Day Two - Epworth

Boy did our legs protest at getting up for day 2! But we got ready and were headed downstairs at 8:00am for breakfast. Our breakfast at the hotel was a buffet, but one that was served to us after request. We both had eggs and toast. Debbie also had a slice of bacon (that looked like a slab of ham) and half a cooked tomato; Daryl also had sausage.

By 9:00am we were back on the bus headed to Epworth, where Wesley grew up. The trip took about four hours there with a break in the middle. At a couple of different points along the way we saw large windmills harnessing the power of the wind. So much green everywhere – can't help but wonder if that is because of all the rain and the large amount of sunlight.

At Epworth our journey began in the old rectory or parsonage where John Wesley grew up. Wesley's dad Samuel started as the pastor there in 1695 and John was born to the family in 1703. In 1709, the house burned to the ground and John almost died in the fire.....at the last moment before the roof collapsed some of the townspeople pulled him out of an upstairs window, “like a brand plucked from the burning,” his mother Susanna would say. The current house was the one rebuilt after the fire and cost 400 pounds then (a sum of about $650 American dollars now). It's a grand house built in Queen Anne style and definitely not in keeping with how everyone else in the town would have been living. Beyond the imposing foyer we were not allowed to take pictures in the house. The house was purchased years ago by the World Methodist Council and is in the process of being restored to the period time. There are only three authentic family pieces in the house – a large sideboard in the foyer, a grandfather clock in the dining room and Susanna Wesley's workbox in the bedroom.

Next we set off on a walking tour of the town. In particular we stopped at the Red Lion Inn (where Wesley stayed when back home visiting after his father died). Right across the street from the Red Lion on Market Street stands the market cross which marks the spot of some of Wesley's open air preaching.

Then we went up to St. Andrews Church where Samuel Wesley was the rector. We went through the graveyard outside and saw his tomb – Wesley preached from on top of the tomb after he was refused the pulpit inside the church. The tour inside was very interesting as the church was built originially in the 1100s. We were able to see the baptismal font where the Wesley boys were baptized and also a chair inside of Samuel's donated by Susanna after his death in 1735.

We cut back through the down and headed south to the Wesley Memorial Methodist church. What beautiful grounds....manicured lawn with roses and also chickens at the manse (parsonage) next door. Across from the church was another Methodist church started by a man named Killam – he began another branch of Methodism in England called the New Connection in the late 1800s. It was fascinating to see Epworth, where the Wesleys were shaped, where their theology began to form.

When we arrived back at Manchester we had a private dinner in their dining hall, served by the steward himself: a wonderful meal of cream of parsnip soup, duck with noodles and vegetables, chocolate mousse cake and coffee. We closed our day with some time reflecting as a group in the “Charles Wellbeloved Room.” Bishop Fannin read from David DeSilva's book on “Praying with Wesley” - talked about mortification as self-denial and Wesley's call to this in his own life modeled in the Holy Club and in the Methodist movement. On our way out, the Bishop took us upstairs to spend some time touring the Manchester library which was quite interesting. We ended up back in our room about 9:30pm and spent some time writing out our experiences before retiring to bed.