July 20, 2023
"a brand plucked from the fire." Zechariah 3.2
Our second day was spent in Epworth, England with deep ties to the Wesley family.
We began our day at the Epworth Rectory. The Rectory is part of the Methodist Historical Sites in the United Kingdom.
John "Jackie" Wesley was born in the Epworth rectory. He was five years old when parishioners set fire to the home. All of the children and adults escaped the fire except for John. At the very last moment, he was seen looking out the window. A human chain was made and pulled John from the window and rescued him from the fire. Susanna, his mother, said of her son "you are a brand plucked from the fire." She knew that God had some great purpose for her son John's life. Indeed he fulfilled that purpose as he went on to reform the Anglican Church and was a leader of the Methodist movement. We are reminded that all of our lives have a purpose from God.
After learning about the history of the Wesley family we walked to the Wesley Memorial Church. There Pastor Angela led us in a communion worship service. We then went to the Great Hall and were served a wonderful sandwich lunch with cake dessert buffet all made by the ladies of the church. We toured the church and grounds and headed to
St. Andrew's Church.
St. Andrew's Church is a 1000 year old church where John and Charles Wesley's father, Samuel, was the priest for 39 years. We saw the baptismal font used for the baptism of all the Wesley children and saw the grave of Samuel Wesley that served as a pulpit for John when he was no longer permitted to preach in the church.
Finally, in our Epworth walks, we visited the Market cross where John continue to build his outdoor preaching and the Red Lion Inn where John stayed in Epworth after his father had died. It was a full and wonderful day of stories and learning about the influences of family and community on John and Charles Wesley.