And he challenged people to make an impact on their communities and on wider society. There are those who say that the Church should keep out of politics. This is not the Methodist way. John Wesley refused to separate faith from life. Most of the Tolpuddle Martyrs were Methodists, as have been many leaders of the Trade Union movement, as well as a significant number of Methodist MPs in all the main parties.
Every local church looks for some way to express Christian love in action.
Some organise lunch clubs for people who are lonely, employment and training schemes to give hope to people who are out of work, playgroups, youth clubs and a variety of community service programmes. At a national level, Methodist officers working on behalf of the Church, are able to lobby Government on issues as diverse as human rights, third world debt, education policy and pornography. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Methodist Church embraced the temperance movement to set a good example against widespread drinking problems in the society of the day. Ministers at one time had to take a pledge not to drink, which encouraged their congregations to do likewise. Today, alcohol is still not allowed in Methodist Church buildings, but most Methodists consider responsible drinking to be a matter of personal morality.