The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-07-03
Rev. f. B. Cowgirl Delivers Sermon
on Founder of MethodIsm.
His MasterfuI Leadership Of Men, His
Influence, His Great Intellect.
Excitement Produced BY His Preach.
ing..He Taught Scriptures.
Work Among the Poor, the 0utcasts.'
Life Work of Great Divine.
From Mondays Daily.

From Mondays Daily.
Yesterday being the two hundredth
anniversary of the birth of John Wes-
ley, Dr. f. B. Cowgirl, pastor of the Cen
tenary Methodist Episcopal church, dis
coursed on Wesley's life and work, and
the Methodist movement generally. He
spoke in part as follows:
"There came to John Wesley by the
law of hereditary a magnificent endow-
ment of intellect and sensibility To
this there was added in the home at Ep-
worth and in the Charter House school
and in Oxford University the most care
full and thorough training. His marvel
Gus deliverance from the burning rec
tory together with certain tokens of UNI
usual power led his parents to believe
that some important mission awaited
him, and his mother, upon whom the
task of teaching the children principally
devolved, early resolved to give his es-
pecial attention. His spiritual suscepti-
bility and rapid progress justified her
opinions of him, and it was soon evil
dent that he would be a scholar, and his
deep natural piety made it certain that
his power would be consecrated to the
service of religion. A touch of mysteric-
ism and decided tendency to asceticism
marked his early life, and his missionary
impulse brought him across the Atlantic
for missionary work among the Indians.
After some work with the colonists of
Georgia, he returned to England, still
longing for more satisfactory religious
experience He felt that something was
possible to men in the way of conscious
fellowship with God which he had not
yet personally known. He became a
leading member of the Holy club, at Ok
ford and devoted himself especially to
evangelistic work among prisoners, and
the poor and outcasts. One evening at
a meeting at Aldersgate street, he re-
ceived an, assurance of his acceptance
with God such as he had never felt be-
fore, and visit to some Moravi and
friends gave his increased light on the
subject of personal salvation.
The period of anxiety about himself,
and of doubt and hesitation as to how
the gospel should be presented, was now
passed. His soul had taken fire with
holy zeal and divine joy, and his evan
gelism became flame of increasing bril-
hancy and power for half century.
He felt that there was room for his
teaching and real authority for it within
the creed and ritual of his church, the
Established church of England, but the
emphasis which he put upon regenera
ton and the Spirits witness to the
saved soul, and the awful invective
which he launched against the worldli-
ness and unspirituality of the clergy and
laity, soon closed the doors of the
churches against him. He remembered
that his divine Master was a preacher in
the streets and fields, and so he took the
''world for his parish and the canopy
for his temple and went on with his
preaching. He needed all out doors to ac-
commodate his congregations. He used
the village common, or the intersection OF
the streets, or an open field in the coun-
try, and. once preached to a great crowd
while standing on his fathers grave.
He travelled necessarily. In magma
ton we may see him as he went about
He comes into town on horseback. Ii
the notice of his coming had been pub
lished, great crowd met him oas he
entered Otherwise, men and boys and
girls went off in haste in every direction
to inform the people of his arrival, and
of the hour appointed for service. Then
he preached to great crowd, his fol-
lowers standing close to him, interested
and serious listeners, and ieering OPP