The Oxford Methodists : $b Memoirs of the Rev. Messrs. Clayton, Ingham, Gambold, Hervey, and Broughton, with biographical notices of othersTyerman, L. (Luke)
History
The Oxford Methodists : $b Memoirs of the Rev. Messrs. Clayton, Ingham, Gambold, Hervey, and Broughton, with biographical notices of others
“I have heard from Mr. Burton. Mr. Wogan joins with him in
service to you and your brother. He expects to return by
Oxford about Christmas. They were indifferently in health. If
I recover my health perfectly, would you advise me to visit
Mr. Clayton before I return to Oxford? Our family send their
service.
“For the Rev. Mr. John Wesley,
“Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxon.”
From the above, it is quite evident that the Oxford Methodists regarded
the Quakers as not Christians; yea, as people, in whose houses, it was
doubtful whether Christians, except in cases of necessity, ought to
dwell. This was not surprising. Sacraments, fasts, and feast days were
essentials among the Oxford Methodists; among the Quakers they were
utterly neglected. The religion of the Methodists, to a great extent,
consisted in the observance of outward forms; the religion of the
Quakers, to an equal extent, in the neglect of them.
Ingham returned to Oxford in February, 1735; and was ordained in Christ
Church, by Bishop Potter, on the 1st of June following. On the day of his
ordination, he preached his first sermon, his congregation consisting
of the prisoners in Oxford Castle. On the 4th of the same month, he
proceeded, with Mr. Gambold, to London, where he was engaged as the
“reader of public prayers at Christ Church, and at St. Sepulchre’s,”
Newgate Street. Ingham’s zeal was too fervent to be pent up in the
reading-desks of these city churches. His age was only twenty-three; he
was full of youthful buoyancy, and longed for a wider sphere of action.
In Yorkshire, he had held conversational meetings in his mother’s house;
but now, for the first time, he was allowed to mount the pulpit, and to
preach. Christ Church and St. Sepulchre’s had other, probably older, men
than himself as preachers; but, rather than be silent, away he went, on
a sort of ecclesiastical itinerancy, far beyond the precincts of London
proper, and preached in many of the surrounding villages, and with such
singular success, that great numbers of the people were powerfully
impressed, and had eternal cause to be grateful for his youthful and
fervid ministry.[53]
The Oxford Methodists were already scattered. In consequence of his
father’s death, on April 25, 1735, Wesley had gone to Epworth. His
brother Charles, ordained about the same time as Ingham, had also taken
his departure from Oxford. Clayton was in Manchester; Hervey at home;
Gambold in London. The following letter, addressed to Wesley, and written
a fortnight after Ingham’s ordination, contains interesting references to
this religious brotherhood.
“MR. LISSON’S, GEORGE YARD, SNOW HILL, LONDON, _June 17, 1735_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account