Samuel Wesley (1766-1837) was the son of the hymn-writer Charles Wesley and the nephew of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He was one of the leading composers in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century England, and the finest organist of his day. He was also a misfit and a rebel, renowned for his outspoken views, his frequently wild behavior, and his irregular personal life. His music has become increasingly well known in recent years, and these letters to his friends and fellow musicians, over 400 of which are gathered together here for the first time, present both a witty, perceptive, and unparalleled portrait of Wesley the man, and an insiders view of life in the music profession in London in the early nineteenth-century.
This first volume of a two volume edition contains letters written between 1727 and 1756 by the famous hymn writer, poet and co-founder of Methodism, Charles Wesley (1707-1788). The edition brings together texts which are located in libraries and archives from across the globe and here presents them as a complete collection for the first time.
Hailed as a child prodigy and later acclaimed as England's finest extempore organist, Samuel Wesley - son of Charles Wesley and nephew of John Wesley, the founders of Methodism - is best known today for his musical compositions and for his promotion of the music of J. S. Bach. At the heart of this source book is a calendar of Samuel Wesley's correspondence. The editors date and summarise the content of over 1100 surviving letters and other documents, most of which have not previously been published. The book accordingly reveals considerable new information about Wesley and his complex personal affairs, including his incarceration for debt and his confinement in a lunatic asylum for a year. Many details are provided about London musical life in the era from Boyce to Mendelssohn that prior scholars have not taken into account. The book also presents a chronology of Wesley's life, a descriptive list of his nearly 550 musical and literary works, a discography, an iconography and a bibliography. It therefore is the most comprehensive available reference source for Wesley's life, times and music.
In Mothering, Public Leadership, and Women’s Life Writing, Claire E. Wolfteich presents a series of case studies in Christian spirituality, bringing mothers’ autobiographical writing into focus for theological reflection. From the medieval mystic Margery Kempe to the twentieth-century activist Dorothy Day, from African American preacher Jarena Lee to labor organizer Dolores Huerta, the book mines women’s first-person writing, surfacing critical issues for theological analysis. Listening deeply to these diverse maternal voices, the book advances creative theological reflection on work, vocation, time poverty, Sabbath, and spiritual guidance. Mothering, Public Leadership, and Women’s Life Writing demonstrates the significance of the study of mothering for theology and spirituality studies and the import of life writing as an underutilized source for practical theology.
Charles Wesley’s Journal is crucial to an understanding of the beginnings of the Wesleyan/Methodist movement. As a primary record of one of the founders of the Wesleyan/Methodist movement, Charles Wesley’s Journal is crucial to an understanding of the beginnings of that movement. It is an indispensable interpretive companion to John Wesley’s Journal, diaries, and letters. Since it provides essential background to the context of Charles Wesley’s lyrical theology expressed in sacred poetry, it is likewise essential for anyone who wants to understand the context out of which Wesleyan theology, worship, spirituality, hymnody, and conferencing emerged. For a church or movement which avers that “it sings its theology,” Charles Wesley’s Journal is an imperative. This volume is part of a series dedicated to providing a complete and accurate published collection of Charles Wesley’s manuscript items beyond his sermons and verse. The various items in the series constitute crucial primary texts for studying Wesley’s life, his ministry, and his increasingly contentious position within Methodism in his later years. The first two volumes of the series were devoted to Charles Wesley’s Manuscript Journal, a single-bound item held at the Methodist Archives and Research Centre. The present volume gathers a number of scattered items (the majority also held at MARC), many of which are earlier—and more complete—drafts of material in the Manuscript Journal. The third major component of the series is the publication of all of Charles Wesley’s surviving personal correspondence, which is replete with material of biographical and larger historical interest. This second edition adds journal letters and records from December 1716–January 1717 (Accounts of “Old Jeffrey”) and May 12–June 14, 1746. Praise for the First Edition “It’s a great day in the life of a student of the Wesleys when we get a fresh volume of material scarcely known to previous generations. So it is with this collection of Charles Wesley’s journal letters from the period 1738–1756 and similar letters up to 1778 that describe his sons’ musical careers and in fact reveal a great deal about his life. This will be relished by all concerned with the heritage of the Wesleys, and we’re especially blessed to have it in a very well annotated critical edition.”—Ted A. Campbell, Professor of Church History, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX “The publication of Charles Wesley’s Journal Letters helps expand our knowledge of his life and ministry and enrich our understanding of the wider evangelical revival. This is an essential text for scholars of early Methodism edited by renowned experts in the field.” —Geordan Hammond, Senior Lecturer in Church History and Wesley Studies and Director of the Manchester Wesley Research Centre, Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, UK
Susanna Wesley, long celebrated in Methodist mythology as mother of the movement's founders, now takes place as a practical theologian in her own right. This collection of her letters, spiritual diary, and longer treatises (only one of which was published in her lifetime) shows her to be more than the nurturing mother of Wesleyan legend. It also reveals her to be a well-educated woman in conversation with contemporary theological, philosophical, and literary works. Her quotations and allusions include Locke, Pascal, and Herbert, as well as a number of now forgotten theologians. In some of her work, one can distinguish doctrinal and spiritual leanings, such as Arminianism and Christian perfection, that would later find wide expression in the spread of Methodism. Further, her writings demonstrate her readiness, for conscience's sake, to stand up to the men in her life--father, husband, and sons---and the three incarnations of English Protestantism they represented: respectively, Puritanism, the Established Church, and the new Methodist movement. Tracing these incidents in her letters and diaries, a reader can begin to understand how spirituality, even an otherwise conservative one in rather restrictive times, can serve to empower the voice of women.
The leaders of the Methodist revival that swept 18th-century England, John and Charles Wesley reveal a spirituality that synthesized into a unique blend elements from the Church Fathers, Catholic mystics and Protestant Reformers. The major works of the Wesleys appear in this volume, including John Wesley's Plain Account of Christian Perfection and Charles Wesley's Hymns.
The Wesleys and the Anglican Mission to Georgia, 1735-1738 considers the fascinating early history of a small group of men commissioned by trustees in England to spread Protestantism both to new settlers and indigenous people living in Georgia. Four minister-missionaries arrived in 1736, but after only two years these men detached themselves from the colonial enterprise, and the Mission effectively ended in 1738. Tracing the rise and fall of this endeavor, Scott’s study focuses on key figures in the history of the Mission including the layman, Charles Delamotte, and the ministers, John and Charles Wesley, Benjamin Ingham, and George Whitefield. In Scott’s innovative historical approach, neglected archival sources generate a detailed narrative account that reveals how these men’s personal experiences and personal networks had a significant impact on the inner-workings and trajectory of the Mission. The original group of missionaries who traveled to Georgia was composed of men already bound together by family relations, friendships, and shared lines of mentorship. Once in the colony, the missionaries’ prospects altered as they developed close ties with other missionaries (including a group of Moravians) and other settlers (John Wesley returned to England after his romantic relationship with Sophy Hopkey soured). Structures of imperialism, class, and race underlying colonial ideology informed the Anglican Mission in the era of trustee Georgia. The Wesleys and the Anglican Mission to Georgia enriches this historical picture by illuminating how a different set of intricacies, rooted in personal dynamics, was also integral to the events of this period. In Scott’s study, the history of the expansive eighteenth-century Atlantic world emerges as a riveting account of life unfolding on a local and individual level.
