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Free Methodist Church and the Wesleyan Church (formerly Wesleyan Methodist), are explicitly Methodist. Others do not call themselves Methodist, but are related to varying degrees. The Salvation Army was founded by William Booth, a former Methodist. It derives some of its theology from Methodism. Another related denomination is the Church of the Nazarene. Some of the charismatic or pentecostal churches such as the Pentecostal Holiness Church and the Assemblies of God also have roots in or draw from Wesleyan thought. The Holiness movement Revival was primarily among people of Methodist persuasion, who felt that the church had once again become apathetic, losing the Wesleyan zeal. Some important events of this revival were the writings of Phoebe Palmer during the mid-1800s, the establishment of the first of many holiness camp meetings at Vineland, New Jersey in 1867, and the founding of Asbury College, (1890), and other similar institutions in the US around the turn of the 20th century. From its beginnings in England, Methodism laid emphasis on social service and education. Numerous originally Methodist institutions of higher education were founded in the United States in the early half of the 19th century, and today altogether there are about twenty universities and colleges named as "Methodist" or "Wesleyan" still in existence. ==Other countries== *In Australia, the Methodist Church merged with the Presbyterian Church and the Congregationalist Church in 1977, becoming the Uniting Church. The Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia continues to operate independently. There are also other independent Methodist congregations. Some of these were established by, or have been impacted by, Tongan immigrants. *In Canada, the Methodist Church of Canada was an 1884 union of pioneering groups. In 1925, they merged with a large number of Presbyterian Church in Canada, most Congregationalists, ''Union Churches'' in Western Canada, and the American Presbyterian Church in Montreal, to form the United Church of Canada. In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethren Church's Canadian congregations joined after their American counterparts joined the United Methodist Church. *Bermuda's Methodist Synod, is a separate presbytery of the United Church of Canada's Maritime Conference. *There are small Methodist Churches in many European countries, the strongest being in Germany. These mostly derive from links with the American rather than the British church. *The strongest Methodist church in the world is probably now in South Korea. There are many Korean-language Methodist churches in North America catering to Korean-speaking immigrants, not all of which are named as Methodist. There are several denominations which are of Wesleyan/Methodist heritage, but not explicitly Methodist. *A high proportion of the Polynesian population of Fiji are Methodists. Fiji has the highest percentage of Methodists in the world. *Missionary from Britain, North America, and Australia founded Methodist churches in many Commonwealth of Nations countries. These are now independent and many of them are stronger than the former "mother" churches *Almost all Methodist churches are members of a consultative body called the World Methodist Council, which has its headquarters at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, USA. ==See also:== * Albert Outler * Articles of Religion (Methodist) * Assurance (theology) * Atonement (Governmental view) * :Category:Methodism * :Category:Methodists * :Category:Methodist theologians * Christian perfection * Holiness movement * Imparted righteousness * List of Methodist theologians * Means of Grace * New Birth * Personalism * Pietism * Prevenient Grace ==External links== * [http://www.worldmethodistcouncil.org World Methodist Council] * [http://www.geocities.com/dentonemc/methodism.html Divisions and Reunions in North American Methodism] * [http://www.umc.org/ United Methodist Church] * [http://www.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=1686 United Methodist Social Principles] * [http://www.francisasbury.org Francis Asbury] * [http://www.ame-church.com/ African Methodist Episcopal Church] * [http://www.amezionchurch.com/ African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church] * [http://www.c-m-e.org/ Christian Methodist Episcopal Church] * [http://www.methodist.org.uk/ Methodist Church in Britain] * [http://www.ku.edu/heritage/um/time~1.html Methodist History Bookmarks] * [http://www.drew.edu/books/200Years/200UM/toc.htm 200 Years of United Methodism] * [http://www.fwponline.cc/v17n2reasoner.html Faith, Feeling, and Fanaticism] * [http://search.yahoo.com/search?csz=&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-web-t&cop=mss&tab=&toggle=1&dups=1&p=%22Methodism.%22+site%3Aworldcatlibraries.org Library resources about Methodism] * [http://www.methodist.org.hk/ Methodist Church in Hong Kong] * [http://www.kymc.org.hk/ Kwong Yuen Methodist Church of Hong Kong (循道衛理聯合教會廣源堂) ] Religion in the United Kingdom Protestantism Methodism kw:Eglos an Vethodysi
Methodism
How does the "connectional" model of organization compare with the episcopalian model described in that article? They sound similar; are they the same, or are there some important differences? User:Wesley : ''It is important to note that we are not a connectional people because of biblical or theological or even historical mandates. The evolution of our polity has, however, been a natural response to these elements in our background and they continue to inform and direct our efforts.'' [http://www.umc.org/genconf/PETS/BD92/TEXT/d0112.html] :If I'm interpreting this correctly, the term is adopted in order to express the fact that Methodist episcopalianism does not claim any biblical, theological or historical mandate for this form of government, and adopts that form of polity for practical reasons (although the Bible, theology and history have had a measure of influence on its development). To make a difference between ''jus divinum'' (divine law) episcopalianism, and the Methodist aim to construct a maximal network for pragmatic reasons (which happens to be episcopal), the Methodists appear to prefer the term "connectional" to "episcopalian", as introducing less confusion and implying more completely the principle upon which polity has developed (although the latter is still an accurate term, it appears - with the appropriate qualifiers). User:Mkmcconn Wouldn't it be better to call this article "Methodism" rather than "Methodist"? -- Mike Hardy :I was just coming here to ask that. -- User:Zoe :: I'd go for that. We'd have to delete the redirect that's there, to move this page. Right? User:Mkmcconn == Number of adherents == I came to this article wondering how many adherents the Methodist denominations had, and how these adherents were distributed geographically. The article has no such information. Can someone who knows add it? If this is not the right article to answer these questions, at least there should be a crosslink to the right one. I also wondered how the number of Methodists grew between Wesley's time and the present. Thank you. == Universities == Where does "the most famous of these is the prestigious Ohio Wesleyan University" come from? This seems POV, and I replaced it with "...and altogether there are about twenty universities and colleges named after John Wesley still in existance," unless there is a good source (Also see Wikipedia:Avoid peacock terms).
