Methodist Church of Great Britain

The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant

Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to The Methodist Church[1]
Methodists worldwide.[6] It participates in the World Methodist
Council, and the World Council of Churches among other
ecumenical associations.
Classification Protestant
Methodism began primarily through the work of John Wesley Orientation Methodist
(1703–1791), who led an evangelical revival in 18th-century
Theology Wesleyan
Britain. An Anglican priest, Wesley adopted unconventional
and controversial practices, such as open-air preaching, to Governance Connexionalism
reach factory labourers and newly urbanised masses uprooted President Gill Newton[2]
from their traditional village culture at the start of the Industrial
Revolution. His preaching centred upon the universality of Vice-president Kerry Scarlett[2]
God's grace for all, the transforming effect of faith on character, Associations List
and the possibility of perfection in love during this life. He World Methodist
organised the new converts locally and in a "Connexion"
Council
across Britain. Following Wesley's death, the Methodist revival
became a separate church and ordained its own ministers; it World Council of
was called a Nonconformist church because it did not conform Churches
to the rules of the established Church of England. In the 19th Conference of
century, the Wesleyan Methodist Church experienced many European Churches
secessions, with the largest of the offshoots being the Primitive
Community of
Methodists. The main streams of Methodism were reunited in
Protestant
1932, forming the Methodist Church as it is today.
Churches in Europe
Methodist circuits, containing several local churches, are Churches Together
grouped into thirty districts. The supreme governing body of in Britain and
the church is the annual Methodist Conference; it is headed by
Ireland
the president of Conference, a presbyteral minister (currently
Gill Newton), supported by a vice-president who can be a local Churches Together
preacher or deacon. The denomination ordains women and in England
openly LGBT ministers. Action of Churches
Together in
The Methodist Church is Wesleyan in its theology and
Scotland
practices. It uses the historic creeds and bases its doctrinal
standards on Wesley's Notes on the New Testament and his Cytûn
Forty-four Sermons.[7]: 213 Church services can be structured Region Great Britain
with liturgy taken from a service book—especially for the Channel Islands ·
celebration of Holy Communion—but commonly include free Isle of Man ·
forms of worship.
Gibraltar · Malta
The 2009 British Social Attitudes Survey found that around Headquarters Methodist Church
800,000 people, or 1.29 per cent of the British population, House,
identified as Methodist.[8] As of 2020, active membership stood 25 Tavistock Place,
at approximately 164,000,[5] representing an 18.8 per cent London [3]
decline from the 2014 figure.[9] Methodism is the fourth-largest
Christian group in Britain.[10] Around 202,000 people attend a Origin 1932 (Methodist
Methodist church service each week, while 490,000 to 500,000 Union)1
take part in some other form of Methodist activity, such as Great Britain
youth work and community events organised by local
Merger of Wesleyan
churches.[11]
Methodist Church,
Primitive Methodist
History Church,
United Methodist
Origins Church
Local churches 4,110 (as of
The movement that would become the Methodist Church
2019)[4]
originated in the early 18th century within the Church of
England. A small group of students at Oxford University, Members 164,024 (as of
including John Wesley (1703–1791) and his younger brother 2020)[5]
Charles (1707–1788), met together for the purpose of mutual Ministers 3,459
improvement; they focused on studying the Bible and living a
holy life. Other students mocked the group, saying they were Aid organization All We Can
the "Holy Club" and "the Methodists",[note 1] being methodical Official website methodist.org.uk (ht
and exceptionally detailed in their Bible study, opinions and tp://methodist.org.u
disciplined lifestyle.[13][14] k/)

The first Methodist movement outside the Church of England 1. The Methodist movement originated
was associated with Howell Harris (1714–1773),[15] who in the 18th century
launched the Welsh Methodist revival in the 1730s. [16] This
was to become the Calvinistic Methodist Church (today known as
the Presbyterian Church of Wales).[17] Another branch of the
Methodist revival was under the ministry of George Whitefield
(1714–1770), a friend of the Wesleys from the Oxford Holy Club
—resulting in the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion.[18]

The largest branch of

Methodism in England was
organised by John Wesley.
In May 1738 he claimed to
have experienced a
profound discovery of God
in his heart, a pivotal event
that has come to be called
his evangelical
conversion.[19] From 1739,
Wesley took to open-air
preaching, and converted Wesley Memorial Church in Oxford,
people to his movement. [20]
the city where the Wesley brothers
He formed small classes in studied and formed the Holy Club.
Wesley's Chapel was established by
which his followers would
John Wesley in 1778 to serve as his
receive religious guidance
London base. Today it incorporates a
and intensive accountability in their personal lives.[21] Wesley also
museum of Methodism in its crypt.
appointed itinerant evangelists to travel and preach as he did and to
care for these groups of people. It is a tribute to Wesley's powers of
oratory and organisational skills that the term Methodism is today assumed to mean Wesleyan Methodism
unless otherwise specified.[17] Theologically, Wesley held to the Arminian belief that salvation is available
to all people,[22] in opposition to the Calvinist ideas of election and predestination that were accepted by the
Calvinistic Methodists.[17]

Methodist preachers were famous for their impassioned sermons, though opponents accused them of
"enthusiasm", i.e. fanaticism.[23] During Wesley's lifetime, many members of England's established church
feared that new doctrines promulgated by the Methodists, such as the necessity of a new birth for salvation,
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".[24] In one of his prints, William Hogarth likewise attacked Methodists as enthusiasts full of
"Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism".[25] Other attacks against the Methodists were physically violent
—Wesley was nearly murdered by a mob at Wednesbury in 1743.[26] The Methodists responded
vigorously to their critics and thrived despite the attacks against them.[27]

As Wesley and his assistants preached around the country they

formed local societies, authorised and organised through Wesley's
leadership and conferences of preachers. Wesley insisted that
Methodists regularly attend their local parish church as well as
Methodist meetings.[28] In 1784, Wesley made provision for the
continuance as a corporate body after his death of the 'Yearly
Conference of the People called Methodists'.[29] He nominated 100
people and declared them to be its members and laid down the
method by which their successors were to be appointed. The
Conference has remained the governing body of Methodism ever
since.[29] John Wesley preaching outside a
church (19th-century engraving).
Early Methodists were forbidden from
Separation from the Church of England preaching in parish churches.

As his societies multiplied, and elements of an ecclesiastical system

were successively adopted, the breach between Wesley and the
Church of England (Anglicanism) gradually widened. In 1784,
Wesley responded to the shortage of priests in the American
colonies due to the American Revolutionary War by ordaining
preachers for America with power to administer the sacraments.[30]
Wesley's actions precipitated the split between American
Methodists and the Church of England (which held that only
bishops could ordain persons to ministry).[31]

With regard to the position of Methodism within Christendom,

The first Methodist chapel called
"John Wesley once noted that what God had achieved in the
"The Foundery". Lithograph by H.
development of Methodism was no mere human endeavor but the
Humphreys, c. 1865.
work of God. As such it would be preserved by God so long as
history remained."[32] Calling it "the grand depositum" of the
Methodist faith, Wesley specifically taught that the propagation of the doctrine of entire sanctification was
the reason that God raised up the Methodists in the world (see § Wesleyan theology).[33]

British Methodism separated from the Church of England soon after the death of Wesley. There were early
contentions over the powers of preachers and the Conference, and the timing of chapel services.[34] At this
point in time a majority of Methodist members were not attending Anglican church services.[34] The 1795
Plan of Pacification permitted Methodist chapels to celebrate Holy Communion where both a majority of
trustees and a majority of the stewards and leaders allowed it.[35] (These services often used Wesley's
abridgement of the Book of Common Prayer.[35]) This permission was later extended to the administration
of baptism, burial and timing of services, bringing Methodist chapels into direct competition with the local
parish church. Consequently, known Methodists were excluded from the Church of England.[34] Alexander
Kilham and his 'radicals' denounced the Conference for giving too much power to the ministers of the
church at the expense of the laity. In 1797, following the Plan of Pacification, Kilham was expelled from
the church. The radicals formed the Methodist New Connexion, while the original body came to be known
as the Wesleyan Methodist Church.[34]

1790 to 1910

Early growth

Early Methodists were systematic in collecting

statistics on membership.[36] Their growth was
rapid, from 58,000 in 1790 to 302,000 in 1830
and 518,000 in 1850.[37] Those were the official
members, but the national census of 1851 counted
people with an informal connection to
Methodism, and the total was 1,463,000.[37]
Growth was steady in both rural and urban areas,
despite disruption caused by numerous schisms;
these resulted in separate denominations (or
"connexions") such as the Wesleyan Methodist
Church, the first and largest, followed by the New
Connexion, the Bible Christian Church and the
Primitive Methodist Church.[37] Some of the
growth can be attributed to the failure of the
established Church of England to provide church
facilities.[38] In the later 19th century a
programme of church building by the established
church, in competition with the Nonconformists,
increased the number of church-attending
Anglicans.[39] This reduced the opportunities for
the Nonconformists in general and the Methodists
in particular to keep growing. Membership
reached 602,000 in 1870 and peaked at 841,000
in 1910.[40][41]
Timeline of Methodist connexions in Britain
Early Methodism was particularly prominent in
Devon and Cornwall, which were key centres of
activity by the Bible Christian faction.[42] The Bible Christians produced many preachers, and sent many
missionaries to Australia.[43] Methodism as a whole grew rapidly in the old mill towns of Yorkshire and
Lancashire, where the preachers stressed that the working classes were equal to the upper classes in the
eyes of God.[44] In Wales, three elements separately welcomed Methodism: Welsh-speaking, English-
speaking, and Calvinistic.[45]
The independent Methodist movement did not appeal to England's landed gentry; they favoured the
developing evangelical movement inside the Church of England. However, Methodism became popular
among ambitious middle class families.[46] For example, the Osborn family of Sheffield, whose steel
company emerged in the mid-19th century in Sheffield's period of rapid industrialisation. Historian Clyde
Binfield says their fervent Methodist faith strengthened their commitment to economic independence,
spiritual certainty and civic responsibility.[46]

Methodism was especially popular among skilled workers and much less prevalent among labourers.
Historians such as Élie Halévy, Eric J. Hobsbawm, E. P. Thompson, and Alan Gilbert have explored the
role of Methodism in the early decades of the making of the British working class (1760–1820). On the one
hand it provided a model of how to efficiently organise large numbers of people and sustain their
connection over a long period of time, and on the other it diverted and discouraged political radicalism.[47]
In explaining why Britain did not undergo a social revolution in the period 1790–1832, a time that
appeared ripe for violent social upheaval, Halévy argued that Methodism forestalled revolution among the
working class by redirecting its energies toward spiritual affairs rather than workplace concerns.[48]
Thompson argues that overall it had a politically regressive effect.[49]

Leadership

John Wesley was the longtime president of the Methodist Conference, but
after his death it was agreed that in future, so much authority would not
be placed in the hands of one man. Instead, the president would be
elected for one year, to sit in Wesley's chair.[2] Successive Methodist
schisms resulted in multiple presidents, before a united conference
assembled in 1932.

Wesley wrote, edited or abridged some 400 publications. As well as

theology he wrote about music, marriage, medicine, abolitionism and
politics.[50] Wesley himself and the senior leadership were political
conservatives. Although many trade union leaders were attracted to
Methodism—the Tolpuddle Martyrs being an early example[51]—the
church itself did not actively support the unions. Historians Patrick K. Jabez Bunting, c. 1843–47
O'Brien and Roland Quinault argue:

John Wesley's own Tory sympathies and autocratic instincts had been strong and genuine, and
as far as possible he had instilled into his followers deference toward established social and
religious authorities. He emphasised political quietism. His mission he saw as strictly spiritual,
and his own inherently conservative political instincts and social values reinforced a pragmatic
concern to give as little offense as possible to a suspicious wider society. These same motives
influenced the ministerial oligarchy...."Methodism" said Jabez Bunting...hates democracy as it
hates sin."[52]

Jabez Bunting (1779–1858) was the most prominent leader of the Wesleyan Methodist movement after
Wesley's death. He preached successful revivals until 1802, when he saw revivals leading to dissension and
division. He then became dedicated to church order and discipline, and vehemently opposed revivalism.[53]
He was a popular preacher in numerous cities. He was four times chosen to be president of the Conference
and held numerous senior positions as administrator and watched budgets very closely. Bunting and his
allies centralised power by making the Conference the final arbiter of Methodism, and giving it the power
to reassign preachers and select superintendents. He was zealous in the cause of foreign missions. In
English politics he was conservative. He had little tolerance for liberal elements or for Sunday schools and
temperance crusades, which led to expulsion of his opponents, whereupon a third of the members broke
away in 1849. Numerous alliances with other groups failed and weakened his control.[53][54]

William Bramwell (1759–1818) was a preacher who engendered controversy due to his intense revivalist
preaching style, which spurred awakenings throughout the north of England—including the 1793–97
Yorkshire Revival—and his association with Alexander Kilham (1762–1798). Kilham was a revivalist who
led the New Connexion secession from mainstream Wesleyan ministry.[55]

Hugh Price Hughes (1847–1902) was the first superintendent of the West
London Methodist Mission, a key Methodist organisation. Recognised as
one of the greatest orators of his era, he also founded and edited an
influential newspaper, the Methodist Times in 1885. Hughes played a key
role in leading Methodists into the Liberal Party coalition, away from the
Conservative leanings of previous Methodist leaders.[56][57]

John Scott Lidgett (1854–1953) achieved prominence both as a

theologian and reformer by stressing the importance of the church's
engagement with the whole of society and human culture. He promoted
the Social Gospel and founded the Bermondsey Settlement to reach the
poor of London, as well as the Wesley Guild, a social organisation aimed
at young people which reached 150,000 members by 1900.[58][59]

Hugh Price Hughes, editor

Women and orator, encouraged
Methodists to support the
Early Methodism experienced a radical and spiritual phase that allowed more moralistic Liberal Party.
women authority in church leadership. In 1771, Mary Bosanquet (1739–
1815) wrote to John Wesley to defend hers and Sarah Crosby's work
preaching and leading classes at her orphanage, Cross Hall.[60] Her argument was that women should be
able to preach when they experienced an "extraordinary call".[60][61] Wesley accepted Bosanquet's
argument, and formally began to allow women to preach in Methodism in 1771.[61] In general, the role of
the woman preacher emerged from the sense that the home should be a place of community care and
should foster personal growth. Women gained self-esteem at this time when members were encouraged to
testify about the nature of their faith. Methodist women formed a community that cared for the vulnerable,
extending the role of mothering beyond physical care.[62] However the centrality of women's role sharply
diminished after 1790 as the Methodist movement became more structured and more male dominated.[61]

In the 18th century Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, (1707–91) played a major role in financing
and guiding early Methodism. Hastings was the first female principal of a men's college in Wales, Trevecca
College, for the education of Methodist ministers.[63] She financed the building of 64 chapels in England
and Wales, wrote often to George Whitefield and John Wesley, and funded mission work in colonial
America. She is best remembered for her adversarial relationships with other Methodists who objected to a
woman having power.[63][64]

Youth and education

Methodists placed a high priority on close guidance of their youth, as seen in the activities of Sunday
schools and the Band of Hope (whose members signed a pledge to "abstain from all intoxicating
liquors").[65][66]
Wesley himself opened schools at The Foundery in London, and
Kingswood School. A Wesleyan report in 1832 said that for the
church to prosper the system of Sunday schools should be
augmented by day-schools with educated teachers. It was proposed
in 1843 that 700 new day-schools be established within seven
years. Though a steady increase was achieved, that ambitious target
could not be reached, in part limited by the number of suitably
qualified teachers. Most teachers came from one institution in
Glasgow. The Wesleyan Education Report for 1844 called for a
permanent Wesleyan teacher-training college. The result was the Chapel of Kingswood School, the
foundation of Westminster Training College at Horseferry Road, world's oldest Methodist educational
Westminster in 1851.[68] institution[67]

19th-century England lacked a state school system; the major

supplier was the Church of England. The Wesleyan Education Committee, which existed from 1838 to
1902, has documented Methodism's involvement in the education of children. At first most effort was
placed in creating Sunday schools. In 1837 there were 3,339 Sunday schools with 59,297 teachers and
341,443 pupils.[69] In 1836 the Wesleyan Methodist Conference gave its blessing to the creation of
'Weekday schools'.[70][71] In 1902 the Methodists operated 738 schools, so their children would not have to
learn from Anglican teachers. The Methodists, along with other Nonconformists, bitterly opposed the
Education Act 1902, which funded Church of England schools and funded Methodists schools too but
placed them under local education authorities that were usually controlled by Anglicans.[72] In the 20th
century the number of Methodist Church-operated schools declined, as many became state-run schools,
with only 28 still operating in 1996.[73]

Colonial missions

Through vigorous missionary work, Methodism spread throughout the British Empire. It was especially
successful in the new United States, thanks to the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century.
English emigrants brought Methodism to Canada and Australia.[74] British and American missionaries
reached out to India and some other imperial colonies.[75] In general the conversion efforts were only
modestly successful, but reports back to Britain did have an influence in shaping how Methodists
understood the wider world.[76]

