Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-01
WATCH NIGHT
SERVICE HELD
METHODISTS OBSERVE LONG
ESTABLISHED CUSTOM
Charles Edward Locke Talks on Wess
ley, Founder of the Faith-Con- =
eregation Joins in Old
Time Songs

In striking contrast to the gay
crowds which thronged every down
town cafe and theater were the few
persons who gathered last evening at
the First Methodist Episcopal church
of Los Angeles to commemorate tne
125th anniversary of American Meth
odism.
The few who We're present, however,
entered into the spirit of the evening
with a will which will make the last
few hours of 1909 memorable 10 all
who took part in the program. The
service was an old-fashioned Metho-
dist one, many old songs featuring
the program. Several addresses also
were made by well known speakers
prominent among them being a tax on
'John Wesley" by the pastor, ReV'
Charles Edward Locke.
But those features which undoubt-
edly more strongly than any others
appealed to the hearts of true Meth
odists were the love feast and the
watch might services. The former, con-
sisting largely of personal testimony
was followed by the watch night SER
vices, made famous by Wesley. A lew
minutes before the two hands of the
clock threw a single shadow those
present joined in songs and prayer TO
The watch night services were found
ed by John Wesley at the time he
had visions of a new faith. At that
time many of Wesley's Supporters were
men and women of the lower classes,
men whose custom was to pass New
Years eve in drinking and song. Wes-
lev went among his followers and per-
suaded them to pass the hrst Watcn
night in meditation and prayer ana
L IL n g-iY
To the founder of Methodism, John
Wesley, Rev. Charles Locke paid a
glowing tribute. In part he said:
1.-TWO hundred and five years ago
last June John Wesley was born. From
the work and influence of this one man
was developed the greatest religious
phenomenon in the religious history
of two centuries. Men are the piYots
upon which epochs turn; they become
the embodiment of the spirit of their
age. God has loaded great responsible
tiles and honors upon man. God trusts
men enough to create man in his own
image: surely man should honor him
self enough to trust himself and wor-
ship his God. There are multitudes
of men, but man is yet at pre-
MUM. All men are sent from God,
but he only becomes a man who obeys
his God. Such man was John Wes-
ley.
"Historians have We'd with each 9TH
er in assigning to josh Wesley his
proper place in the religious progress
of the world. Professor Huxley said
L believe there is no man to whom
England is indebted for this great
moral reform as to John Wesley.
Lecky wrote: Wesley can hardly fail
to be regarded as the greatest figure
that has appeared in the religious his
tory of the world since the Reforma-
ton
"Macaulay says in one of his essays:
The breed of authors who wrote
books called histories of England in
which the rise of Methodism is not
mentioned will be extinct in 100 years.
Wesley was a man whose eloquence
and logical acuteness might have made
him eminent in literature, whose genius
for government was not inferior to
that of Richelieu.' Tyerman: Is it not
truth that Methodism is the greatest
fact in the history of the Church OF
Christ?"
German Methodism" was the sub
ject of an address by Rev. Otto Wilke,