--User:Asbestos 17:52, 4 Nov 2004 (UTC) I've reverted an edit by an anonymous user (who can be identified as User:Pnikolov by his IP address) who reverted my edit. The sentence under dispute was originally: "Numerous originally Methodist institutions of higher education were founded in the United States in the early half of the 19th century. The most famous school among these institutions is the prestigious Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio." I changed this to "Numerous originally Methodist institutions of higher education were founded in the United States in the early half of the 19th century, and today altogether there are about twenty universities and colleges named after John Wesley still in existance." This would seem to me to be more NPOV, but if you wish to discuss, please do so here and not by reverting without signing in. --User:Asbestos 15:54, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC) I feel that the changed sentence is written from a more NPOV standpoint, and is therefore more encyclopedic, and should thus remain in this article. If the anonymous user/Pnikolov, or whatever, does not want his edits changed then maybe he should create a website on this topic, because the nature of Wikipedia is that articles will constantly be updated and improved beyond their original content. User:Rje 03:28, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC) ======== I know I am adding my two cents worth almost four months later, but it seems to me that statement "the most famous of these is the prestigious Ohio Wesleyan University" couldn't be qualified in an objective way, and if it could be, who would make that determination As an OWU grad I can tell you that it was a nice place to be, made lifelong friends, met my husband and a received a good solid education. But prestigious? ;-) User:Jrossman 02:25, Feb 8, 2005 (UTC) == Methodists and Catholics == Can someone please state the big differences between the two religions; United - (Methodist) & Roman Catholic. Is it necessary for one to convert to the other for marriage ? In reply: I can't speak authoritatively, but I think the big difference is the Apostolic Succession. I suspect that the Methodists would recognoze a Catholic marriage, but that the Catholics would not recognize a Methodist marriage. I don't think it's neccessary to convert to Catholicism to marry a Catholic. A preacher or priest should be able to tell you for sure, and would probably not be surprised at the questions. :I am a United Methodist pastor who married a Roman Catholic. Married in a United Methodist Church by a United Methodist pastor, our marriage is not recognized as sacramental by the Roman Catholic Church. I don't believe I would have needed to convert in order to have a Roman Catholic wedding, but I probably would have had to agree to raise the children as Roman Catholics. While I certainly have nothing against Roman Catholicism (and my wife has since become a United Methodist), I wasn't going to make that promise, wanting my children to, of course, be a part of my own church family. A Roman Catholic priest might be able to enlighten you a bit more. User:KHM03 22:27, 5 Apr 2005 (UTC) ==Evans ?== I removed Clement A. Evans from the "see also" section; he's not very prominent, but might be better listed on a different page. User:KHM03 00:19, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Methodism
This category comprises articles pertaining to Methodism, a Protestant Christian List of Christian denominations. ---- Christian denominations Protestantism
Methodism
{| class="toccolours" cellspacing="3px" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; text-align:center;" |- | colspan="2" |Part of the series on
Methodism |- | |- | style="font-size:11px" | John Wesley |- | style="font-size:11px" | Background
Protestantism
Pietism
Anglicanism
Arminianism |- | style="font-size:11px" | Doctrinal distinctives
Prevenient Grace
Imparted righteousness
Christian perfection
Atonement (Governmental view)
Articles of Religion (Methodist) |- | style="font-size:11px" | People
Charles Wesley
George Whitefield
Thomas Coke (Methodist)
Francis Asbury
Richard Allen (Reverend) |- | style="font-size:11px" | Largest groups
World Methodist Council
United Methodist Church
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Church of Great Britain |- |- | style="font-size:11px" | Related movements
Holiness movement
The Salvation Army
Personalism
Pentecostalism |}
Methodism
==Wesley/Cross== Instead of John Wesley, you might consider using :Image:Methodist cross.gif. User:Thames—User:Thames 13:59, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC) :That cross is the official symbol of the United Methodist Church, but is not representative of other Wesleyan groups, such as the AME Church or the British Methodists or the Holiness groups. John Wesley's image seemed a little more universal to me. User:KHM03 14:23, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
M
MA | MB | MC | MD | ME | MF | MG | MH | MI | MJ | MK | ML | MN | MO | MP | MR | MS | MT | MU | MW | MX | MY | MZ |Words begining with Methodism:
Methodism
Methodism
Methodism
Methodism
Methodism
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