Nonconformist conscience

Historians group Methodists together with other Protestant groups as "Nonconformists" or "Dissenters",
standing in opposition to the established Church of England. In the 19th century the Dissenters who went
to chapel comprised half the people who actually attended services on Sunday. The "Nonconformist
conscience" was their moral sensibility which they tried to implement in British politics.[77][57] The two
categories of Dissenters, or Nonconformists, were in addition to the evangelicals or "Low Church" element
in the Church of England. "Old Dissenters", dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, included Baptists,
Congregationalists, Quakers, Unitarians, and Presbyterians outside Scotland. "New Dissenters" emerged in
the 18th century and were mainly Methodists, especially the Wesleyan Methodists.[77]

The "Nonconformist conscience" of the "Old" group emphasised religious freedom and equality, pursuit of
justice, and opposition to discrimination, compulsion and coercion. The "New Dissenters" (and also the
Anglican evangelicals) stressed personal morality issues, including sexuality, family values, temperance,
and Sabbath-keeping. Both factions were politically active, but until the mid-19th century the Old group
supported mostly Whigs and Liberals in politics, while the New generally supported Conservatives.
However the Methodists changed and in the 1880s moved into the Liberal Party, drawn in large part by
Gladstone's intense moralism. The result was a merging of the Old and New, strengthening their great
weight as a political pressure group.[78][79] They joined on new issues especially supporting temperance
and opposing the Education Act 1902, with the former of special interest to Methodists.[80][81] By 1914 the
conscience was weakening and by the 1920s it was virtually dead politically.[82]

Architecture

In the early days of Methodism chapels were sometimes built octagonal,

largely to avoid conflict with the established Church of England. The first
was in Norwich (1757); it was followed by Rotherham (1761), Whitby
(1762), Yarm (1763), Heptonstall (1764) and nine others. John Wesley
personally approved the design of the octagonal chapels, stating, "It is
better for the voice and on many accounts more commodious than any
other." He is also said to have added—"there are no corners for the devil to
hide in".[83]

Methodist Heritage records the Yarm chapel as the oldest in England in

continual use as a place of Methodist worship.[84] Its design and
construction were overseen by Wesley, who preached at the chapel
frequently and declared it as his "favourite".[84] The octagonal Methodist
chapel in Heptonstall is one
Nevertheless, the Heptonstall chapel has also contested for the title of oldest of the oldest in England.
octagon chapel in continual use.[85] The building featured in the BBC
television series Churches: How to Read Them. Presenter Richard Taylor
named it as one of his ten favourite churches, saying: "If buildings have an aura, this one radiated
friendship."[86]

Primitive Methodism

A Methodist (originally Primitive Methodist) chapel, opened 1878, in Halvergate, Norfolk

The Wesleyan Methodists' rejection of revivals and camp meetings led to the founding in 1820 of the
Primitive Methodist Connexion in England and Scotland, which emphasised those practices. It was a
democratic, lay-oriented movement. Its social base was among the poorer members of society; they
appreciated both its content (damnation, salvation, sinners and saints) and style (direct, spontaneous, and
passionate). It offered an alternative to the more middle class Wesleyan Methodists and the upper class
controlled Anglican established church, and in turn sometimes led adherents to Pentecostalism.[87] The
Primitive Methodists were poorly funded and had trouble building chapels or schools and supporting
ministers.[88] Growth was strong in the middle 19th century. Membership declined after 1900 because of
growing secularism in society, a resurgence of Anglicanism among the working classes, competition from
other Nonconformist denominations (including former Methodist minister William Booth's Salvation
Army), and competition among different Methodist branches.[89]

The leading theologian of the Primitive Methodists was Arthur Peake (1865–1929), professor of biblical
criticism at the University of Manchester, 1904–29. He was active in numerous leadership roles and
promoted Methodist Union that came about in 1932 after his death. He popularised modern biblical
scholarship, including the new higher criticism. He approached the Bible not as the infallible word of God,
but as the record of revelation written by fallible humans.[90]

1910 to present

Reunification

Membership of the various Methodist branches peaked at 841,000 in 1910, then fell steadily to 425,000 in
1990.[41] The second half of the 19th century saw many of the small schisms reunited to become the
United Methodist Free Churches, and a further union in 1907 with the Methodist New Connexion and
Bible Christian Church brought the United Methodist Church into being. In 1908 the major three branches
were the Wesleyan Methodists, the Primitive Methodists, and the United Methodists. After the late 19th
century evangelical approaches to the unchurched were less effective and less used. Methodists paid more
attention to their current membership, and less to outreach, while middle-class family size shrank
steadily.[91] There were fewer famous preachers or outstanding leaders. The theological change that
emphasised the conversion experience as being a one-time lifetime event rather than as a step on the road to
perfection lessened the importance of class-meeting attendance and made revivals less meaningful.[92] The
growth mechanisms that had worked so well in the expansion phase in the early 19th century were largely
discarded, including revivals and the personal appeal in class meetings, as well as the love feast, the Sunday
night prayer meeting, and the open-air meeting. The failure to grow was signalled by the flagging
experience of the Sunday schools, whose enrolments fell steadily.[93][94]

With the Methodist Union of 1932 the three main Methodist connexions in Britain—the Wesleyans,
Primitive Methodists, and United Methodists—came together to form the present Methodist Church.[95]
Some offshoots of Methodism, such as the Independent Methodist Connexion, remain totally separate
organisations.[96]

Attempts to reverse the decline

After the union of 1932 many towns and villages were left with rival Methodist churches and circuits that
were slow to amalgamate.[97] Methodist historian Reginald Ward states that because unification was
unevenly implemented until the 1950s, it distracted attention away from the urgent need to revive the fast-
shrinking movement. The hoped-for financial gains proved to be illusory, and Methodist leaders spent the
early post-war era vainly trying to achieve union with the Church of England.[98] Multiple approaches
were used to turn around the membership decline and flagging zeal
in the post-war era, but none worked well. For example, Methodist
group tours were organised, but they ended when it was clear they
made little impact.[99]

During the 20th century Methodists increasingly embraced

Christian socialist ideas. Donald Soper (1903–1998) was perhaps
the most widely recognised Methodist leader. An activist, he
promoted pacifism and nuclear disarmament in cooperation with
the Labour Party.[100] Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a
moralistic Methodist; Soper denounced her policies as unchristian.
However, in "the battle for Britain's soul" she was reelected over
and over.[101] Methodist historian Martin Wellings says of Soper: The Methodist Hymn-Book (a 1st
edition, pictured) was printed in 1933
to commemorate the union of the
His combination of modernist theology, high
three major Methodist branches.
sacramentalism, and Socialist politics, expressed with
insouciant wit and unapologetic élan, thrilled
audiences, delighted admirers, and reduced opponents
to apoplectic fury.[100]

In 1967, Soper, then the only Methodist minister in the House of Lords, lamented that:

To-day we are living in what is the first genuinely pagan age—that is to say, there are so many
people, particularly children, who never remember having heard hymns at their mother's knee,
as I have, whose first tunes are from Radio One, and not from any hymn book; whose first
acquaintance with their friends and relations and other people is not in the Sunday School or in
the Church at all, as mine was.[102]

Scholars have suggested multiple possible reasons for the decline, but have not agreed on their relative
importance. Wellings lays out the "classical model" of secularization, while noting that it has been
challenged by some scholars.

The familiar starting-point, a classical model of secularization, argues that religious faith
becomes less plausible and religious practice more difficult in advanced industrial and
urbanized societies. The breakdown or disruption of traditional communities and norms of
behavior; the spread of a scientific world-view diminishing the scope of the supernatural and
the role of God; increasing material affluence promoting self-reliance and this-worldly
optimism; and greater awareness and toleration of different creeds and ideas, encouraging
religious pluralism and eviscerating commitment to a particular faith, all form components of
the case for secularization. Applied to the British churches in general by Steve Bruce and to
Methodism in particular by Robert Currie, this model traces decline back to the Victorian era
and charts in the twentieth century a steady ebbing of the sea of faith.[100][103]
Over the ten-year period from 2006 to 2016 membership decreased from 262,972 to 188,398. This
represents a decline at a rate of 3.5 per cent year-on-year.[11][104] There were 4,512 local churches in the
denomination.[11] Over the following three years to 2019 the rate of decline slowed slightly, as membership
reduced to under 170,000, and church numbers to 4,110.[4]

Worship and liturgy

Methodism was endowed by the Wesley brothers with worship
characterised by a twofold practice: the sacramental liturgy of the
Anglican Book of Common Prayer on the one hand and the free form
"service of the word", i.e. a Nonconformist preaching service, on the
other.[105][106] Listening to the reading of Scripture and a sermon based
upon the biblical text is virtually always included in Methodist
worship.[105] The Methodist Church follows the Revised Common
Lectionary, in common with other major denominations in Britain.[107]
Similar to most historic Christian churches, the Methodist Church has
official liturgies for services such as Holy Communion (the Lord's
Supper), Baptism, Ordination, and Marriage. These and other patterns of
A minister, dressed in a
worship are contained in the Methodist Worship Book, the most recent
cassock and preaching
Methodist service book.[108] It states in its preface that worship is "a
bands, presides over a
gracious encounter between God and the Church. God speaks to us,
service of Holy Communion
especially through scripture read and proclaimed and through symbols
and sacraments. We respond chiefly through hymns and prayers and acts
of dedication."[109] Methodism has typically allowed for freedom in how the liturgy is celebrated—the
Worship Book serves as a guideline, but ministers, preachers and other worship leaders are not obligated to
use it.[note 2]

The Methodist Church has used a succession of hymnals (hymn

books) and service books. The Methodist Hymn-Book (1933) was
the first hymnal published after the 1932 union.[108] In 1936 the
church authorised the Book of Offices,[note 3] including an "Order
for Morning Prayer", which followed the precedent of Wesleyan
liturgies based on the Book of Common Prayer (1662).[111][112]
Later, the Methodist Service Book (1975) modernised the language
used in the Communion prayers; its widespread usage has been
cited as a cause for more frequent celebration of Communion in the
Methodist Church.[113] The publication of a new hymnal, Hymns
Sanctuary of Heptonstall Methodist
and Psalms (1983), expanded the repertoire of 20th-century
chapel. The prominent position of the
compositions.[108] pulpit reflects the emphasis on
preaching as the central focus of
The Methodist Worship Book (1999) includes a wider range of
most services.
services for every season; it continues the 1975 service book's
intention of preserving Methodist traditions while taking into
account the insights of the liturgical renewal movement.[112][113] News media took interest in its
publication due to the utilisation of gender-neutral language and the inclusion of a prayer addressed to
"God our Father and our Mother ".[113] This prayer was viewed by some traditionalists as a "challenging"
departure from the masculine language which is traditionally used when referring to God.[114]
Hymnody is used to communicate doctrine, and is recognised as a central feature of Methodism's liturgical
identity.[115] The church is known for its rich musical tradition, and Charles Wesley was instrumental in
writing many of the popular hymns sung by Methodist congregations.[116][117][118] Singing the Faith is the
current hymnal, published by the church in 2011.[119] It contains 748 hymns and songs and 42 liturgical
settings (such as the Kyrie, the Sanctus and the Lord's Prayer, as well as material from the Taizé and Iona
traditions).[119] There are also 50 canticles and psalms, selected on the basis of their use within liturgy.[119]
The collection of 89 hymns by Charles Wesley[120] is a reduction from over 200 in the 1933 Hymn-
Book.[108]

Holy Communion

Methodist congregations celebrate Holy Communion within a Sunday service generally at least once a
month.[121] The practice of an open table is now widespread in the Methodist Church. Although the
phrasing and exact requirements in a particular local church may vary, generally "all those who love the
Lord Jesus Christ"[122]: 7 are invited to receive bread and wine, irrespective of age or denominational
identity. However this is not historic Methodist practice. Guidelines about Children and Holy Communion,
issued in 1987, affirmed that those receiving communion should, if not already baptised, be encouraged to
be baptised—though acknowledging that this "theological principle" was not widely adhered to.[122]

Covenant Service

A distinctive liturgical feature of British Methodism is the Covenant Service. Methodists annually follow
the call of John Wesley for a renewal of their covenant with God.[123] In 1755, Wesley crafted the original
Covenant Service using material from the writings of eminent clerics Joseph and Richard Alleine. In 1780,
Wesley printed an excerpt from Richard Alleine's Vindiciae Pietatis, which is prayer for renewal of a
believer's covenant with God.[124] This excerpt, known in modified form as the Wesley Covenant Prayer,
remained in use—linked with Holy Communion and observed on the first Sunday of the New Year—
among Wesleyan Methodists until 1936.[124] In the 1920s, Wesleyan minister George B. Robson expanded
the form of the Covenant Service by replacing most of the exhortation with prayers of adoration,
thanksgiving and confession. Robson's Covenant Service was revised and officially authorised for use in
the Book of Offices (1936). Further revisions, strengthening the link with Communion and intercession for
the wider church and the world, appeared in the Service Book (1975) and Worship Book (1999).[124] This
Covenant Prayer, which has been adopted by other Christian traditions, has been described as "a
celebration of all that God has done and an affirmation that we give our lives and choices to God".[125]

Doctrine

Core beliefs

A summary of Methodist doctrine is contained in the Catechism for the Use of the People Called
Methodists.[126] Some core beliefs that are affirmed by most Methodists include:

The belief that God is all-knowing, possesses infinite love, is all-powerful, and the creator of
all things.
God has always existed and will always continue to exist.
God is three persons in one: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
 God is the master of all creation and humans are meant to live in a holy covenant with him.
Humans have broken this covenant by their sins but all can be forgiven through the saving
grace of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was God in human form, who died by crucifixion as a sacrifice to achieve atonement
for the sins of all people, and who was resurrected to bring them hope of eternal life.
God's pardon for guilty sinners is granted to and received through faith alone.
The grace of God is seen by people through the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and in
their world. (Scriptural holiness.)
Scripture, comprising the Old and New Testaments, records divine revelation and is the
primary source of authority for Christians.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper (commonly called Holy Communion) are the two sacraments
instituted by Jesus:
Baptism involves being sprinkled with water or total immersion in it. This symbolises
being brought into the community of faith; the sacrament requires a response of
repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.[127] The church practices infant baptism in
anticipation of a response to be made later in confirmation.[128]
The Lord's Supper is a sacrament in which participants eat bread and drink wine in
memory of the Last Supper. The Catechism states, "Jesus Christ is present with his
worshipping people ... As they eat the bread and drink the wine, through the power of the
Holy Spirit they receive him by faith and with thanksgiving."[129]

Wesleyan theology

Wesleyan tradition stands at a unique cross-roads between evangelical and sacramental, between liturgical
and charismatic, and between Anglo-Catholic and Reformed theology and practice.[130] It has been
characterised as Arminian theology with an emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit to bring holiness into
the life of the participating believer. The Methodist Church teaches the Arminian concepts of free will,
conditional election, and sanctifying grace. John Wesley was perhaps the clearest English proponent of
Arminianism.[131][132] Wesley taught that salvation is achieved through "divine/human cooperation"
(which is referred to as synergism),[133][134] however, one cannot either turn to God nor believe unless
God has first drawn a person and implanted the desire in their heart (the Wesleyan doctrine of prevenient
grace).[135]

Wesley believed that certain aspects of the Christian faith required special emphasis.[136] Wesleyan
Methodist minister William Fitzgerald (1856–1931) summarised the core emphases of Wesleyan doctrine
by using four statements that collectively are called the 'Four Alls'.[137] These are expressed:

All people need to be saved (total depravity)

All people can be saved (unlimited atonement)
All people can know they are saved (assurance of faith)
All people can be saved to the uttermost (Christian perfection)[138]

Wesley described the mission of Methodism as being "to spread scriptural holiness over the land".[139]
Methodists believe that inner holiness (sanctification) should be evidenced by external actions (that is,
outward holiness), such as avoiding ostentation, dressing modestly, and acting honestly.[140] Wesley made
much of the ongoing process or "journey" of sanctification, occasionally even seeming to claim that
believers could to some degree attain perfection in this life.[141][note 4]
It is a traditional position of the Methodist Church that any disciplined theological work calls for the careful
use of reason by which to understand God's action and will.[112] However, Methodists also look to
Christian tradition as a source of doctrine. Wesley himself believed that the living core of the Christian faith
was revealed in the Bible as the sole foundational source. The centrality of Scripture was so important for
Wesley that he called himself "a man of one book".[143] Methodism has also emphasised a personal
experience of faith; this is linked to the Methodist doctrine of assurance. These four elements taken together
form the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.[144]

Scripture

According to a conference report, A Lamp to my Feet and a Light to my Path (1998),[note 5][145] there are
different perspectives on biblical authority which are held within the Methodist Church. The report
summarises a range of views, as follows:[146]

1. The Bible is the Word of God and is therefore inerrant (free of all error and entirely
trustworthy in everything which it records) and has complete authority in all matters of
theology and behavior....
2. The Bible's teaching about God, salvation and Christian living is entirely trustworthy. It
cannot be expected, however, to provide entirely accurate scientific or historical
information....
3. The Bible is the essential foundation on which Christian faith and life are built. However, its
teachings were formed in particular historical and cultural contexts and must therefore be
read in that light....
4. The Bible's teaching, while foundational and authoritative for Christians, needs to be
interpreted by the church.... Church tradition is therefore high importance as a practical
source of authority.
5. The Bible is one of the main ways in which God speaks to the believer... Much stress is
placed on spiritual experience itself, which conveys its own compelling authority.
6. The Bible witnesses to God's revelation of himself through history and supremely through
Jesus Christ. However, the Bible is not itself that revelation, but only the witness to it....
Reason, tradition and experience are as important as the biblical witnesses.
7. The Bible comprises a diverse and often contradictory collection of documents which
represent the experiences of various people in various times and places. The Christian's
task is to follow, in some way, the example of Christ. And to the extent that the Bible records
evidence of his character and teaching it offers a useful resource.

