6/2/2003 News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn.
NOTE:
An artist's rendering of John Wesley is available at
http://umns.umc.org/photos/headshots.html. For further coverage of
tercentenary events, see UMNS stories #039, #058 and #247.
By Kathleen LaCamera*
John Wesley
John Wesley (oil painting)
LONDON (UMNS) - People around the world will be
able to log on to a webcast of Britain's national service marking the
300th anniversary of John Wesley's birthday.
The webcast will be
live from Lincoln Cathedral on June 17, beginning at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
British Methodists will join with representatives from across the United
Kingdom and all over the world in an ecumenical celebration of the life
and legacy of Methodism's founder.
On the same day, a group of
young British Methodists will begin a 12-day walking pilgrimage in honor
of Wesley. The pilgrimage begins at Lincoln Cathedral and ends in
Llandudno, North Wales, at this year's British Methodist Conference.
Celebrations
of Wesley's tercentenary are already under way with a host of services,
special events, exhibitions and conferences around the United Kingdom.
The month of May saw a weeklong Wesley festival at Methodism's oldest
chapel, the New Room in Bristol. In London, St. Paul's Cathedral held a
special Wesley evensong, while Wesley's Chapel - a place Wesley himself
deemed "neat but not fine" and the site of his grave - held a full
weekend of anniversary events.
For the next five months,
Wesley's childhood home, the Old Epworth Rectory in Lincolnshire, is
exhibiting his letters, on loan from the British library. In Manchester,
scholars from around the world will gather in June for an international
symposium on Wesley's "life, legend and legacy." The British
Broadcasting Corp., will air a special Wesley "Songs of Praise"
television program, while BBC Radio will broadcast a worship service
focusing on Wesley's influence on modern Britain.
Christine
Morgan, a Methodist local preacher and BBC producer, sees the 300th
anniversary as an opportunity to re-examine the essence of Wesley's
faith in a modern context.
"For John Wesley … the Gospel was
for everybody. He got out there," Morgan tells United Methodist News
Service. "Wesley rode around, driven by this passion for everyone to be
included. If this anniversary does anything, I hope it helps us remember
that the legacy of John Wesley is to be as open as we can be …. and
not to get tied up in the minutiae of life in one particular church."
Pauline
Webb, a writer, broadcaster and former British Methodist Church vice
president, agrees. She believes this milestone is an opportunity to look
at how one man's personal faith experience not only spawned an
institutional church but a worldwide faith movement.
It's important not to be too nostalgic, Webb says. "The Methodist movement is much more important than any institution."
Webb
pointed to a recent U.K.-wide survey of the top 100 Britons of all
time, in which Wesley ranked at No. 50 - ahead of any other religious
figure on the list.
"Wesley was a campaigner for the abolition
of slavery, he had concerns for the poor, for a just society. … In
many ways, he influenced the whole faith of Britain in the 18th
century," she explains.
As part of its 300th anniversary
observances, the Methodist North Bank Center recently hosted a retreat
called "Encountering God in Methodism." The Rev. Mark Wakelin, director
of this center for the support and encouragement of Christian living,
finds Wesley an inspiration for contemporary Christian life.
"His
mixture of conviction and intelligent engagement (with society) is a
resource for many important movements required of the church today,
whether they are ecumenical, evangelical or interfaith," Wakelin
observes.
Almost three centuries on, Wakelin says Wesley would
still recognize his legacy in places "where a desire to engage in social
issues is matched by a longing for Christ to be known, and where
careful, conscientious Christian are prepared to get lost in wonder,
love and praise."
For more information on other events around
the United Kingdom, visit the Wesley 2003 Web site at
www.wesley2003.org.uk. To watch the webcast at Lincoln Cathedral on June
17, log on to www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire at 8:30 a.m. EDT. # # # *LaCamera is a United Methodist News Service correspondent based in England.
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