Evening star., 1953-06-27
The Humon Side Of Religion
WesIey's 10000 Sermons !.
Recalled on 25Oth Birthday
Methodists Honor
Leader Who Viewed
+. World as His Perish
By Cospor Nonnes

WoTI0 as his P0rlSh
By Cospor Nonnes
Religious News EdisoF Of The Siur
On March 2. 1791, an old mar
lay dying at his home In London
: A few minutes before the enc
came, he reused himself ant
said, "The best Of all is. Coo
is with u.s."
Those were the last word.
uttered by John Wesley, whose
250th birthday anniversary
Methodists throughout the worlc
are celebrating this week end
He was born June 26. 1703.
Years earlier the sturdy clergy.
man, imbued with his mission
had declared, II look upon thu
whole world as my parish"
And to give meaning to this
ambitious vision, he later added
Leisure and I have parted COM
pany. I propose to be busy as
long as I live"
Wesley was true to his word
Equipped with q marvellous
body, with muscles Of whipcord
with lungs Of leather, and the
heart Of q lion." he roamed up
and down England. across to
still sparsely settled America,
and over to Ireland preaching
his doctrines.
Long, Hard Day.
Preaching made great physical
demands on him. He arose
daily at 4 am, preached his
first sermon at i've. and was on
the road by six. He often made
go to 10 miles q day (on horse
back) and usually preached at
least three times"
Over the long years, Wesley
averaged IS sermons q week to
reach the staggering total OF
10000 during his lifetime. When
he was IS years old, he preached
80 times in two months.
Travel alone demanded great
physical expenditure from the
5-feet, finch body Of the clergy
man. In so years he travelled
225, 900 miles. mostly on horse
back. Once he rode 80 miles In
20 hours. His sobriquet, "the
Lords horseman," was well
earned.
To physical endurance was
added courage.
always look q mob in the
face" he said. And he had
many mobs to face. One place
he found full Of Ephesian wild
beasts who roared necessarily
and shouted and threw stones
I was struck down three times.
But he got up each time and
kept coming steadily forward.
The son Of q Church Of Eng
land clergyman. Wesley was
rather Indifferent to religion
during his first years at Oxford
But he read Thomas q Kempis
and Jeremy Taylor. and wrote
IT began to alter the whole form
of my conversation and to set
out in earnest upon q new life. d
In 1927, after his ordination
as q priest of the Church OF
England, Wesley returned to
oxford and soon became the
leader Of the Holy Club. Or
ganized by his brother Charles
and others a short time earlier
Fellow students derided the
systematic devotion Of the group
with such names as bible
Bigots," "Bible Moths" the
Cody Club" and "Methodists. d
The last name stuck.
The crucial experience In
Wesley's spiritual life came one
May evening in 1888 while he
was at a meeting in Aldersgate
street, London. The leader was
reading Luther's preface to the
Epistles to the Romans when
Wesley said, II felt my heart
strangely warmed. I felt I did
trust in Christ, Christ alone fol
salvation; and an assurance was
given me that He had taken
away my sins. even mine. and
saved me from the law Of sin
and DEATH"
Preached Outdoors.
In 1899 he was refused permis-
sion to speak in the church his
father once served as pastor
This forced Wesley to preach
outdoors, q step he reluctantly
took. But it was an important
step, for o great deal Of his sub
sequent preaching was in the
open.
Later the same year. Wesley
opened headquarters in an ole
foundry in London. -Four years