Doctrinal standards

The Methodist Church understands itself to be part of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.[147] It
recognises the historic creeds, the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, as two statements of belief which
have been in use since the earliest days of the Christian Church,[148] and which may be used in church
services; alongside these a short "affirmation of faith" is also set out in the Methodist Worship Book.[149]

Although Methodist practices and interpretation of beliefs have evolved over time, these practices and
beliefs can be traced to the writings, hymns and sermons of the church's founders,[150] especially John
Wesley and Charles Wesley. The Methodist Church does not possess a strict set of doctrines comparable to
that of the Westminster Confession, but it does specify general doctrinal standards, as follows:
 The Methodist Church claims and cherishes its place in the Holy Catholic Church which is the
Body of Christ. It rejoices in the inheritance of the apostolic faith and loyally accepts the
fundamental principles of the historic creeds and of the Protestant Reformation. It ever
remembers that in the providence of God Methodism was raised up to spread scriptural
holiness through the land by the proclamation of the evangelical faith and declares its
unfaltering resolve to be true to its divinely appointed mission.

The doctrines of the evangelical faith which Methodism has held from the beginning and still
holds are based upon the divine revelation recorded in the Holy Scriptures. The Methodist
Church acknowledges this revelation as the supreme rule of faith and practice. These
evangelical doctrines to which the preachers of the Methodist Church are pledged are
contained in Wesley's Notes on the New Testament and the first four volumes of his sermons.

The Notes on the New Testament and the 44 Sermons are not intended to impose a system of
formal or speculative theology on Methodist preachers, but to set up standards of preaching
and belief which should secure loyalty to the fundamental truths of the gospel of redemption
and ensure the continued witness of the Church to the realities of the Christian experience of
salvation.

— Deed of Union (1932)[7]: 213

Evangelism

The church is also evangelistic, i.e. concerned with spreading the Christian gospel. Being an evangelistic
church is considered an integral part of the Methodist calling. The church offers a course called Everyone
an evangelist, reflecting the church's evangelism and growth strategy and its focus on personal
testimony.[151][152]

Positions on social and moral issues

Life issues

The Methodist Conference statement of 1976 says that the termination of any form of human life cannot be
regarded superficially.[153] The church has also stated that the "unborn human" should be accorded rights
progressively as it develops through the stages of gestation, from embryo to fetus, culminating with full
respect as an individual at birth.[154] The 1976 statement gives examples of circumstances in which
abortion may be permissible; these include situations where the life or health of the mother is at risk, in
cases of serious abnormality where the child is incapable of survival, and in cases where the right of the
unborn child to be healthy and wanted may not be met.[153] The Methodist Church believes that its
members should work toward the elimination of the need for abortion by advocating for social support for
mothers. The conference statement argues that "abortion must not be regarded as an alternative to
contraception", and disagrees with complete legalisation, recommending that abortion "should remain
subject to a legal framework and to responsible counselling and to medical judgement." [153] Within this
legal framework, it advocates limiting elective abortions to 20 weeks of pregnancy.[155] The church
generally approved of the Abortion Act 1967 which made abortion legal only under certain
circumstances.[155][153] It also supports the use of "responsible contraception" and family planning as ways
to prevent unwanted pregnancies.[156]
The Methodist Church strongly opposes assisted suicide and euthanasia: "The final stage of an illness is not
one which need represent the ultimate defeat for the doctor or nurse, but a supreme opportunity to help the
patient at many levels, including those relating to emotional and spiritual well-being ... Dedicated workers
in this field of care, including specialised hospices, demonstrate that it is possible to deal with all the
symptoms which cause problems to the patient ... Euthanasia, assisted dying – both are artificial
precipitation of death. Many Christians believe this idea is wrong. An approach to death as outlined above
makes euthanasia inappropriate and irrelevant."[157]

The Methodist Church supported the campaign to abolish capital punishment in the United Kingdom, and
since then has totally opposed its reintroduction.[158]

Sexuality and marriage

Within the Methodist Church members have a broad range of views about human sexuality, relationships,
and the purpose of marriage.[159] The church condemns all practices of sexuality "which are promiscuous,
exploitative or demeaning in any way".[160] In his 1743 tract "Thoughts on Marriage and a Single Life",
John Wesley taught that the ability to live a single life is given by God to all believers, although few people
are able to accept this gift. He also taught that no one should forbid marriage.[161]

In 1993 the Methodist Conference met in Derby and passed six resolutions covering issues related with
human sexuality (known as the "Derby Resolutions" or "1993 Resolutions"). Among these, the conference
at the time reaffirmed the traditional Christian teaching of "chastity for all outside marriage and fidelity
within it".[160] The Derby Resolutions also agreed that the church "recognises, affirms and celebrates the
participation and ministry of lesbians and gay men" and allows the ordination of openly gay ministers.[160]

The Methodist Church has had a mixed position on the blessing of same-sex couples. In 2005 the
Methodist Conference meeting in Torquay recommended that ministers be allowed to bless same-sex
relationships, subject to local approval.[162][163] It affirmed that the church should be "welcoming and
inclusive" and not turn people away because of their sexual orientation.[163] However, in 2006 the
Methodist Conference decided not to authorise formal blessings in local churches, although ministers were
allowed to offer informal private prayers.[164][165] The 2013 conference set up a working party to oversee
a process of "deep reflection and discernment" before reporting back to the conference in 2016 with
recommendations about whether the definition of marriage should be revised.[166] Subsequently, in 2016
the conference voted to "revisit" the church's position on same-sex marriage, with a mandate from members
"expressing a desire to endorse same-sex relationships".[167]

On 3 July 2019 the Methodist Conference approved a report, God in Love Unites Us, and voted in
principle to permit same-sex weddings in Methodist premises by Methodist ministers—the report was then
sent to district synods for consultation.[168] A final decision was due to be made at the July 2020
conference,[169] however this was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented
grassroots discussions of the proposals.[170] On 30 June 2021 the Conference, presided over by Sonia
Hicks, overwhelmingly approved (254 votes in favour with 46 against) the recognition of same-sex
marriage in the church. Ministers are not forced to conduct such weddings if they disagree.[171] The
Conference also affirmed cohabitation.[172] The traditionalist caucus, Methodist Evangelicals Together,
dissented with this recognition.[173]

Prior to this, the Methodist Church already permitted transgender individuals who had undergone a legal
gender transition to marry in the church. This was because it allowed persons to be married based on their
legal gender rather than their assigned sex at birth. The church has stated, "[t]here is no clear theological or
Scriptural position on matters of gender reassignment."[174]
Dignity and Worth is a campaign group within the Methodist Church which aims to strengthen the
Methodist Church's position as an LGBT-affirming denomination.[171][175] The chair of the group
described the church's decision to recognise same-sex marriage as a "momentous step on the road to
justice".[171]

Alcohol

In 1744, the directions the Wesleys gave to the Methodist societies required them "to taste no spirituous
liquor ... unless prescribed by a physician."[176] Methodists, in particular the Primitives, later took a leading
role in the British temperance movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries,[177] and Methodism remains
closely associated with temperance in many people's minds.[178]: 3 Methodists saw social issues such as
poverty and violence in the home as exacerbated by drunkenness and alcoholism, and sought to persuade
people to abstain totally from alcoholic beverages.[66][179] Temperance appealed strongly to the Methodist
doctrines of sanctification and perfection. At one time, ministers had to take a pledge not to drink, and
encouraged their congregations to do the same.[180] To this day, alcohol remains banned in most Methodist
premises.[note 6] The choice to consume alcohol outside of church is now a personal decision for any
member: the 1974 conference recognised the "sincerity and integrity of those who take differing views on
whether they should drink or abstain".[178]: 4 [182] The conference of 2000 later recommended that all
Methodists should "consider seriously the claims of total abstinence", and "make a personal commitment
either to total abstinence or to responsible drinking".[7]: 817

The Methodist Church uses non-alcoholic wine (grape juice) in the sacrament of Holy Communion.[183] In
1869, a Methodist dentist named Thomas Welch developed a method of pasteurising grape juice in order to
produce an unfermented communion wine for his church.[184] He later founded Welch's grape juice
company.[185] By the 1880s this non-alcoholic wine had become commonplace in Methodist churches
worldwide.[186]

Poverty

From the start Methodism was sympathetic towards poor people. In 1753, John Wesley bemoaned, "So
wickedly, devilishly false is that common objection, 'They are poor, only because they are idle'."[187] In a
Joint Public Issues Team report issued with the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland and
United Reformed Church, the Methodist Church stated this misconception is also prevalent today.[188]

Daleep Mukarji, the former director of the charity Christian Aid,[189] who was vice-president of the
Methodist Conference in 2013, stated economic inequality was more prevalent in 21st-century Britain than
at any time since World War II. He highlighted the response of Methodists:

Working with others, people of faith or no faith, we need to work for justice, inclusion and
development that benefits the poor and marginalised here in the UK and across the world. This
requires that we be prepared for the education, organisation and equipping of our members so
that we build the necessary energy and commitment to see changes in our society. (...) We
must hold our leaders, the structures and systems accountable so that we see that the weak and
vulnerable are given a better deal. (...) Many Methodists in our local churches and circuits have
outstanding programmes that serve people in need. At this time when poverty, deprivation and
neglect seem to have got worse we should do more. (...) Our Methodist church is known for
our service, our commitment to social justice and our willingness to act to transform society.
 — Daleep Mukarji[190]

Some Methodist churches host food banks, distributing food to those in need.[191][192]

Ministry

Presbyters and deacons

In 2016 there were 3,459 Methodist ministers, with 1,562 active in circuit ministry.[11] The church
recognises two orders of ordained ministry—that of presbyter and deacon.[193][note 7] Church documents
refer to both as "Minister", though common usage often limits this title to presbyters.[193][196]: 149
Presbyters are styled "The Reverend",[197] while "Deacon" is used as a title by members of the diaconate.
Deacons (both women and men) also belong to a community of deacons in the Methodist Diaconal
Order.[198] The Deed of Union (the key foundation document of the Methodist Church since it became
united in 1932[1]) describes the roles of presbyters and deacons and the purpose of their ministries:

Christ's ministers in the church are stewards in the household of God and shepherds of his
flock. Some are called and ordained to this occupation as presbyters or deacons. Presbyters
have a principal and directing part in these great duties but they hold no priesthood differing in
kind from that which is common to all the Lord's people and they have no exclusive title to the
preaching of the gospel or the care of souls. These ministries are shared with them by others to
whom also the Spirit divides his gifts severally as he wills.[7]: 213

Both the diaconal and presbyteral orders in the Methodist Church are
considered equal, playing distinct yet complementary roles in the
ministry.[196] Deacons are called to a ministry of service and witness:
specifically to "assist God's people in worship and prayer" and "to visit and
support the sick and the suffering".[198] Presbyters are called to a ministry
of word and sacrament: "to preach by word and deed the Gospel of God's
grace" and "to baptise, to confirm, and to preside at the celebration of the
sacrament of Christ's body and blood."[198] Presbyters historically are
itinerant preachers, and the current rules mandate that presbyters in active
work are stationed in a circuit for typically five years before transferring to
another circuit.[199]

Methodist presbyters are usually given pastoral charge of several local John Wesley appointed,
churches within the circuit. Ordinary presbyters are in turn overseen by a organised and sent forth
superintendent, who is the most senior minister in the circuit. Unlike many Methodist preachers in his
other Methodist denominations the British church does not have bishops. A day. Wesley's "assistants"
report, What Sort of Bishops? to the conference of 2005, was accepted for would become the
study and report. [200] This report considered whether this should now be superintendent ministers.
changed, and if so, what forms of episcopacy might be acceptable.
Consultation at grassroots level during 2006 and 2007 revealed
overwhelming opposition from those who responded. As a consequence, the 2007 conference decided not
to move towards having bishops at present.[201]
Without bishops, the Methodist Church does not subscribe to the idea of an historical episcopate. It does,
however, affirm the doctrine of apostolic succession.[202] In 1937 the Methodist Conference located the
"true continuity" with the church of past ages in "the continuity of Christian experience, the fellowship in
the gift of the one Spirit; in the continuity in the allegiance to one Lord, the continued proclamation of the
message; the continued acceptance of the mission;..." [through a long chain which goes back to] "the first
disciples in the company of the Lord Himself ... This is our doctrine of apostolic succession" [which neither
depends on, nor is secured by,] "an official succession of ministers, whether bishops or presbyters, from
apostolic times, but rather by fidelity to apostolic truth".[202]

Ordination of women

The Primitive Methodist Church always allowed female preachers and ministers, although there were never
many of them.[203] The Wesleyan Methodist Church established an order of deaconesses in 1890. The
Methodist Church has re-allowed ordination of women as presbyters since 2 July 1974, when 17 women
were received into full connexion at the Methodist Conference in Bristol.[204][205] The Methodist Church,
along with some other Protestant churches, holds that when the historical contexts involved are understood,
a coherent biblical argument can be made in favour of women's ordination.[206]

Local preachers

A distinctive feature of British Methodism is its extensive use of "local preachers" ('local' because they stay
in the same circuit, as opposed to 'itinerant' preachers who move to different circuits, in the case of
presbyters).[207] They are laypeople who have been trained and accredited to preach and lead worship
services in place of a presbyter; however, local preachers cannot ordinarily officiate at services of Holy
Communion.[208] Local preachers are thus similar to lay readers in the Church of England.[209] It is
estimated that local preachers conduct seven out of every ten Methodist services, either in their own circuit
or in others where they are invited as "visiting preachers".[209]

Local preachers played an important role in English and Welsh social history, especially among the
working class and labour movement.[210] Prominent 20th-century public figures who preached include
George Thomas, Speaker of the House of Commons from 1976 to 1983,[211] and Len Murray, General
Secretary of the Trades Union Congress from 1973 to 1983.[212]

Other appointments

Other appointments may include pastoral and administrative roles. Church standing orders prohibit the
appointment of anyone being appointed to undertake work with children, young people or vulnerable
adults in the life of the Church if they have a criminal conviction or caution under a number of Acts,
including the Sexual Offences Act 2003, or who is barred by the Disclosure and Barring Service from
work with vulnerable people or who the Safeguarding Committee has concluded poses a risk to vulnerable
groups.[7]: SO 010

Organisation
Methodists belong to local churches or local ecumenical partnerships but also feel part of a larger connected
community, known as 'The Connexion'. This sense of being connected makes a difference to how the
Methodist Church as a whole is structured. From its inception under John Wesley, Methodism has always
laid strong emphasis on the interdependence and mutual support of one local church for another.[213] The
church community has never been seen in isolation either from its
immediately neighbouring church communities or from the
centralised national organisation. When ministers are ordained in
the Methodist Church, they are also "received into full
Connexion".[214]

A quarterly magazine entitled the connexion is published by the

church.[215]
A typical Methodist chapel in
Chellaston. Local churches are
Local churches
grouped into circuits to which
ministers are appointed.
Membership of the Methodist Church is held in a particular local
church, or in a local ecumenical partnership.[216] For people who
wish to become members of the church there is a period of
instruction and, once the local church council is satisfied with the
person's sincere acceptance of the basis of membership of the
Methodist Church, a service of confirmation and reception into
membership is held; if they have not previously been baptised, the
service will include baptism.[216] (Each member of a local church
receives a membership ticket at least once a year; in early
Methodism, tickets were issued by Wesley every three months as
evidence of a member's good standing.[217][218]) As at October The Methodist chapel in Haroldswick
2016, church members are dispersed over 4,512 local churches— is the northernmost church in Britain.
unevenly distributed over a small number of large churches and a Methodism has a strong presence in
large number of small churches.[11] the Shetland Islands.

Local church can refer to both the congregation and the building in
which it meets (though the building may also be called a chapel).[219][220] It is the whole body of members
of the Methodist Church linked with one particular place of worship. The concept of the local church is
based on the original Methodist "societies" that existed within the Church of England during the time of
John Wesley's ministry.[221] A local church is normally led by a presbyter, usually referred to as "the
minister".

