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"And are We Yet Alive": Reflections on the Twentieth Anniversay of the Historical Society of The United Methodist Church
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Yrigoyen, Charles |
| Copyright Year | 2009 |
| Abstract | In 1749, Charles Wesley published a poem in a collection titled, Hymns and Sacred Poems. The poem was located in the section of the book designated “Hymns for Christian Friends.” Since the time of the Wesleys, Charles’ poem has been the opening hymn of the British Methodist Conference and has often opened many other annual conferences of world Methodism. Some of its words, but not all, are especially appropriate for the celebration of the first twenty years of our Historical Society. Many of you know the hymn, #553 in The United Methodist Hymnal: “And are we yet alive, and see each other’s face? Glory and praise to Jesus give for his redeeming grace.” Just twenty years ago this week our Society was born here at Lake Junaluska. Three hundred fifty people were present for the launching. The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Albert C. Outler, world renowned scholar of the Wesleys, outstanding theologian, and leading ecumenist. At the time we did not know it would be Outler’s last public address, the consummation of a brilliant career. Some of those present this evening attended that event and became charter members of the Society. Others attending that evening have crossed the threshold from this life to the next. The organization of the denomination’s Historical Society was an indication of United Methodist interest in our church’s history. Interest in our past began at least as early as John Wesley’s attempt to lay out for his people and others an account of the origins and early development of the movement he and his brother founded. John’s A Plain Account of the People Called Methodists (1749),1 is a brief narrative of Methodism’s birth and development into its second decade. In Wesley’s estimation, the people called Methodists, their sympathizers, and even their opponents needed to know how and why God raised up the Methodist movement and the manner in which it evolved. As Methodism took root in America and became a growing church, American Methodist historians took up their pens to tell its story. By its third decade the first major history of the church, Jesse Lee’s, Short History of the Methodists in the United States of America (1810), was published. Over the |
| Starting Page | 4 |
| Ending Page | 9 |
| Page Count | 6 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 48 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archives.gcah.org/bitstream/handle/10516/199/Methodist-History-2009-10-Yrigoyen.pdf;jsessionid=41D52EDBA59155B0D9B82CF8F36B1A23?sequence=1 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
