LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Methodism: Wesleyan Methodism
built 178 days ago
Methodism is a movement within Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organisations. The Methodist movement traces its origin to the [E]vangelical awakening in 18th century Great Britain. The largest branch of Methodism flowed from the work of John Wesley, who was an Anglican clergyman. Thus "Methodism" is commonly taken as "Wesleyan Methodism". Wesley sought to keep Methodism as a revival movement within the Church of England, and a significant number of Anglican clergy were known as Methodists. Other 18th century branches of Methodism include Welsh Methodists, later the Calvinistic Methodists, from the work of Howell Harris,[1] [2] and the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion through the work of George Whitfield. The influence of Lady Huntingdon and Whitfield on the Church of England was a factor in the establishing of the Free Church of England in 1844.
Source:
Methodism is the name given to a group of Protestant churches that arose from the 18th century Wesleyan movement in England led by John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield. Although centered in the British Isles and North America, Methodism has spread worldwide. The total world community is estimated at more than 38 million; the largest single group is the United Methodist Church in the United States, with about 10 million members.
Source:
Methodism began as an evangelical revival movement in England in the early 18th century under the leadership of John Wesley (1703-1791), a priest in the Church of England. The Methodist Episcopal Church became among the largest Protestant denominations in the United States in the early 19th Century and “was the most extensive national institution in antebellum America other than the federal government (Goen 1985, 57).” Today, the United Methodist Church claims almost 8.4 million members and clergy in the United States and 9.7 worldwide. The World Methodist Council claims 70 million “Methodist and related United Churches in the ‘Wesleyan tradition’ in 130 countries.” This article focuses on developments in the United States.
Source:
Wesleyan Methodism continued at the centre, and eventually reunion took place in 1932. Recent decades have seen declining memberships and chapel closures, but the Methodist Church is still a significant part of mainstream Christianity in Cornwall, and chooses now to explore its common ground with the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.
Source:
Worship and the sacraments were important to Methodism from its beginning. Both of the Wesleys appreciated the formal liturgical worship of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. However, they ... encouraged less-formal worship in Methodist meetings. The Sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion were accepted as means by which God's grace is conveyed to the recipient. Wesleyan Methodism also stressed Bible reading, prayer, and fasting. From the Moravians they adapted a love feast for special occasions, at which the members served each other bread and water as a sign of Christian affection and fellowship.
Source:
Long distinguished by an emphasis on practical faith, Methodism and its various offshoots have sought to avoid a strict confessionalism. The addition of a new section to the 1972 Discipline, "Our Theological Task," which formalizes a posture of doctrinal pluralism that appeals to Wesley's sermon "Catholic Spirit", was an acknowledgment of the wide diversity of views within modern Methodism over the proper balance of Wesleyan orthodoxy and a theology of experience.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Wesleyan Methodism