Some church members belong to a church council, either because they have been elected by the local
church members, or because they hold one of a number of offices within the local church. The church
council, with a minister, has responsibility for running the local church. Members of the church council are
also trustees of the local church.[222] The church council appoints two or more church stewards, who
exercise pastoral responsibility in conjunction with the minister and together provide a leadership role
across "the whole range of the church's life and activity".[7]: 530

Circuits

Local churches are grouped into 368 circuits (as of 2016) of various sizes.[11] The responsibilities of the
circuit are exercised through the circuit meeting, led by the superintendent minister.[223] It is responsible for
managing the finances, property and officeholders within the circuit. Most circuits have many fewer
ministers than churches and the majority of services are led by local preachers, or by supernumerary
ministers—retired ministers who are not officially counted in the number of ministers for the circuit in
which they are listed.[224] The superintendent and other ministers are assisted in the leadership and
administration of the circuit by lay circuit stewards, who together form the leadership team.[223][225]

Central halls

Some large inner-city Methodist buildings, called 'central

halls', are designated as circuits in themselves.[226] About a
hundred such halls were built in Britain between 1886 and
1945, many in a Renaissance or Baroque style.[227] They
were designated as multi-purpose venues; in their heyday they
presented low-cost concerts and shows to entertain the
working classes on Saturdays—encouraging them to avoid
drinking establishments and thereby abstain from alcohol—as
well as hosting church congregations on Sundays. However,
many were bombed during the Second World War, and others
The Methodist Central Hall, Westminster,
declined as people moved out of the city centres; as of 2012
serves as a church and conference
only sixteen remain in use as Methodist churches.[228] Others, centre.
such as the landmark Birmingham Central Hall, and
Liverpool's Grand Central Hall, have been sold and adapted as
retail or nightclub venues.[228] One of the remaining halls is Methodist Central Hall in Westminster (close
to Parliament Square and Westminster Abbey), established in 1912 to serve as a church with additional use
"for conferences on religious, educational, scientific, philanthropic and social questions".[229]

Districts

The Connexion is divided into thirty districts (as at 2018) covering the whole of Great Britain, the Isle of
Man, and the Channel Islands.[230] The district is a drawing together of a variable number of circuits in a
geographic locality. Wales is covered by two districts: a Welsh-language synod and an English-language
synod. Methodism has never been prevalent in Scotland, and there are only around 40 local churches
gathered into one Scotland District.[231]

The governing body of a district is the twice-yearly synod.[232] Each district is presided over by a chair,
except the large London District which has three chairs.[233] A chair was, at first, a superintendent of a
circuit within the district, but now ministers are appointed exclusively to the separated role.[234] The prime
function of the chair is pastoral—the care of ministers and lay workers, and their families, within the
district; the appointment of ministers to circuits; candidates for the ministry and the oversight of probationer
(trainee) ministers.[233] The district chair is also the person to whom other denominations relate
ecumenically at regional or national level.[235]

Conference

The central governing body of the Connexion is the Methodist Conference which meets in June or July
each year in a different part of the country.[7]: 216 [236] It represents both ministers and laypeople, and
determines church policy.[236] The conference is a gathering of representatives from each district, along
with some who have been elected by the conference and some ex officio members and representatives of
the youth assembly. It is held in two sessions: a presbyteral session and a representative session including
lay representatives.[7]: 216 The 2019 conference was held in Birmingham.[237] The 2020 conference took
place as a web conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[238] The 2021 conference took place in
Birmingham and online. The 2022 conference was held in Telford,[239] and the 2023 conference will again
take place in Birmingham.[240]

The Methodist Conference is the formal authority on all matters of belief and practice.[241] Proposals for a
change or development of Methodist teaching about personal, social or public Christian ethics can be
initiated:

1. by any two representatives to the annual conference proposing a resolution (known as a

"notice of motion") at the conference itself;
2. by local groupings of churches (circuit meetings) by regional groupings of churches (synods)
proposing a resolution to the conference;
3. by a resolution to conference from the Methodist Council (a smaller representative body
which meets four times a year between conferences).

If, by methods 1 and 2 above, the proposed change or development is significant, the conference will
usually direct the Methodist Council to look into the issues and to present a report at a subsequent
Conference.[241]

In the course of preparing the report, staff who are appointed or employed by the council will be
responsible for developing the church's thinking with the help of professional and theological expertise; and
must undertake a wide range of consultations, both within the Methodist Church and with partner
denominations. Then the report, with or without specific recommendations, will be presented to Conference
for debate.

Examples of issues dealt with in this way are: abortion; civil disobedience; nuclear deterrence; the
manufacture and sale of arms; disarmament; care of the environment; family and divorce law; gambling;
housing; overseas development and fair trading; poverty; racial justice; asylum and immigration issues;
human sexuality; political responsibility.[242]

Sometimes the conference will attempt a definitive judgement on an important theme which is intended to
represent the Methodist Church's viewpoint for a decade or more. In such cases a final decision is made
after two debates in conference, separated by at least a year, to allow for discussion in all parts of the
church's life. Topics of personal, social or public Christian ethics dealt with in this way become official
"Statements" or "Declarations" of the Methodist Church on the subject concerned, for example, Family
Life, the Single Person and Marriage.[243]

The Methodist Conference is presided over by the president of conference, a presbyter. The president is
supported by the vice-president, who is a layperson or deacon. The president and vice-president serve a
one-year term, travelling across the Connexion—following the example of Wesley—and preaching in local
churches.[244]

Constitutional Practice and Discipline

The Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church (CPD) is published annually by order
of the conference. Its contents are prepared by the church's Law and Polity Committee and reviewed each
year. Volume 1 contains a set of fixed texts, including Acts of Parliament,[note 8] other legislation and
historic documents; the 1988 preface has been retained in later revisions because, along with abridged
versions of earlier forewords, its "value as a general introduction to Methodist constitutional practice and
discipline remains unsurpassed".[245]: vi Volume 2 includes the Deed of Union and Model Trusts, along
with the conference standing orders which are updated annually after amendments by the
conference.[7]: 261

Children's and Youth Assembly

There is an annual assembly for children and youth, called 3Generate. It represents children and young
adults aged 8 to 23.[246] There is also a youth president,[247] elected annually to serve a paid full-time
role.[248]

Charities

The Methodist Church is closely associated with several charitable organisations: namely, Action for
Children (formerly the National Children's Home),[249] Methodist Homes and All We Can (the Methodist
Relief and Development Fund).[250] The church also helps to run a number of faith schools, both state and
independent. These include two leading private schools in East Anglia, Culford School and The Leys
School.[251] It helps to promote an all round education with a strong Christian ethos.

Ecumenical and interfaith relations

The Methodist Church participates in various ecumenical forums and
associations with other denominations. The church is a founding
member of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (since 1990)[252]
and the three national ecumenical bodies in Great Britain, namely
Churches Together in England,[253] Cytûn in Wales,[254] and Action
of Churches Together in Scotland.[255] Since 1975, the Methodist
Church is one of the Covenanted Churches in Wales, along with the
Church in Wales, the Presbyterian Church of Wales, the United
Reformed Church and certain Baptist churches.[256] It participates in St Matthew's Church, Rastrick, is
the Conference of European Churches and the World Council of an example of a local ecumenical
Churches. The church has sent delegates to every Assembly of the partnership where Methodists and
World Council and has at various times been represented on its Anglicans work and worship
together as one congregation.
Central Committees and its Faith and Order Commission.[257]

The Methodist Church is officially committed to "seek opportunities

to work in partnership with other denominations" and "seek
opportunities to join with other Christians in sharing the Good News
of the Gospel and to make more followers of Jesus Christ through
together bearing witness to the unity of the one, holy, catholic and
apostolic Church." [147] From the 1970s onward, the Methodist
Church has been involved in nearly 900 local ecumenical partnerships
(LEPs) with neighbouring denominations,[10] such as the Church of Christ Church, Nelson, is an
England, the Baptist Union and the United Reformed Church. Christ ecumenical partnership between
Church in Nelson, Lancashire, is an unusual example of a joint Methodist and Roman Catholic
Methodist–Catholic church in Britain.[258] congregations.

In April 2016 the World Methodist Council opened an Ecumenical

Office in Rome, Italy. International Methodist leaders and Pope Francis met together to dedicate the new
office.[259] It exists to offer a resource in the city of Rome for the global Methodist family and to help
facilitate Methodist relationships with the wider Christian Church, especially the Roman Catholic
Church.[260]

Proposals for merger with other denominations

In the 1960s, the Methodist Church made ecumenical overtures to the Church of England, aimed at church
unity.[261] In February 1963, a report, Conversations between the Church of England and the Methodist
Church, was published. This gave an outline of a scheme to unite the two churches. The scheme was not
without opposition, for four Methodist representatives—Barrett, Meadley, Snaith and Jessop—issued a
dissentient report.[262][263] Through much of the 1960s, controversy spread in the two churches. Central in
the debate was the need for Methodist ministers to be ordained under the Anglican historic episcopate,
which opponents characterised as "reordination" of Methodist ministers.[261] Discussions ultimately failed
when the proposals for union were rejected by the Church of England's General Synod in 1972.[264]

In 1982, the Methodist Conference endorsed a covenant with the Church of England, the United Reformed
Church and the Moravian Church, but the plan faltered after the House of Bishops in the General Synod
vetoed it.[265][266] Bilateral discussions between the Anglicans and Methodists were renewed in the mid-
1990s, with a series of Informal Conversations held in 1995 and 1996. These meetings concluded with the
publication of a common statement in December 2000 which highlighted common beliefs and potential
areas of cooperation between the two denominations.[261]

Anglican–Methodist Covenant

In 2002, the Methodist Conference voted on the proposals in An Anglican–Methodist Covenant, sending it
to its districts for discussion. On 1 November 2003, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, the president and
other leaders of the Methodist Conference and archbishops of the Church of England signed the covenant
at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster.[267] The covenant affirms the willingness of the two churches to
work together at a diocesan/district level in matters of evangelism and joint worship.[268]

In 2021, the churches agreed to move ahead with the covenant and set up a new body to encourage
cooperation between Anglicans and Methodists, despite opposition from the Church of England toward the
Methodist Church's decision to allow same-sex weddings.[269]

Controversy over report on Zionism

Following the submission of a report entitled Justice for Palestine and Israel in June 2010,[270] the
Methodist Conference was reported to have questioned whether "Zionism was compatible with Methodist
beliefs".[271] Christian Zionism was broadly characterised as believing that Israel "must be held above
criticism whatever policy is enacted", and Conference called for a boycott of selected goods from Israeli
settlements.[272] The Chief Rabbi of Britain's Orthodox Jewish community described the report as
"unbalanced, factually and historically flawed" and charged that it offered "no genuine understanding of
one of the most complex conflicts in the world today. Many in both communities will be deeply
disturbed."[271]

Worldwide Methodism
Methodism is a worldwide movement with around 80.5 million adherents (including members of united
and uniting churches).[273] Its largest denomination is the United Methodist Church,[274] which has
congregations on four continents (though the majority are in the United States).[275] Delegates from almost
all Methodist denominations (and many uniting churches) meet together every five years in a conference of
the World Methodist Council.[273]

St Andrew's Scots Church, Malta, is a joint congregation of the Methodist Church of Great Britain and the
Church of Scotland situated in Valletta. It serves British expats.[276] There are also Methodist congregations
in the Crown dependencies of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands (each forming a district).[226]

Methodist churches in Northern Ireland are part of the Methodist Church in Ireland,[277] a separate
connexion which is historically associated with the British Methodist Church. John Wesley visited Ireland
on twenty-one occasions between 1747 and 1789, establishing societies there.[278]

See also
Christianity portal

Methodism portal

List of Methodist churches

Saints in Methodism
Independent Methodist Connexion
History of Christianity in Britain
Methodist Peace Fellowship
Methodist Recorder – an independent Methodist newspaper
Temperance movement in the United Kingdom – Methodists played a significant part in the
movement

Footnotes
1. Pronounced as /ˈmɛθədɪst/. John Wesley would later reclaim the term Methodist when
referring to the methodical pursuit of scriptural holiness.[12]
2. The preface to the Methodist Service Book (1975), in a discussion of the relationship
between free and fixed (written) prayer in Methodist liturgy, argues that the forms presented
in the book "are not intended, any more than those in earlier books, to curb creative freedom,
but rather to provide for its guidance".[110] The preface to the Methodist Worship Book (1999)
states that these words still apply.[109]
3. Offices refers to divine office or canonical hours. All Methodist service books contain
evening and morning prayers for daily use.
4. Wesley insisted that the goal of Christian perfection was achievable and that he could name
some of those who had "reached perfection's height". At the same time he admitted that he
himself had not and that that was the case with most of the rest of us too.[142]
5. A reference to Psalm 119:105 (https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Psalms%20119:105&vers
ion=nrsv)
6. Since 1977, this restriction no longer applies to domestic occasions in private homes on
Methodist property, meaning that a minister may have a drink at home in the manse.[178]: 4 In
2004, an exception to the rule about not supplying alcohol on Methodist premises was
 created with regard to events taking place on premises used as a conference centre;[66]
Methodist Central Hall applied for, and was granted, an alcohol licence.[181]
7. Both titles are found in various places in the New Testament. The word "presbyter" derives
from Greek πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros), the comparative form of πρέσβυς (presbus),
"elder".[194] The word "deacon" derives from διάκονος (diakonos), a standard ancient Greek
word which had a variety of meanings centred around service, message and
attendance.[195]
8. The Methodist Church Act 1976 grants legal authority to the Conference, for example.[1]

