The idea of a Methodist academy in Abingdon, Maryland had been discussed as early as 1782. Thomas Coke (1747-1814) was John Wesley's envoy to American Methodists, making nine voyages to the United States. Coke and Francis Asbury (1745-1816) met at Barratt's Chapel in November 1784 and the...
Robert Strawbridge ( ? -1781) emigrated from Ireland to Frederick County, Maryland sometime between 1760 and 1766. A Methodist preacher in Ireland, he began preaching in Maryland soon after his arrival, making him the pioneer of Methodism on the American continent.
Old Otterbein Church is the mother church of the United Brethren in Christ and the oldest church edifice still standing in the city of Baltimore.
“Philip, you must preach to us, or we shall all go to Hell together and God will require our blood at your hands!” Safe to say, this is not a typical reaction to seeing friends playing a hand of cards. Then again, Barbara von Ruckle Heck was not typical, either. A native of the Palatinate (part...
Methodism’s influence sometimes surfaces in surprising places and unexpected ways. If your education was like mine, you were taught that the first settlers in the Pacific Northwest in the wake of Lewis and Clark were the trappers and traders following the Columbia River, following lure of gold...
How wonderful the Dispensations of Providence! Surely the very hairs of our heads are all numbered. These words, taken from the journal of the Rev. Joseph Pilmore (or Pilmoor), John Wesley’s designated organizer for the Methodist societies in colonial America, celebrated the acquisition of the...
The savvy traveler knows that there is a whole world of places to explore which are important for our Methodist heritage, but do not have the word “United” anywhere in their name. Among the most significant – and beautiful – of these can be found in the heart of old Philadelphia.
Where can the United Methodist traveler find a building that’s an historic treasure with a rich history, home to a missionally vital church – and within easy reach of a strategic strong point for connectional outreach? The answer may surprise you: Salt Lake City. True, the State of Utah is...
There are three places on the Virginia side of the Potomac that the savvy Methodist won’t want to miss. Say “Old Town Alexandria,” and the mind goes to trendy restaurants, heritage buildings, or maybe places where General Washington lay his head. It’s also home to several significant sites in...
The plainness of this small, colonial-style chapel, set on a rise just east of Highway 1 near Frederica, belies its grander significance. If Lovely Lane in Baltimore is the “Mother Church of American Methodism”, here is where “Mom” got her first date with destiny. For it was from this brick...
