page_title: Methodist local preacher
section_title: Importance of local preachers in English social history
hierarchical_section_title: Methodist local preacher / Importance of local preachers in English social history
caption_attribution_description: English: This photo was taken by Mrs Hallam for Mr Hallam's use on Sunday 24 March 2019 at City Road Methodist Church, Birmingham B16 0NL.
context_page_description: A Methodist local preacher is a layperson or deacon who has been accredited by the Methodist church to lead worship and preach on a regular basis. These preachers have played an important role in Methodism since the earliest days of the movement, and have also been important in English social history. With separation from the Church of England by the end of the 18th century, a clear distinction was recognised between ordained Methodist ministers and the local preachers who assisted them. Local preachers continue to serve an indispensable role in the Methodist Church of Great Britain, in which the majority of church services are led by laypeople.
context_section_description: Local preachers have always been required to undergo some form of training and examination - the examination being concerned with their doctrinal orthodoxy as well as with their knowledge of the scriptures and the history and doctrines of the church.  Because Methodism had great strength among the lower middle classes and skilled working classes in 19th-century England, training as a local preacher was one of the ways in which intelligent people who had little chance of formal schooling acquired education and an ability at public speaking.  Although the church as an institution was by no means politically radical, many of its members were, and the discipline and eloquence of Methodist local preachers found a ready use in the developing labour movement of the later 19th-century.  Many of the founders of the trade union movement and the Labour Party in Britain were local preachers, perhaps most famously four of the Tolpuddle martyrs, including their leader George Loveless.  Local preachers continue to be found in the ranks of the Labour movement: prominent recent examples include George Thomas, Speaker of the House of Commons from 1976 to 1983, Len Murray, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress from 1973 to 1984, David Hallam Member of the European Parliament 1994-1999 and, early in his career, David Blunkett, former Home Secretary.
caption: David Hallam leading a service at City Road Methodist Church Birmingham 2019
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 7", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "12.1.2", "Image DateTime": "2019:03:24 10:20:43", "Image ExifOffset": "170", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/17", "EXIF FNumber": "9/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:03:24 10:20:43", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:03:24 10:20:43", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "38735/9539", "EXIF ApertureValue": "54823/32325", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "10196/5195", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "399/100", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[855, 1292, 242, 242]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "459", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "459", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "970", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1280", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1512/907", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "47", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[4183519/1048501, 4183519/1048501, 9/5, 9/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 7 back camera 3.99mm f/1.8"}