References
1. "Methodist Church Act 1976" (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/1976/30/pdfs/ukla_1976003
0_en.pdf) (PDF). www.legislation.gov.uk. UK Parliament. p. 1. Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20170330205109/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/1976/30/pdfs/ukla_19760030_
en.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
2. "The President and Vice-President" (https://www.methodist.org.uk/about-us/the-methodist-ch
urch/structure/the-president-and-vice-president/). Methodist Church in Britain. Retrieved
8 February 2019. This is a live link that will update every year.
3. "The Methodist Church has moved" (https://www.methodist.org.uk/about-us/connect/the-met
hodist-church-has-moved/). methodist.org.uk. February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
4. Methodism in Numbers – Statistics at a Glance (2020 edition) (https://www.methodist.org.uk/
media/17152/methodism_in_numbers_2020.pdf). Methodist Conference. May 2020.
5. Statistics for Mission (https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/22104/stats-2020-district-summar
y.pdf) (Report). The Methodist Church of Great Britain. 17 June 2021.
6. Yrigoyen, Charles Jr. (25 September 2014). T&T Clark Companion to Methodism. A&C
Black. p. 73. ISBN 9780567290779. "British Methodism therefore holds an inescapable
chronological priority in the history of world Methodism and it has also often been accorded
a courteous priority of esteem, being regard still as the 'mother church' by Methodists from
many parts of the globe. The story of the origins and development of Methodism in what is
now the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, therefore, is the story, first, of an
eighteenth-century movement which gave birth to the whole Methodist enterprise and then of
a nineteenth-century church whose influence reached out across the world through the
missionary endeavours of the various British Connexions within and beyond the British
Empire."
7. The Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church (https://www.methodist.or
g.uk/media/18420/conf-2020-cpd-vol-2.pdf) (PDF). Vol. 2. Methodist Publishing. 2020.
ISBN 978-1-85852-476-4. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
8. "BSA 2009 Table" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150109025634/http://www.free-enterprise
s.co.uk/Religion-Statistics/British-Social-Attitudes/table-1999-2009/). Archived from the
original (http://www.free-enterprises.co.uk/Religion-Statistics/British-Social-Attitudes/table-1
999-2009/) on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
9. "Methodism in Numbers – Statistics at a Glance" (https://web.archive.org/web/20151223190
349/http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/1771003/Methodism_in_Numbers_2015.pdf) (PDF).
methodist.org.uk. The Methodist Conference. July 2015. Archived from the original (http://ww
w.methodist.org.uk/media/1771003/Methodism_in_Numbers_2015.pdf) (PDF) on 23
December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
10. "Methodist Church" (http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/methodist-church).
World Council of Churches. January 1948. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20140111
030657/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/methodist-church) from the original
on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
11. Piggot, Alan (June 2017). Statistics for Mission (http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/conf
-2017-42-Statistics-for-Mission.pdf) (Report). The Methodist Conference. Accessed 24
October 2017. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20171025075342/http://www.methodis
t.org.uk/downloads/conf-2017-42-Statistics-for-Mission.pdf) 25 October 2017 at the Wayback
Machine
12. Wesley, John (1872). Jackson, Thomas (ed.). The Character of a Methodist (https://quod.lib.
umich.edu/e/evans/N20188.0001.001/1:3?rgn=div1;view=fulltext). Retrieved 18 May 2021.
13. "Holy Club" (https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/269746/Holy-Club).
Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20091215165549/https://w
ww.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/269746/Holy-Club) from the original on 15 December
2009. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
14. "A short history of the Holy Club" (https://www.wesleysoxford.org.uk/people/holy-club/what-w
as-the-holy-club). Wesleys Oxford. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
15. Bennett, Richard (1987). Howell Harris and the Dawn of Revival. Bridgend: Evangelical
Press of Wales. ISBN 1-85049-035-X. [English translation]
16. Davies, Gwyn (2002). A Light in the Land, Christianity in Wales 200–2000. Bridgend:
Bryntirion. pp. 70–79. ISBN 1-85049-181-X.
17. "Wesleyan Methodists - Welsh Chapels" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170321214834/htt
p://www.welshchapels.org/nonconformity/wesleyan-methodists/). Welsh Chapels. Archived
from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
18. Mullett, Michael A. (1991). Sources for the History of English Nonconformity, 1660-1830.
London: British Records Association. pp. 62–64. ISBN 0900222093.
19. Burnett, Daniel L. (2006). In the Shadow of Aldersgate: An Introduction to the Heritage and
Faith of the Wesleyan Tradition. La Vergne, Tenn.: Wipf and Stock. pp. 36–37.
20. Wesley, John (2008). The Heart of John Wesley's Journal (1st ed.). Peabody, Mass.:
Hendrickson Publishers. p. 17. ISBN 978-1598563009.
21. Hurst, J. F. (1903). "Chapter IX – Society and Class". John Wesley the Methodist: a plain
account of his life and work (http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/john-wesley-the-methodist/c
hapter-ix-society-and-class/). New York: Methodist Book Concern. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
22. Communications, United Methodist. "Do United Methodists believe "once saved, always
saved" or can we "lose our salvation"? - The United Methodist Church" (http://www.umc.org/
what-we-believe/do-united-methodists-believe-once-saved-always-saved). Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20170225053242/http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/do-united-meth
odists-believe-once-saved-always-saved) from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved
24 February 2017. "John Wesley particularly identified his understanding of salvation with
the theology and writings of the seventeenth century Dutch theologian, Jacob Arminius"
23. "Enthusiasm" (https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-2/enthusiasm.html).
Christian History. No. 2. 1983. "So when George Whitefield and John Wesley began their
ministry, they were called enthusiasts because they preached the Holy Spirit."
24. Evans, Theophilus (1757). The History of Modern Enthusiasm: From the Reformation to the
Present Times (https://archive.org/details/historymodernen00evangoog). W. Owen. p. 119 (ht
tps://archive.org/details/historymodernen00evangoog/page/n167).
25. Glen, Robert (1989). "Methodism, Religious Dissent and Revolution in the English Satiric
Prints, 1780–1815". Consortium on Revolutionary Europe, 1750–1850: Proceedings. 19:
173–188.
26. Goodwin, Charles H. (1996). "Vile or Reviled?: The Causes of the Anti-Methodist Riots at
Wednesbury Between May 1743 and April 1744 in the Light of New England Revivalism" (ht
tp://hdl.handle.net/10516/6109). Methodist History. Vol. 35, no. 1. pp. 14–28. hdl:10516/6109
(https://hdl.handle.net/10516%2F6109). ISSN 0026-1238 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/002
6-1238).
27. On anti-Methodist literary attacks see McInelly, Brett C. (2015). "Writing the Revival: The
Intersections of Methodism and Literature in the Long 18th Century" (https://doi.org/10.1111/l
ic3.12203). Literature Compass. 12 (1): 12–21. doi:10.1111/lic3.12203 (https://doi.org/10.111
1%2Flic3.12203). ISSN 1741-4113 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1741-4113).; McInelly
(2014). Textual Warfare and the Making of Methodism (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University
Press. ISBN 978-0198708940.
28. Watson, Philip S. (1990). Anatomy of a Conversion: The Message and Mission of John &
Charles Wesley. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Francis Asbury Press (now Zondervan). p. 26.
ISBN 0-310-74991-3.
29. "Birth of the Conference" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/history/birth-of-the-confer
ence). The Methodist Church. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170225054742/http://
www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/history/birth-of-the-conference) from the original on 25
February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
30. "Separation from the Church of England" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/history/se
paration-from-the-church-of-england). Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20161005080954/http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/history/separation-fro
m-the-church-of-england) from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
31. Mullin, Robert Bruce (2006). A Short World History of Christianity (https://books.google.com/
books?id=2nWP0_6gkiYC&pg=PA170). Westminster John Knox Press. p. 170.
ISBN 9780664236649.
32. Abraham, William J. (25 August 2016). "The Birth Pangs of United Methodism as a Unique,
Global, Orthodox Denomination" (https://peopleneedjesus.net/2016/08/25/the-birth-pangs-of
-united-methodism-as-a-unique-global-orthodox-denomination/). Retrieved 30 April 2017.
33. Davies, Rupert E.; George, A. Raymond; Rupp, Gordon (14 June 2017). A History of the
Methodist Church in Great Britain, Volume Three. Wipf & Stock Publishers. p. 225.
ISBN 9781532630507.
34. Tucker, Robert Leonard (2008). The Separation of the Methodists from the Church of
England. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 193–195, 160–168.
35. Turner, John Munsey (2004). "The Development of the Methodist Ministry" (http://www.metho
distheritage.org.uk/missionary-history-munseyturner-development-of-methodist-ministry-200
4.pdf) (PDF). Methodist Heritage. p. 6. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201504271445
14/http://www.methodistheritage.org.uk/missionary-history-munseyturner-development-of-me
thodist-ministry-2004.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March
2017.
36. Field, Clive D. (2010) [November 2009]. Religious Statistics in Great Britain: An Historical
Introduction (http://brin.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/development-of-religious-statistic
s.pdf) (PDF). 1. Manchester: University of Manchester. p. 18.
37. Cannon, John; Crowford, Robert, eds. (2015). The Oxford Companion to British History (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=9vL8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT1040). Oxford University Press.
p. 1040. ISBN 9780191044816. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170429172651/htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=9vL8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT1040) from the original on 29
April 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
38. Port, M. H. (2006). 600 New Churches: the Church Building Commission 1818–1856
(2nd ed.). Reading: Spire Books. pp. 17–18. ISBN 9781904965084.
39. Morris, Jeremy (7 April 2022). "Numbers, Regional Strength, Class and Gender". A People's
Church: A History of the Church of England (https://books.google.com/books?id=b_6sDwAA
QBAJ). Profile Books. p. 306. ISBN 978-1-78283-053-5. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
40. Walker, R. B. (1973). "The Growth of Wesleyan Methodism in Victorian England and Wales"
(https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022046900047254). The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 24 (3):
267–284. doi:10.1017/S0022046900047254 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS00220469000472
54). ISSN 1469-7637 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1469-7637). S2CID 162299097 (https://
api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:162299097).
41. For the numbers see Hempton, David (2005). Methodism: Empire of the Spirit. New Haven:
Yale University Press. p. 214. ISBN 0300119763.
42. Workman, H. B. (2012) [1912]. Methodism (Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature)
(https://books.google.com/books?id=yQsl-dV2HUEC&pg=PA97). Cambridge University
Press. p. 97. ISBN 9781107626584. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2017050213443
4/https://books.google.com/books?id=yQsl-dV2HUEC&pg=PA97) from the original on 2 May
2017. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
43. O'Brien, Glen; Carey, Hilary M. (2016). Methodism in Australia: A History (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=nAmrCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA62). Routledge. p. 62. ISBN 9781317097099.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170429180225/https://books.google.com/books?id
=nAmrCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA62) from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 23 October
2016.
44. Green, S. J. D. (1996). Religion in the Age of Decline: Organisation and Experience in
Industrial Yorkshire, 1870–1920. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 9780521561532.
45. Yrigoyen, Charles Jr. (2010). T&T Clark Companion to Methodism (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=JE6vAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA502). A&C Black. p. 502. ISBN 9780567290779.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170429210227/https://books.google.com/books?id
=JE6vAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA502) from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 23 October
2016.
46. Binfield, Clyde (2006). "Victorian values and industrious connexions: The Wesley Historical
Society Lecture 2002." Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society 55: 141–168.
47. Gilbert, Alan D. (December 1979). "Methodism, Dissent and Political Stability in Early
Industrial England". Journal of Religious History. 10 (4): 381–399. doi:10.1111/j.1467-
9809.1979.tb00003.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-9809.1979.tb00003.x).
48. Gobbett, Brian (1997). "Inevitable Revolution and Methodism in early Industrial England:
Revisiting the Historiography of the Halevy Thesis". Fides et Historia. 29 (1): 28–43.
49. Holland, Owen; Phillips, Eoin (April 2014). "Fifty years of E. P. Thompson's The Making of
the English Working Class: some field notes". Social History. 39 (2): 172–181.
doi:10.1080/03071022.2014.914784 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F03071022.2014.914784).
S2CID 145481509 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145481509).
50. "History: Social Justice" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/history/social-justice).
Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20161005092232/http://w
ww.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/history/social-justice) from the original on 5 October 2016.
Retrieved 3 October 2016.
51. "Tolpuddle, near Dorchester – home of the Tolpuddle Martyrs" (http://www.methodistheritage.
org.uk/tolpuddlevillage.htm). www.methodistheritage.org.uk. Methodist Heritage. Retrieved
25 October 2020.
52. O'Brien, Patrick Karl; Quinault, Roland, eds. (1993). The Industrial Revolution and British
Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 86. ISBN 052143744X.
53. Ward, W. R. (2004). "Bunting, Jabez (1779–1858), Wesleyan Methodist minister". Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3947 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F3947). (Subscription
or UK public library membership (https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public) required.)
54. Kent, John, "Methodism and Social Change In Britain," in Runyon, Theodore (ed.) (1977)
Sanctification and Liberation. Lecture series.
55. McGonigle, Herbert (2004). "William Bramwell: A re-appraisal: The Wesley Historical
Society Lecture for 2004." Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society 54: 219-236.
56. Edwards, Maldwyn Lloyd (1943). Methodism and England: a study of Methodism in its social
and political aspects during the period 1850-1932 (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/0015
93954). Vol. 3. London: The Epworth Press. p. 149.
57. Kent, J.H.S (1966). 'Hugh Price Hughes and the Nonconformist Conscience'. pp. 181–205.
In Essays in Modem English Church History
58. Wellings, Martin (23 September 2004). "Lidgett, John Scott (1854–1953), Methodist minister
and local politician". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University
Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34530 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F34530).
(Subscription or UK public library membership (https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public)
required.)
59. Turberfield, Alan F. (2003). John Scott Lidgett: Archbishop of British Methodism?.
Peterborough: Epworth Press. ISBN 9780716205715.
60. Chilcote, Paul Wesley (1993). She Offered Them Christ: The Legacy of Women Preachers
in Early Methodism. Eugene, O.R.: Wipf and Stock. p. 78. ISBN 1579106684.
61. Lloyd, Jennifer M. (2009). Women and the Shaping of British Methodism: Persistent
Preachers, 1807–1907. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-
84779-323-2.
62. Broyles, Kathryn A. (2008). "Mothering, catechesis, and ecclesial leadership: The women of
early Methodism and their call to witness to the gospel of Christ". Methodist History. 46 (3):
141–156.
63. Orchard, Stephen (2008). "Selina, Countess Of Huntingdon". Journal of the United
Reformed Church History Society. 8 (2): 77–90.
64. Schlenther, Boyd Stanley (1997). Queen of the Methodists: The Countess of Huntingdon
and the Eighteenth-Century Crisis of Faith and Society. Bishop Auckland: Durham
Academic Press. ISBN 9781900838085.
65. Bailey, Adrian R.; Harvey, David C.; Brace, Catherine (2007). "Disciplining Youthful
Methodist Bodies in Nineteenth-Century Cornwall". Annals of the Association of American
Geographers. 97 (1): 142–157. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8306.2007.00528.x (https://doi.org/10.11
11%2Fj.1467-8306.2007.00528.x). ISSN 0004-5608 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0004-56
08). S2CID 144280828 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144280828).
66. Greet, Kenneth G.; Howdle, Susan R. "Temperance" (https://dmbi.online/index.php?do=app.
entry&id=2704). A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
67. "Kingswood Preparatory School" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120125023237/http://www.i
sc.co.uk/school_KingswoodPreparatorySchool_Bath.htm). Independent School's Council.
Archived from the original (http://www.isc.co.uk/school_KingswoodPreparatorySchool_Bath.
htm) on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
68. Pritchard, Frank Cyril (1951). The Story of Westminster College, 1851-1951. Epworth Press.
69. Telford 1911, p. 533.
70. "A historical perspective on Methodist involvement in school education after Wesley" (http://
www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/education-ahistoricalperspective-270312.pdf) (PDF).
Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120650/http://w
ww.methodist.org.uk/downloads/education-ahistoricalperspective-270312.pdf) (PDF) from
the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
71. Pritchard, Frank Cyril (1949). Methodist Secondary Education: A History of the Contribution
of Methodism to Secondary Education in the United Kingdom. Epworth Press.
72. Pugh, D. R. (October 1988). "Wesleyan Methodism and the Education crisis of 1902". British
Journal of Educational Studies. 36 (3): 232–249. doi:10.1080/00071005.1988.9973786 (http
s://doi.org/10.1080%2F00071005.1988.9973786). S2CID 145431900 (https://api.semanticsc
holar.org/CorpusID:145431900).
73. Smith, John T. (September 2010). "Ecumenism, economic necessity and the disappearance
of Methodist elementary schools in England in the twentieth century". History of Education.
39 (5): 631–657. doi:10.1080/00467601003749406 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F0046760100
3749406). S2CID 144704648 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144704648).
74. Latourette, Kenneth S. (1943). A History of The Expansion of Christianity: Volume 5. The
Great Century in the Americas, Australasia, and Africa; AD 1800 — AD 1914. Harper & Row.
pp. 3–45, 130–97.
75. Latourette, Kenneth Scott (1943). A History of The Expansion of Christianity: Volume 6. The
Great Century: North Africa and Asia 1800 AD — 1914 AD. Harper & Row. pp. 169–75, 222,
235.
76. Jones, Aled (2005). "Culture, 'Race' and the Missionary Public in Mid-Victorian Wales".
Journal of Victorian Culture. 10 (2): 157–183. doi:10.3366/jvc.2005.10.2.157 (https://doi.org/
10.3366%2Fjvc.2005.10.2.157).
77. Bebbington, David (1982). The Nonconformist Conscience: Chapel and Politics, 1870-1914.
London: G. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0049421735.
78. On the Methodists see Glaser, John F. (1958). "English Nonconformity and the Decline of
Liberalism". The American Historical Review. 63 (2): 352–363. doi:10.2307/1849549 (https://
doi.org/10.2307%2F1849549). ISSN 0002-8762 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0002-8762).
JSTOR 1849549 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1849549).
79. Bebbington, D. W. (September 1984). "Nonconformity and Electoral Sociology, 1867–1918".
The Historical Journal. 27 (3): 633–656. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00018008 (https://doi.org/1
0.1017%2FS0018246X00018008). S2CID 145647109 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/Corp
usID:145647109).
80. Larsen, Timothy (17 March 2008). "A Nonconformist Conscience? Free Churchmen in
Parliament in Nineteenth-Century England". Parliamentary History. 24 (1): 107–119.
doi:10.1111/j.1750-0206.2005.tb00405.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1750-0206.2005.tb00
405.x).
81. Richard J., Helmstadter (1979). "The Nonconformist Conscience". In Marsh, Peter (ed.). The
Conscience of the Victorian State. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. pp. 135–72.
doi:10.1086/ahr/85.1.126 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2Fahr%2F85.1.126).
82. "English Nonconformity and the Decline of Liberalism*". The American Historical Review:
352. 1958. doi:10.1086/ahr/63.2.352 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2Fahr%2F63.2.352).
83. "History" (http://www.yarmmethodistchurch.org.uk/history.aspx). Yarm Methodist Church.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233626/http://www.yarmmethodistchurch.or
g.uk/history.aspx) from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
84. "Yarm Octagonal Chapel" (http://www.methodistheritage.org.uk/yarm.htm). Methodist
Heritage. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20161005111846/http://www.methodistherit
age.org.uk/yarm.htm) from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
85. Smith, Trevor (1982). Heptonstall Trail: a self-guided walk around an ancient Pennine
village. Calder Civic Trust.
86. "Richard Taylor's Top 10 Churches" (https://riderbooks.tumblr.com/post/1137648531/richard-
taylors-top-10-churches). Richard Taylor, Rider Books. Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20161011111950/http://riderbooks.tumblr.com/post/1137648531/richard-taylors-top-10-chu
rches) from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
 87. Minor, J. E. (1982). "The Mantle of Elijah: Nineteenth-century Primitive Methodism and
Twentieth-century Pentecostalism." Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society London.
43(6):141–49.
88. Batty, Margaret (2006). "Primitive Methodism in Scotland 1826–1932", Proceedings of the
Wesley Historical Society 55: 237–251.
89. Rimmington, Gerald T. (2000). "Methodism and society in Leicester, 1881-1914". Local
Historian. 30 (2): 74–87.
90. Laursen, Timothy (2004). "A.S. Peake, the Free Churches and Modern Biblical Criticism".
Bulletin of the John Rylands Library. 86 (3): 23–53. doi:10.7227/BJRL.86.3.3 (https://doi.org/
10.7227%2FBJRL.86.3.3).
91. Field, Clive D. (2012). "Demography and the Decline of British Methodism II: Fertility".
Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society. 58 (5): 200–215.
92. White, Charles Edward (2002). "The decline of the class meeting". Methodist History. 40 (4):
207–216.
93. Wearmouth, Robert F. (1957) "The social and political influence of Methodism in the 20th
century. Epworth Press. pp 54-57.
94. Latourette, Kenneth S. (1943). A History of The Expansion of Christianity: Volume 4. The
20th Century in Europe: Roman Catholic Protestant, and Eastern Churches. Harper & Row.
pp. 450–65.
95. Richards, Peter S. (2011). "Primitive Methodism and the road to Methodist Union (1932) in
Wallasey, Cheshire", Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society 58: 151-156.
96. "A History of British Methodism" (https://www.methodistthamesvalley.org.uk/about_methodist
_history.html). www.methodistthamesvalley.org.uk. 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2021. "In
1806 the Independent Methodist Church came into being near Warrington, after the Circuit
authorities decreed that cottage meetings were not permissible. (The Independent Methodist
Church in Grappenhall, Warrington, still exists, complete with its own website.)"
97. Turner, John Munsey (1998). Modern Methodism in England, 1932–1998. Peterborough:
Epworth Press. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-0716205128.
98. Ward, W. Reginald (2000). "British Methodism between Clericalisation and Secularisation
1932-1999". Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte. 13 (2): 319–330. ISSN 0932-9951 (https://www.world
cat.org/issn/0932-9951).
99. Field, Clive D. (4 May 2015). "Fun, faith and fellowship: British Methodism and tourism in the
twentieth century". Journal of Tourism History. 7 (1–2): 75–99.
doi:10.1080/1755182X.2015.1024288 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F1755182X.2015.102428
8). S2CID 144622387 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144622387).
100. Wellings, Martin (October 2014). "Renewal, Reunion, and Revival: Three British Methodist
Approaches to 'Serving the Present Age' in the 1950s" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016100
3191357/http://archives.gcah.org:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10516/9694/Methodist-Histor
y-2014-10-Wellings.pdf?sequence=1) (PDF). Methodist History. 53 (1): 21–23. Archived
from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
101. Filby, Eliza (2015). "God or Mammon?". God and Mrs Thatcher: The Battle for Britain's Soul.
London. ISBN 978-1849547857.
102. Lord Soper (15 November 1967). "Religious Education in Schools" (https://api.parliament.u
k/historic-hansard/lords/1967/nov/15/religious-education-in-schools#column_734).
Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 286. House of Lords. col. 734. Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20170217210833/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1967/nov/15/re
ligious-education-in-schools) from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 30 March
2017.
103. For further analysis see also Currie, Robert (1963). Methodism Divided: A Study in the
Sociology of Ecumenicalism (1st ed.). Faber & Faber. pp. 92–193. ISBN 0571084672.
104. Wyatt, Tim (7 July 2017). "Methodist Conference ponders decline as latest statistics show
numbers still falling" (https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/7-july/news/uk/methodist-
church-ponders-decline). Church Times. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2018100603
5132/https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/7-july/news/uk/methodist-church-ponders-
decline) from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
105. Firth, Richard (March 2013). "A Pragmatic Tradition" (http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/4416/1/Firth
13PhD.pdf) (PDF). Methodist Worship (Thesis). University of Birmingham. Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20170202001115/http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/4416/1/Firth13PhD.pdf)
(PDF) from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
106. Westerfield Tucker, Karen B., ed. (1996). "Form and Freedom: John Wesley's Legacy for
Methodist Worship". The Sunday Service of the Methodists: Twentieth-Century Worship in
Worldwide Methodism. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press. pp. 8–14. ISBN 978-
0687011346.
107. "Lectionary and other resources" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170317053715/http://metho
dist.org.uk/prayer-and-worship/lectionary-and-other-resources). Methodist Church in Britain.
Archived from the original (http://www.methodist.org.uk/prayer-and-worship/lectionary-and-ot
her-resources) on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
108. Bradshaw, Paul F. (2013). New SCM Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=vRLJKonMfwQC&pg=PA82). Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. p. 82.
ISBN 9780334049326. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
109. Methodist Worship Book (Presentation ed.). Peterborough: Methodist Publishing House.
1999. p. vii–viii. ISBN 978-1858521206.
110. The Methodist Service Book. Peterborough, England: Methodist Publishing House. 1975.
p. vii. ISBN 0716202557.
111. Firth, Richard (March 2013). "The Methodist Worship Book: Gestation" (http://etheses.bham.
ac.uk/4416/1/Firth13PhD.pdf) (PDF). Methodist Worship (Thesis). University of Birmingham.
p. 30. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
112. Marsh, Clive (2006). Methodist Theology Today. A & C Black. pp. 49, 51–53.
ISBN 9780826481047.
113. Dixon, Neil (1999). "At your service - again!" (http://www.sacramental.org.uk/uploads/5/0/0/9/
50096105/at_your_service_-_again_neil_dixon.pdf) (PDF). Methodist Sacramental
Fellowship. pp. 2–3. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170406110319/http://www.sac
ramental.org.uk/uploads/5/0/0/9/50096105/at_your_service_-_again_neil_dixon.pdf) (PDF)
from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
114. "Our Mother who art in Methodism" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/281106.stm). BBC News.
17 February 1999. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20040721045820/http://news.bbc.c
o.uk/1/hi/uk/281106.stm) from the original on 21 July 2004. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
115. Clarke, Martin V. (2017). British Methodist Hymnody: Theology, Heritage, and Experience (ht
tps://books.google.com/books?id=ZkYrDwAAQBAJ). Taylor & Francis. pp. 1, 183. ISBN 978-
1-317-17179-9. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
116. "Christianity: Charles Wesley" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/people/ch
arleswesley_1.shtml). BBC. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
117. "Born in song" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/what-is-distinctive-about-methodis
m/born-in-song). The Methodist Church. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2017040611
0126/http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/what-is-distinctive-about-methodism/born-in-s
ong) from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
118. "Wesley, Charles" (http://www.singingthefaithplus.org.uk/?cat=177).
www.singingthefaithplus.org.uk. Singing the Faith Plus. Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20190302024758/http://www.singingthefaithplus.org.uk/?cat=177) from the original on 2
March 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
119. Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (2011). Singing the Faith (Words ed.). Hymns
Ancient and Modern Ltd. ISBN 9781848250680.
120. "Contents: Numerical" (http://www.singingthefaithplus.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/St
f-contents-numerical.pdf) (PDF). www.singingthefaithplus.org.uk. Singing the Faith Plus.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170328195414/http://www.singingthefaithplus.org.u
k/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Stf-contents-numerical.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 28
March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
121. Holy Communion in the Methodist Church (https://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/conf-hol
y-communion-in-methodist-church-2003.pdf) (PDF) (Report). The Methodist Conference.
2003. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180730193230/https://www.methodist.org.uk/
downloads/conf-holy-communion-in-methodist-church-2003.pdf) (PDF) from the original on
30 July 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019. " 'Once a month' or 'less than once a week but
more than once a month' were by far the most common frequencies for Sunday celebrations,
accounting between them for nearly 90% of responses. More frequent celebrations were
very uncommon. 5% reported 'less than once a month'."
122. Children and Holy Communion (http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/conf-children-and-h
oly-communion-2000.pdf) (PDF) (Report). Methodist Church in Britain. 1987. p. 7. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20171215015044/http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/conf-
children-and-holy-communion-2000.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2017.
Retrieved 9 September 2017.
123. "A covenant with God" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/what-is-distinctive-about-m
ethodism/a-covenant-with-god). The Methodist Church. Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20160605223804/http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/what-is-distinctive-about-metho
dism/a-covenant-with-god) from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
124. Bradshaw, Paul F. (2013). New SCM Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=vRLJKonMfwQC&pg=PA137). Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. p. 137.
ISBN 9780334049326. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
125. "A study on the Methodist Covenant Prayer" (https://www.rootsontheweb.com/content/PDFs/
346041/Methodist_Covenant_Prayer_study.pdf) (PDF). ROOTS Magazine. Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20150906074913/http://www.rootsontheweb.com/content/PDFs/34604
1/Methodist_Covenant_Prayer_study.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 6 September 2015.
Retrieved 5 April 2017.
126. Catechism, Foreword
127. Catechism, 48. What is Baptism?
128. "Baptism and Confirmation" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170707201151/http://www.meth
odist.org.uk/who-we-are/baptisms-weddings-and-funerals/baptism-and-confirmation).
Methodist Church. Archived from the original (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/baptis
ms-weddings-and-funerals/baptism-and-confirmation) on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July
2017.
129. Catechism, 49. What is the Lord's Supper?
130. Marsh, Clive (2006). Methodist Theology Today. A & C Black. ISBN 9780826481047.
131. Stanglin, Keith D.; McCall, Thomas H. (2012). Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace. Oxford
University Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780199755677.
132. Tillett, Wilbur Fisk (1907). A Statement of the Faith of World-wide Methodism (https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=HQ_QULVJ8qIC&pg=PA12). Publishing House of the M.E. Church,
South. p. 12. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
133. Heitzenrater, Richard P. (20 August 2013). Wesley and the People Called Methodists:
Second Edition. Abingdon Press. p. 18. ISBN 9781426765537. "The primacy of grace was
central to their position, though the implication of divine/human cooperation (synergism) led
many to criticize the Arminians for stressing human activity in salvation. The controversies
that developed over this issue toward to end of the seventeenth century led to some
interesting name calling that is important to an understanding of the name 'Methodist.' "
134. Olson, Roger E. (6 September 2002). The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of
Unity & Diversity. InterVarsity Press. p. 281. ISBN 9780830826957. "Two examples of
Christian synergism are the Catholic reformer Erasmus, who was roughly contemporary with
Luther, and the seventeenth-century Dutch theologian Arminius. John Wesley, founder of the
Methodist tradition, was also a synergist with regard to salvation."
135. Field, David N. (2015). "The unrealised ethical potential of the Methodist theology of
prevenient grace" (http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222
015000200071#top_fn5). HTS Theological Studies. 71 (1). Prevenient grace in the theology
of John Wesley. doi:10.4102/HTS.V71I1.2987 (https://doi.org/10.4102%2FHTS.V71I1.2987).
ISSN 0259-9422 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0259-9422).
136. "The Sermons of John Wesley" (http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wes
ley-1872-edition/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-the-standard-sermons/) (1872 ed.). Wesley
Center Online – Northwest Nazarene University. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2013
1122085932/http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/th
e-sermons-of-john-wesley-the-standard-sermons) from the original on 22 November 2013.
Retrieved 20 November 2013.
137. Marsh, Clive (2006). Methodist Theology Today. A & C Black. pp. 155, 231.
ISBN 9780826481047.
138. Fitzgerald, William B. (1903). The Roots of Methodism. Epworth Press. pp. 191–217.
139. Warner, Laceye (2008). "Spreading Scriptural Holiness: Theology and Practices of Early
Methodism for the Contemporary Church" (https://place.asburyseminary.edu/asburyjournal/v
ol63/iss1/7/). The Asbury Journal. 63 (1): 115–138. doi:10.7252/Journal.01.2008S.06 (https://
doi.org/10.7252%2FJournal.01.2008S.06). ISSN 2375-6330 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2
375-6330). Retrieved 24 January 2021.
140. McKinley, Jim; Huston, David (2018). "What is outward holiness?" (http://www.gloriouschurc
h.com/Questions-Answers-Details.asp?QuestID=3934). Glorious Church Questions &
Answers. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
141. Dawes, Stephen B. "The Spirituality of 'Scriptural Holiness' " (http://www.methodist.org.uk/do
wnloads/wc_Eur_Stephen_Dawes_The_Spirituality_of_Scriptural_Holine.pdf) (PDF). The
European Methodist Theological Commission. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170
202040821/http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/wc_Eur_Stephen_Dawes_The_Spiritua
lity_of_Scriptural_Holine.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved
10 January 2017 – via methodist.org.uk.
142. See Wesley's sermon, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, London: Epworth Press,
1952, pp. 58, 62–69
143. For instance, Wesley used the phrase in the Preface to his collected sermons: "He came
from heaven; He hath written it down in a book. O give me that Book! At any price, give me
the Book of God. I have it; here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri!"
144. Outler, Albert C. (1985). Jason Gingerich (ed.). "The Wesleyan Quadrilateral in John
Wesley" (http://wesley.nnu.edu/fileadmin/imported_site/wesleyjournal/1985-wtj-20-1.pdf)
(PDF). Wesley Center for Applied Theology. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2017032
9052011/http://wesley.nnu.edu/fileadmin/imported_site/wesleyjournal/1985-wtj-20-1.pdf)
(PDF) from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
145. A Lamp to my Feet and a Light to my Path: The Nature of Authority and the Place of the Bible
in the Methodist Church (https://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/conf-a-lamp-to-my-feet-19
98.pdf) (PDF) (Report). Peterborough: Methodist Publishing House. 1998. p. 35. ISBN 1-
85852-124-6. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
146. Peter Forsaith (2016). The Ashgate Research Companion to World Methodism (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=VsrOCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT345). Routledge. pp. 345–46.
ISBN 9781317040989.
147. "Vision Statement – Our Ecumenical Calling: Making a difference together in the twenty-first
century" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170404050007/http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/2
136601/ec-Vision%20-%20Our%20Ecumenical%20Calling.pdf) (PDF). The Methodist
Conference. 2009. p. 1. Archived from the original (http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/21366
01/ec-Vision%20-%20Our%20Ecumenical%20Calling.pdf) (PDF) on 4 April 2017. Retrieved
3 April 2017.
148. Methodist Open Learning. Course Handbook – Faith and Worship, Appendix 10: Glossary (h
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20170404132604/http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/2416383/co
ursehandbook041016.pdf) (PDF). The Methodist Conference. Archived from the original (htt
p://www.methodist.org.uk/media/2416383/coursehandbook041016.pdf) (PDF) on 4 April
2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017. "The Apostles' Creed, (see, page 107 in The Methodist
Worship Book), and the Nicene Creed, (page 190 in The Methodist Worship Book) are two
statements of belief that have been used since the early Church. The Methodist Church
along with many other Churches accepts the fundamental principles of these historic
creeds."
149. The Methodist Worship Book (Presentation ed.). Peterborough: Methodist Publishing
House. 1999. ISBN 978-1858521206. The affirmation of faith is set out on page 31, the
Apostles' Creed in recital format on page 151, and the Nicene Creed several times including
pages 178 and 190.
150. Cross, Frank Leslie; Livingstone, Elizabeth A. (2005). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian
Church (https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1084). Oxford: Oxford
University Press. p. 1084. ISBN 9780192802903.
151. Methodist Church of Great Britain, Sample Circuit Mission Plan 1 (https://www.methodist.org.
uk/media/18329/sample-circuit-mission-plan-1.pdf), accessed 16 September 2022
152. Methodist Church of Great Britain, Everyone an Evangelist (https://www.methodist.org.uk/our
-work/our-work-in-britain/evangelism-growth/practise-evangelism/equipped-for-evangelism/
everyone-an-evangelist/), accessed 16 September 2022
153. A Methodist Statement on Abortion (http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/pi_abortionstate
ment_76.pdf) (PDF) (Report). The Methodist Conference. 1976. pp. 1–3. Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20160304092330/http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/pi_abortionstat
ement_76.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
154. A Report on the Status of the Unborn Human (http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/pi_stat
usoftheunbornhuman_90.pdf) (PDF) (Report). The Methodist Conference. 1990. Archived (ht
tps://web.archive.org/web/20160325010710/http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/pi_statu
softheunbornhuman_90.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved
19 February 2016.
155. Butler, J. Douglas (2011). Abortion, Medicine, and the Law (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=cPg35464NnAC&pg=PT461). Fideli Publishing Inc. p. 461. ISBN 9781604144451.
156. "Abortion and Contraception" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131227080000/http://www.met
hodist.org.uk/who-we-are/views-of-the-church/abortion-and-contraception). Methodist
Church in Britain. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December
2013.
157. "Euthanasia" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/pi_euthanasia_74.pdf) (PDF).
Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20131226212431/http://w
ww.methodist.org.uk/downloads/pi_euthanasia_74.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 26
December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
158. "Criminal Justice" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120618103726/http://www.methodist.org.u
k/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentoworld.content&cmid=2073). Public Issues. Methodist Church
in Britain. Archived from the original (http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=ope
ntoworld.content&cmid=2073) on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
159. "Frequently Asked Questions - Marriage and Relationships" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/wh
o-we-are/views-of-the-church/human-sexuality/talking-of-marriage-and-relationships/frequen
tly-asked-questions-marriage-and-relationships). Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20160915014605/http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/views-of-
the-church/human-sexuality/talking-of-marriage-and-relationships/frequently-asked-question
s-marriage-and-relationships) from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 4 May
2016.
160. "Human Sexuality" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/views-of-the-church/human-sex
uality). Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160405071543/
http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/views-of-the-church/human-sexuality) from the
original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
161. Wesley, John (1831) [1743]. The Works of the Reverend John Wesley, A. M. (https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=Jns9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA542) Methodist Episcopal Church. pp. 539–
544.
162. Bates, Stephen (30 June 2005). "Methodist leaders vote to bless gay couples" (https://www.t
heguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/30/religion.gayrights). The Guardian. Archived (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20160421155239/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/30/religion.gayright
s) from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
163. Robinson, B.A. (2005). "The Methodist Church in Britain and homosexuality" (http://www.reli
gioustolerance.org/hommeth.htm). ReligiousTolerance.org. Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150909211141/http://www.reli
gioustolerance.org/hommeth.htm) from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 4 May
2016.
164. "Methodist Church Votes Down Same-Sex Blessings" (http://www.christiantoday.com/article/
methodist.church.votes.down.same.sex.blessings/6762.htm). Christianity Today. 28 June
2006. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160605075228/http://www.christiantoday.co
m/article/methodist.church.votes.down.same.sex.blessings/6762.htm) from the original on 5
June 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
165. "Methodist Church votes on same sex marriage" (http://outcomeonline.org.uk/?p=187).
Outcome. 28 June 2006. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160611135032/http://outc
omeonline.org.uk/?p=187) from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
166. Bingham, John (29 November 2013). "Methodist Church begins mass consultation on gay
marriage" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10484097/Methodist-Church-begins-m
ass-consultation-on-gay-marriage.html). Telegraph.co.uk. Archived (https://web.archive.org/
web/20170202003203/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10484097/Methodist-Churc
h-begins-mass-consultation-on-gay-marriage.html) from the original on 2 February 2017.
Retrieved 20 May 2016.
167. "Methodist Church to 'revisit' gay marriage stance" (http://www.christian.org.uk/news/methodi
st-church-to-re-visit-gay-marriage-stance/). The Christian Institute. 7 July 2016. Archived (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20160821015324/http://www.christian.org.uk/news/methodist-chur
ch-to-re-visit-gay-marriage-stance/) from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August
2016.
168. "God in Love Unites Us: Managing Group Conversations" (https://www.methodist.org.uk/me
dia/14806/mandr-19-managing-group-conversations-0919.pdf) (PDF). Methodist Church in
Britain. p. 1. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
169. "Methodists move towards conducting same-sex marriages" (https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/
articles/2019/5-july/news/uk/methodists-move-towards-conducting-same-sex-marriages).
Church Times. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
170. "The Conference Business Digest" (https://www.methodist.org.uk/about-us/the-methodist-co
nference/conference-2020/the-conference-business-digest/). www.methodist.org.uk.
Methodist Church in Britain. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
171. Farley, Harry (30 June 2021). "Methodist Church allows same-sex marriage in 'momentous'
vote" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-57658161). BBC News. Retrieved 30 June
2021.
172. "Methodist Church votes to accept same sex marriage and affirm cohabitation" (https://premi
erchristian.news/en/news/article/methodist-church-votes-to-accept-same-sex-marriage-and-
affirm-cohabitation). premierchristian.news. Premier Christianity. 30 June 2021. Retrieved
30 June 2021.
173. "UK Methodist church approves same - sex marriage and affirms cohabitation" (https://evang
elicalfocus.com/europe/12319/uk-methodist-church-approves-same-sex-marriage-and-affirm
s-cohabitation). Evangelical Focus. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
174. "Talking of Marriage and Relationships - frequently asked questions" (https://www.methodist.
org.uk/about-us/the-methodist-church/marriage-and-relationships/archive-marriage-and-relat
ionships-2019/talking-of-marriage-and-relationships-frequently-asked-questions/#:~:text=Ye
s.%20The%20Gender%20Recognition%20Act%202004%20is%20clear,of%20the%20oppo
site%20gender%20under%20current%20marriage%20law.). www.methodist.org.uk.
Methodist Church in Britain. 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
175. "About Us" (https://dignityandworth.org.uk/about/). Dignity & Worth. Retrieved 12 March
2021.
176. Methodist Episcopal Church (1798). "Directions given to the Band-Societies. December
25th, 1744." (https://books.google.com/books?id=zOoCAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA150).
Doctrines and Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church. with explanatory notes by
Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury (10th ed.). p. 150.
177. Field, Cive D. (2000). " 'The Devil in Solution': How temperate were the Methodists?".
Epworth Review. 27: 78–93.
178. Methodist attitudes to alcohol (https://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/conf-methodist-attitu
des-to-alcohol-1999.pdf) (PDF) (Report). Methodist Conference. 1999. Retrieved 10 January
2020.
179. "The Mahogany Bar Mission" (https://www.mymethodisthistory.org.uk/place-2/the-mahogany
-bar-mission). My Methodist History. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
180. Wright, Christopher J. H. (2003). Truth and Spirituality Today - Book 4 (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=iu2QAMIwFJ4C). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-
0199148424.
181. "Frequently Asked Questions" (https://web.archive.org/web/20210121203825/https://methodi
st-central-hall.org.uk/frequently-asked-questions/). Methodist Central Hall Westminster.
Archived from the original (https://methodist-central-hall.org.uk/frequently-asked-questions/)
on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
182. Brake, George Thompson (1984). Policy and Politics in British Methodism 1932–1982.
London: Edsall. pp. 433–443. ISBN 0902623419.
183. "Alcohol" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/views-of-the-church/alcohol). Views of
the Church. The Methodist Church. What about Communion wine?. Archived (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20131227080557/http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/views-of-the-churc
h/alcohol) from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
184. Blocker, Jack S.; Fahey, David M.; Tyrrell, Ian R. (2003). Alcohol and Temperance in Modern
History: An International Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 106. ISBN 978-1576078334.
185. McDowell, Edwin (12 January 1986). "Faces Behind The Famous Brand Names" (https://ww
w.nytimes.com/1986/01/12/business/what-s-new-on-the-executive-bookshelf-faces-behind-t
he-famous-brand-names.html). New York Times. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2017
1113165353/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/12/business/what-s-new-on-the-executive-bo
okshelf-faces-behind-the-famous-brand-names.html) from the original on 13 November
2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017. "Dr. Thomas B. Welch, a teetotaling New Jersey dentist, came
up with Dr. Welch's Unfermented Wine - later renamed Welch's Grape Juice - to be used as
a substitute for wine in church communion service."
186. Miller, Doris (1990). "Unfermented Wine on the Lord's Table: Origins and Implementation in
Nineteenth Century Canadian Methodism". Methodist History. 29: 3–13.
187. "Wesley's Forgiveness" (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/journal.vi.ix.x.html). Journal of John
Wesley. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2015050
4132547/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/journal.vi.ix.x.html) from the original on 4 May
2015. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
188. "The lies we tell ourselves: ending comfortable myths about poverty" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20140811033522/http://www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Tr
uth-And-Lies-Report-smaller.pdf) (PDF). Joint Public Issues Team. Archived from the original
(http://www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Truth-And-Lies-Report-sma
ller.pdf) (PDF) on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
189. "Gordon Brown and Rowan Williams praise Christian Aid's departing Director" (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20140304123131/http://www.christianaid.org.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/m
arch2010/gordon-brown-and-rowan-williams-praise-christian-aids-departing-director.aspx).
Christian Aid. Archived from the original (http://www.christianaid.org.uk/pressoffice/pressrele
ases/march2010/gordon-brown-and-rowan-williams-praise-christian-aids-departing-director.
aspx) on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
190. "New Vice-President urges Methodists to fight poverty" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/news-a
nd-events/news-archive-2013/new-vice-president-urges-methodists-to-fight-poverty). The
Methodist Church. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20161104042100/http://www.meth
odist.org.uk/news-and-events/news-archive-2013/new-vice-president-urges-methodists-to-fi
ght-poverty) from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
191. "Smallbridge Methodist Church Opens to Foodbank Clients" (https://rochdale.foodbank.org.
uk/about/about-our-foodbank/smallbridge-methodist-church-opens-to-foodbank-clients/).
rochdale.foodbank.org.uk. Rochdale Foodbank. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
192. "Churches challenge food poverty with latest resource on foodbanks" (https://www.methodis
t.org.uk/about-us/news/latest-news/all-news/churches-challenge-food-poverty-with-latest-res
ource-on-foodbanks/) (Press release). The Methodist Church. 20 May 2014. Retrieved
24 January 2021.
193. "Ministers, Presbyters and Deacons: Signalling Vocation, Clarifying Identity" (http://www.met
hodist.org.uk/downloads/conf08_52_Signalling_Vocation_report210808.doc). The
Methodist Conference. 2008. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232416/http://
www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/conf08_52_Signalling_Vocation_report210808.doc) from
the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
194. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "A Greek-English Lexicon, πρέσβυ^ς" (https://www.per
seus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%23863
06). tufts.edu. Tufts University. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
195. Ferguson, Thomas (2001). "Lifting Up the Servants of God: The Deacon, Servant Ministry,
and the Future of the Church" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170421093944/http://www.sfd.
edu/book/export/html/45). www.sfd.edu. School for Deacons. Archived from the original (htt
p://www.sfd.edu/book/export/html/45) on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
196. Howcroft, Kenneth (2002). "Ministerial Roles in Methodism". In Shreeve, Esther; Luscombe,
Philip (eds.). What Is a Minister?. Epworth Press. pp. 133–154. ISBN 0716205599.
197. "How to Address a Member of the Clergy" (https://www.debretts.com/expertise/forms-of-addr
ess/professions/religion/). Debrett's. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
198. "Deacons and Presbyters" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131227082808/http://methodistdi
aconalorder.org.uk/index.php?page=deacons-and-presbyters). Methodist Diaconal Order.
Archived from the original (http://methodistdiaconalorder.org.uk/index.php?page=deacons-a
nd-presbyters) on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
199. Beck, Brian E. Vickers, John A. (ed.). "Stationing Committee" (https://dmbi.online/index.php?
do=app.entry&id=2592). A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland. Retrieved
6 February 2022.
200. "What Sort of Bishops?" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/co_60_whatsortofbishops_
0805.doc) (Microsoft Word doc.). Methodist Church in Britain. July 2005. Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20170202040517/http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/co_60_whatsor
tofbishops_0805.doc) from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
201. "2007 Reports" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/conference/conference-reports/2007-reports).
Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20161229042125/http://w
ww.methodist.org.uk/conference/conference-reports/2007-reports) from the original on 29
December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
202. Jay, Eric George (1978). The Church: Its Changing Image Through Twenty Centuries.
London: SPCK. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-28102-991-4.
203. The University of Manchester Library. "The role of women within Methodism" (https://www.lib
rary.manchester.ac.uk/search-resources/special-collections/guide-to-special-collections/met
hodist/using-the-collections/researching-women-in-methodism/the-role-of-women-in-method
ism/#:~:text=In%201910%2C%20the%20Wesleyans%20officially,conditions%20as%20mal
e%20local%20preachers.&text=The%20first%20women%20to%20be,the%20Bristol%20Co
nference%20in%201974.). www.library.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
204. "Methodist Church celebrates 40 years of women's ordination" (https://web.archive.org/web/
20161005091919/http://www.methodist.org.uk/news-and-events/news-releases/methodist-c
hurch-celebrates-40-years-of-women%E2%80%99s-ordination). Methodist Church in
Britain. Archived from the original (http://www.methodist.org.uk/news-and-events/news-relea
ses/methodist-church-celebrates-40-years-of-women%E2%80%99s-ordination) on 5
October 2016.
205. Drake, Gavin (27 June 2014). "Methodist women's ruby day" (https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/
articles/2014/27-june/news/uk/methodist-women-s-ruby-day). Church Times. Retrieved
27 June 2014.
206. "Women's Service in the Church: The Biblical Basis" (http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_
Women_Service_Church.htm). St. John's College. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20
160913211712/http://ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Women_Service_Church.htm) from the
original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
207. "Local Preacher FAQs" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170324085756/http://www.methodist.
org.uk/ministers-and-office-holders/local-preachers/local-preacher-faqs). Methodist Church
in Britain. Archived from the original (http://www.methodist.org.uk/ministers-and-office-holder
s/local-preachers/local-preacher-faqs) on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
208. Authorisations to Preside at the Lord's Supper (https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/1989/fo-
statement-authorisations-to-preside-at-the-lords-supper-1996.pdf) (PDF) (Report). Methodist
Conference. 1996. p. 162. Retrieved 23 January 2021. "A Circuit which considers that any of
its churches or a significant number of church members or other Christians in the local
community is deprived of reasonably frequent and regular celebration of the Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper through lack of ordained ministers may apply for the authorisation of
persons other than ministers to preside at that sacrament when appointed to do so on the
circuit plan, or on other occasions when authorised by the Superintendent."
209. Cole, John (April 2008). "Local Preachers and Readers: Sharing Two Ministries" (http://ww
w.methodist.org.uk/downloads/ec-embr-covenant-app3-250609.pdf) (PDF). Methodist
Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120721172144/http://www.metho
dist.org.uk/downloads/ec-embr-covenant-app3-250609.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 21
July 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
210. Hempton, David (26 January 1996). Religion and Political Culture in Britain and Ireland:
From the Glorious Revolution to the Decline of Empire (https://books.google.com/books?id=
3AQ_ZrhPkh4C&pg=PA36). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-
521-47925-7.
211. Thomas, George (1985). George Thomas, Mr Speaker: the memoirs of the Viscount
Tonypandy. Century Publishing. p. 161.
212. "Lord Murray" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1462493/Lord-Murray.html).
Telegraph.co.uk. 22 May 2004. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160301114631/htt
p://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1462493/Lord-Murray.html) from the original on 1
March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017. "A Methodist lay preacher, he held strong ethical
opinions about the role of trades unions in a free society."
213. Catechism, 68. What are the distinctive features of the Methodist Church?
214. "The Connexion" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-connexion).
Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170325030528/http://w
ww.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-connexion) from the original on 25 March
2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
215. Methodist Church of Great Britain, the connexion magazine (https://www.methodist.org.uk/ab
out-us/news/the-connexion-magazine/). Retrieved 25 November 2022.
216. "Membership" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/membership). Methodist Church in
Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170317003456/http://methodist.org.uk/who-
we-are/membership) from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
217. Barber, Jill (3 December 2012). "Primitive Methodist Class Tickets: an introduction" (https://w
ww.myprimitivemethodists.org.uk/content/subjects-2/primitive-methodist-history/primitive-met
hodist-class-tickets-an-introduction). My Primitive Methodists. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
218. Kirby, James E.; Rivera, Feliciano; Kirby, James; Richey, Russell E.; Rowe, Kenneth E.
(1996). The Methodists (https://books.google.com/books?id=02s2Lej8J3oC). Greenwood
Publishing Group. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-313-22048-7. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
219. "The Local Church: Meaning and Value" (http://godisforus.com/information/church/church.ht
m). godisforus.com. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170505042409/http://godisforu
s.com/information/church/church.htm) from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 25 March
2017.
220. Wakeling, Christopher (August 2016). "Nonconformist Places of Worship: Introductions to
Heritage Assets" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170328195437/https://content.historicengla
nd.org.uk/images-books/publications/iha-nonconformist-places-of-worship/heag139-nonconf
ormist-places-of-worshipi-iha.pdf/). Historic England. Archived from the original (https://conte
nt.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/iha-nonconformist-places-of-worship/h
eag139-nonconformist-places-of-worshipi-iha.pdf/) on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March
2017.
221. "The local church" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-local-church).
Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170325030250/http://w
ww.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-local-church) from the original on 25 March
2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
222. "Responsibilities of the managing trustees" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/static/rm/mtmm/res
ponsibilities_of_the_managing_trustees.pdf) (PDF). The Methodist Conference. Archived (ht
tps://web.archive.org/web/20150321145611/http://methodist.org.uk/static/rm/mtmm/responsi
bilities_of_the_managing_trustees.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved
24 March 2017.
223. "The circuit" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-circuit). Methodist
Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20171204051826/http://www.metho
dist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-circuit) from the original on 4 December 2017.
Retrieved 4 January 2019.
224. Cranmer, Frank (30 September 2014). "Methodist ministers and "retirement" – sort of" (http://
www.lawandreligionuk.com/2014/09/30/methodist-ministers-and-retirement-sort-of/). Law &
Religion UK. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170325115603/http://www.lawandreli
gionuk.com/2014/09/30/methodist-ministers-and-retirement-sort-of/) from the original on 25
March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
225. "Induction pack for circuit stewards" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170325030842/http://ww
w.methodist.org.uk/ministers-and-office-holders/leadership-and-ministry/circuit-stewards/ind
uction-pack-for-circuit-stewards). Methodist Church in Britain. Archived from the original (htt
p://www.methodist.org.uk/ministers-and-office-holders/leadership-and-ministry/circuit-stewar
ds/induction-pack-for-circuit-stewards) on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
226. "Membership [statistics by district]" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/mission/statistics-for-missio
n/district-circuit-church-reports/membership). Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20150419170844/http://methodist.org.uk/mission/statistics-for-mission/di
strict-circuit-church-reports/membership) from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved
8 January 2015.
227. "Methodist Central Halls - a mission with ambition" (http://www.religionandsociety.org.uk/upl
oads/docs/2011_03/1300723374_Hebbert_Phase_1_Collaborative_Studentship_Block.pdf)
(PDF). AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme. 2011. Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20121030144456/http://www.religionandsociety.org.uk/uploads/docs/2011_03/1300
723374_Hebbert_Phase_1_Collaborative_Studentship_Block.pdf) (PDF) from the original
on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
228. Moore, Keith (30 August 2012). "What happened to the Methodist central halls?" (https://ww
w.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19341345). BBC News. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/
20150925174802/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19341345) from the original on 25
September 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
229. "History" (http://methodist-central-hall.org.uk/services/history/). Methodist Central Hall,
Westminster. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20161106125730/http://methodist-centra
l-hall.org.uk/services/history/) from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 27 March
2017.
230. "UK District map 2018" (https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/6707/uk-district-map-2018.pdf)
(PDF). Methodist Church in Britain. 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
231. "Statistics for Mission: District Mapping Packs" (https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/2751/31
_scotland-min.pdf) (PDF). The Methodist Conference. 2017. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20181021024550/https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/2751/31_scotland-min.pdf)
(PDF) from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
232. Smith, John Owen. "Methodist Origins" (http://www.johnowensmith.co.uk/histdate/methdist.ht
m). www.johnowensmith.co.uk. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170420051410/htt
p://www.johnowensmith.co.uk/histdate/methdist.htm) from the original on 20 April 2017.
Retrieved 24 March 2017.
233. "What is a District Chair?" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/Conf06_What_is_a_Distr
ict_Chair_pc.doc) (PDF). The Methodist Conference. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/
20071029171300/http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/Conf06_What_is_a_District_Chai
r_pc.doc) from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
234. "Larger than Circuit" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170325113128/http://www.methodist.or
g.uk/media/1431016/coun-MC15-12-larger-than-circuit-january-2015.pdf) (PDF). The
Methodist Conference. January 2015. Archived from the original (http://www.methodist.org.u
k/media/1431016/coun-MC15-12-larger-than-circuit-january-2015.pdf) (PDF) on 25 March
2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
235. "Methodist District Chairs and Church of England Bishops joint meeting" (https://www.churc
hofengland.org/media-centre/news/2002/01/methodist_district_chairs_and_church_of_engl
and.aspx). Church of England News. Church of England. 18 January 2002. Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20170325202051/https://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/new
s/2002/01/methodist_district_chairs_and_church_of_england.aspx) from the original on 25
March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
236. "The Conference" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-conference).
Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20131227114304/http://w
ww.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-conference) from the original on 27
December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
237. "Conference 2019" (https://web.archive.org/web/20190502192107/https://www.methodist.or
g.uk/about-us/the-methodist-conference/conference-2019/). Methodist Church of Great
Britain. Archived from the original (https://www.methodist.org.uk/about-us/the-methodist-conf
erence/conference-2019/) on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
238. "The Methodist Conference will meet virtually this year (https://www.methodist.org.uk/about-
us/news/latest-news/all-news/the-methodist-conference-will-meet-virtually-this-year/)".
Methodist Church of Great Britain. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
239. Methodist Church of Great Britain, Conference Business Digest (https://www.wandamethodi
sts.org.uk/doc/D572862.pdf), accessed 8 August 2021
240. Methodist Church of Great Britain, Future dates of the Conference (https://www.methodist.or
g.uk/about-us/the-methodist-conference/future-dates-of-the-conference/), accessed 13 June
2022
241. "Conference Reports" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/conference/conference-reports). The
Methodist Conference. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170317004735/http://metho
dist.org.uk/conference/conference-reports) from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved
24 March 2017.
242. For further information see "Views of the Church" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/v
iews-of-the-church). The Methodist Church. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20131216
034204/http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/views-of-the-church) from the original on 16
December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
243. "A Christian Understanding of Family Life, the Single Person and Marriage" (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20150414142216/http://methodist.org.uk/media/1245111/meth-statement-family-
life-single-person-marriage-1992-0714.pdf) (PDF). Methodist Conference. 1992. Archived
from the original (http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/1245111/meth-statement-family-life-sin
gle-person-marriage-1992-0714.pdf) (PDF) on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
244. "The President and Vice-President" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-p
resident-and-vice-president). Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/
web/20170421041610/http://methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-president-and-vice-p
resident) from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
245. Howdle, S., Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church, Volume 1,
Foreword to the Electronic Version of Volume 1 (https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/18421/
cpd-vol-1-0820.pdf), published 2005, accessed 31 May 2021
246. "3Generate" (https://www.methodist.org.uk/our-work/children-youth-family-ministry/events-in
cluding-3generate/3generate/). www.methodist.org.uk. Methodist Church in Britain.
Retrieved 30 September 2022.
247. Davies, Madeleine (5 July 2019). "Young estate resident takes the words of John Wesley as
a model for mission" (https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2019/5-july/news/uk/young-esta
te-resident-takes-the-words-of-john-wesley-as-a-model-for-mission). Church Times.
Retrieved 2 October 2022.
248. "Recruitment and election process" (https://www.methodist.org.uk/our-work/children-youth-fa
mily-ministry/methodist-young-adults/youth-president/recruitment-and-election-process/).
www.methodist.org.uk. Methodist Church in Britain. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
249. "Our Methodist partnership" (https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/our-
methodist-partnership/). Action for Children. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170325
024400/https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/our-methodist-partnershi
p/) from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
250. "About Us - All We Can" (http://www.allwecan.org.uk/about-us/about-us).
www.allwecan.org.uk. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170304185947/http://www.all
wecan.org.uk/about-us/about-us) from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March
2017.
251. "Schools" (https://www.methodistschools.org.uk/find-a-school/schools).
www.methodistschools.org.uk. Methodist Schools. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20
180129080731/https://www.methodistschools.org.uk/find-a-school/schools) from the original
on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
252. "Member Churches of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland" (https://ctbi.org.uk/member-
churches/). ctbi.org.uk. 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
253. "Member Churches list" (https://www.cte.org.uk/Groups/234772/Home/Contacts/Member_Ch
urches_list/Member_Churches_list.aspx). www.cte.org.uk. Churches Together in England.
Retrieved 26 December 2020.
254. "Cytun, Churches Together in Wales | World Council of Churches" (https://www.oikoumene.o
rg/organization/cytun-churches-together-in-wales). www.oikoumene.org. World Council of
Churches. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
255. "About ACTS" (http://www.acts-scotland.org/about-us/about-acts). www.acts-scotland.org.
Action of Churches Together in Scotland. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
256. "Covenanted Churches in Wales" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/relationships-wit
h-other-denominations/ecumenism-in-britain-and-ireland/walescymru/covenanted-churches-
in-wales). Methodist Church in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201312310022
49/http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/relationships-with-other-denominations/ecumeni
sm-in-britain-and-ireland/walescymru/covenanted-churches-in-wales) from the original on
31 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
257. "World Council of Churches" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/relationships-with-oth
er-denominations/worldwide-ecumenism/world-council-of-churches). The Methodist Church
in Britain. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20130427074205/http://www.methodist.org.
uk/who-we-are/relationships-with-other-denominations/worldwide-ecumenism/world-council
-of-churches) from the original on 27 April 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
258. Collis, Dominic (2 December 2019). "Nelson Methodists and Catholics reaffirm ties in
shared church" (https://www.burnleyexpress.net/news/people/nelson-methodists-and-catholi
cs-reaffirm-ties-shared-church-1329464). Burnley Express. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
259. "World Methodist Council opens new ecumenical office in Rome" (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20160512111341/http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/04/06/world_methodist_council_
opens_new_ecumenical_office_in_rome/1220756). en.radiovaticana.va. Vatican Radio. 6
April 2016. Archived from the original (http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/04/06/world_met
hodist_council_opens_new_ecumenical_office_in_rome/1220756) on 12 May 2016.
Retrieved 21 May 2016.
260. "About the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome" (https://web.archive.org/web/201609151958
21/http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/relationships-with-other-denominations/ecumeni
sm-in-europe/the-methodist-ecumenical-office-rome/about-the-methodist-ecumenical-office-r
ome). Methodist Church in Britain. Archived from the original (http://www.methodist.org.uk/w
ho-we-are/relationships-with-other-denominations/ecumenism-in-europe/the-methodist-ecu
menical-office-rome/about-the-methodist-ecumenical-office-rome) on 15 September 2016.
Retrieved 21 May 2016.
261. "Common Statement of the Formal Conversations between the Methodist Church of Great
Britain and the Church of England" (http://www.anglican-methodist.org.uk/common_stateme
nt0506.pdf) (PDF). Methodist Publishing House and Church House Publishing. 2001.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160616001822/http://www.anglican-methodist.org.u
k/common_statement0506.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved
26 August 2016. ISBN 1-85852-218-8
262. Booth, Stephen (2005). "Make Bishops History" (http://methodistevangelicals.org.uk/resourc
es/make-bishops-history). Methodist Evangelicals Together. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20161229035213/http://methodistevangelicals.org.uk/resources/make-bishops-histor
y) from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
263. Barrett, C. Kingsley; Jessop, Thomas E.; Meadley, Thomas D.; Snaith, Norman H. (1963). A
Dissentient View. Anglican–Methodist Conversations. Epworth Press.
264. Livingstone, E. A.; Sparks, M. W. D.; Peacocke, R. W. (2013). The Concise Oxford Dictionary
of the Christian Church (https://books.google.com/books?id=DZecAQAAQBAJ&dq=1972+m
ethodist+anglican+union+rejected&pg=PA116). OUP Oxford. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-19-965962-
3.
265. Thompson, David M.; Briggs, John H. Y.; Turner, John Munsey (February 2015). Protestant
Nonconformist Texts (https://books.google.com/books?id=s1enBgAAQBAJ). Vol. 4: The
Twentieth Century. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4982-1918-1. Retrieved
22 December 2022.
266. The Failure of the English Covenant: An Assessment of the Experiences of the Churches'
Council for Covenanting. London: British Council of Churches. n.d.
267. "History of the Covenant" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160805015902/http://www.anglica
n-methodist.org.uk/background.htm). www.anglican-methodist.org.uk. The Methodist Church
and the Church of England. Archived from the original (http://www.anglican-methodist.org.uk/
background.htm) on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
268. "An Anglican–Methodist Covenant: Text" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160622202017/htt
p://www.anglican-methodist.org.uk/text.htm). www.anglican-methodist.org.uk. The Methodist
Church and the Church of England. Archived from the original (http://www.anglican-methodis
t.org.uk/text.htm) on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
269. Thornton, Ed (16 July 2021). "General Synod digest: Anglican-Methodist Covenant moves
ahead despite sexuality concerns" (https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2021/16-july/new
s/uk/general-synod-digest-anglican-methodist-covenant-moves-ahead-despite-sexuality-con
cerns). Church Times. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
270. Rocker, Simon (23 June 2010). "Chief Rabbi slams Methodist report" (https://www.thejc.com/
news/uk-news/33315/chief-rabbi-slams-methodist-report). Jewish Chronicle. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20140714154922/http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/33315/chief-r
abbi-slams-methodist-report) from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
271. Dysch, Marcus (1 July 2010). "Fury as Methodists vote to boycott Israel" (https://www.thejc.c
om/news/uk-news/33594/fury-methodists-vote-boycott-israel). Jewish Chronicle. Archived (h
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140714171712/http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/33594/fury
-methodists-vote-boycott-israel) from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
272. "Justice for Palestine and Israel" (http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/conf10a-14-pal-isr
ael-160211.pdf) (PDF). Methodist Church in Britain. July 2010. Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20150128215253/http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/conf10a-14-pal-israel-16
0211.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
273. "Who We Are" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160618161254/http://worldmethodistcouncil.o
rg/about/). World Methodist Council. 9 February 2012. Archived from the original (http://world
methodistcouncil.org/about/) on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
274. World Methodist Council (pub.) (2007). Handbook of Information 2007–2012, pp. 261–278.
Cornerstone, Waynesville
275. "Structure & Organization: Organization" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120711214536/htt
p://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.1720697/k.734E/Structure__Organization_Organizat
ion.htm). The United Methodist Church. Archived from the original (http://www.umc.org/site/c.
lwL4KnN1LtH/b.1720697/k.734E/Structure__Organization_Organization.htm) on 11 July
2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
276. Gill, Robin (2002). Changing Worlds: Can the Church Respond? (https://books.google.com/
books?id=GlevAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA113). A&C Black. p. 113. ISBN 9780567369390.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170216191226/https://books.google.com/books?id
=GlevAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA113) from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved
4 September 2017.
277. "How We Are Organised" (https://www.irishmethodist.org/how-we-are-organised). The
Methodist Church in Ireland. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20190123071425/https://
www.irishmethodist.org/how-we-are-organised) from the original on 23 January 2019.
Retrieved 23 January 2019.
278. "The prophet of experience" (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/the-prophet-of-experience-1.3
62632). The Irish Times. 14 June 2003. Retrieved 7 May 2021.

Further reading
A Catechism for the Use of the People Called Methodists. Peterborough: Methodist
Publishing House. 2000. ISBN 978185852182-4.
Abraham, William J.; Kirby, James E. (eds.) (2009). The Oxford Handbook of Methodist
Studies. Oxford University Press. (excerpt (https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Handbook-Meth
odist-Studies-Handbooks-ebook/dp/B0064A55N2/))
Brake, George Thompson (1984). Policy and Politics in British Methodism 1932–1982.
Edsall. ISBN 0902623419
Brooks, Alan (2010). West End Methodism: The Story of Hinde Street. London: Northway
Publications. ISBN 978-0-955-78884-0
Currie, Robert (1968). Methodism Divided: A Study in the Sociology of Ecumenicalism.
Faber. ISBN 978-0571084678
Davies, Rupert; Raymond, George A. (eds.) (1965 – 1988). A History of the Methodist
Church in Great Britain. Volumes 1–4.
Davies, Rupert E. et al. (1983). A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain (https://
books.google.com/books?id=_qQoDwAAQBAJ) Vol 3. Wipf & Stock.
Dowson, Jean; Hutchinson, John. (2003). John Wesley: His Life, Times and Legacy. [CD-
ROM] Methodist Publishing House, TB214.
Harmon, Nolan B. (ed.) (1974). The Encyclopedia of World Methodism. United Methodist
Publishing House. pp. 2, 640. ISBN 0-687-11784-4
Heitzenrater, Richard P. (1994). Wesley and the People Called Methodists. Nashville:
Abingdon Press. ISBN 0-687-01682-7
Hempton, David (2005). Methodism: Empire of the Spirit. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-
10614-9
Hempton, David (1984). Methodism and Politics in British Society, 1750–1850. Stanford
University Press. ISBN 0-8047-1269-7
Hobsbawm, E. J. (Feb 1957). "Methodism and the threat of revolution in Britain". History
Today. Vol. 7 (2):115–123. Rejects Halevy thesis that Methodism calmed the workers.
Jones, David Ceri et al. (2012). The Elect Methodists: Calvinistic Methodism in England and
Wales, 1735–1811. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0-708-32501-8
Kent, John (2002). Wesley and the Wesleyans. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-
45532-4
Kirby, James E.; Rivera, Feliciano; Kirby, James; Richey, Russell E.; Rowe, Kenneth E.
(1996). The Methodists. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-313-22048-7.
Mack, Phyllis (2008). Heart Religion in the British Enlightenment: Gender and Emotion in
Early Methodism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-88918-6
Madden, Lionel (2003). Methodism in Wales: A Short History of the Wesley Tradition. Gomer
Press. ISBN 978-0-863-81846-2
Marsh, Clive (2006). Methodist Theology Today. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-826-
48104-7
Milburn, Geoffrey E.; Batty, Margaret (1995). Workaday Preachers: Story of Methodist Local
Preachers. Peterborough: Methodist Publishing House. ISBN 978-1858520582.
Smith, John T. (1998). Methodism and Education 1849-1902: J.H. Rigg, Romanism, and
Wesleyan Schools. Clarendon Press. (excerpt (https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&i
d=7k01RTSWdkUC))
Telford, John (1911). "Wesleyan Methodist Church" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_En
cyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Wesleyan_Methodist_Church). In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.).
Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 531–533. This
article has a detailed history of the Church's early years.
Turner, John Munsey (2002). John Wesley: The Evangelical Revival and the Rise of
Methodism in England. Epworth Press. ISBN 978-0-716-20556-2
Turner, John Munsey (1997). Modern Methodism in England, 1932–1996. Epworth Press.
p. 128. ISBN 978-0-716-20512-8
Warner, Wellman J. (1930). The Wesleyan Movement in the Industrial Revolution. London:
Longmans, Green. ISBN 978-0-846-20960-7
Wellings, Martin (2012). "'And Are We Yet Alive?': Methodism In Great Britain, 1945–2010 (ht
tp://archives.gcah.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10516/5125/Methodist-History-2012-2013-Well
ings.pdf?sequence=1)." Methodist History. 61(1–2):38–60
 Yrigoyen Jr, Charles; Warrick, Susan E. (eds.) (2005). Historical Dictionary of Methodism.
Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-810-85451-2
Yrigoyen Jr, Charles (ed.) (2014). T&T Clark Companion to Methodism. Bloomsbury T&T
Clark. ISBN 978-0-567-65712-1

External links
Official website (http://www.methodist.org.uk/)
The Methodist Church (https://twitter.com/methodistGB) on Twitter
A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland (https://dmbi.online)
Structure of the Methodist Church (http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/co_mcstructure_2
60405.pdf) at methodist.org.uk
Anglican–Methodist Covenant (http://www.anglican-methodist.org.uk/)
Methodist Recorder newspaper (http://www.methodistrecorder.co.uk/)
Methodist Evangelicals Together (https://www.methodistevangelicals.org.uk)
Methodist Sacramental Fellowship (https://www.sacramental.org.uk)
Methodist Heritage (http://www.methodistheritage.org.uk) – guide to Methodist heritage sites
Christianity: Methodist Church (https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisi
ons/methodist_1.shtml) from the BBC website

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Methodist_Church_of_Great_Britain&oldid=1183996604"