Francis Asbury a pioneer Methodist in America

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32703, 4 September 1971, Page 19

Francis Asbury a pioneer Methodist in America

I By the

Rev. W. T. BLIGHT)

Francis Asbury has been called “the noblest gift England ever bestowed on her children beyond the Atlantic.”

He was born in Staffordshire in 1745. When 21 he became an itinerant preacher among the Methodists in his county: when 23 a full minister: and when 26 he offered to go to America as a missionary. This was in response to the appeal of the little group of Methodists in New York for a minister. He left his native village on September 4, 1771, and there will be special gatherings to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his departure. Arriving at Bristol, he found himself absolutely without money, and the Methodists there gave him clothes and £lO in cash. He landed at Plymouth on October 27 to begin his so influential ministry.

“The part he played in establishing moral standards, respect for discipline, and obedience to the law in the little communities which were fighting for their very existence, has not yet been granted its proper place in American history.” The American War’ of Independence broke out four years after his arrival. It left thousands of Christian folk without any spiritual oversight: and John Wesley made matters worse by sending in the first year of the war “A Calm Address to our American Colonies” in which he bluntly declared that the Americans had no real grievances, and had been robbed of no rights. They

were simply trying to overurged all Methodist preachers to link their work with that of the Anglican clergy; but most of the latter had left throw the monarchy. He their parishes and a revolting colony. This “address” drew from Asbury this comment: “I received an affectionate letter from Mr Wesley, and I am truly sorry that the venerable man ever dipped into the politics of America.” He himself refused to take the oath of allegiance to the new Government as required of him. He was fined £5 and was practically silenced for two years; he was in hiding part of the time. Horseback preacher Thereafter for close on half a century he rode on horseback a total of 270,000 miles and ordained 4000 preachers. He consolidated the Methodist “societies” and built up a. strong Church with its (ultimately) millions of members. “Neither the aftermath of war, nor hurricanes, hunger, poverty (he never received more than £2O a year), nor his own physical weakness discouraged him in his constant visitations.” It was this personal oversight which contributed so largely to his successful administration. He refused to forsake the frontier folk. He had his faults and was in many respects the prisoner of his age, being very human: but it dawned on him that the conditions of the new world were totally different from those of England, and he determined to organise his Church on relevant lines.

This he did with infinite patience, so that a Church governed on episcopal lines i slowly emerged, and today the American Methodist Church with its millions of members is governed by “bishops,” a word meaning “overseers.” In 1788 the Constitution of! the United States was adop-! ted, and George Washington was elected President. Asbury then suggested to the Conference “Whether it would not be proper for us as a church to present a congratulatory address to General Washington in which should be embodied our approval of the constitution, and professing our allegiance to the Government.” Washington sent back a gracious reply, thanking them for their prayers for him. and assuring them of his own prayers for the Methodist cqmmunity. When, 12 years later, Washington died, Asbury said: “At all times he acknowledged the providence of God and never was ashamed of his Redeemer ... In his will he ordered the manumission of his slaves, a true son of liberty in all points.” Asbury Wrote little beyond his journal. Unfortunately the original manuscript of the journal was destroyed by fire 20 years after his death, but careful research by teams of scholars has enabled the journal and many letters to be made available. This work enables us to see the spiritual foundations on which the new republic was constructed, and so to understand the American philosophy of'both Church and State.

It is surprising to learn that Asbury was not a well man. His zeal, the rigours of pioneer living, the passion of a soul on fire for God, all intensified the effects of ia constitutional weakness. Sometimes his malady caused .frequent and at times long |periods of inactivity.. Single purpose But he had a single purpose, so that he was never unemployed or triflingly employed. He lived by a plan which enabled him to make the maximum use of his time. He did not have a university education, but he acquired an education jsuperior to that of many university graduates. He used his travel time for study. In his saddle bags he carried his library, thus learning Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and his views on higher education are said by authorities to be still influential in many American colleges. Asbury was a good mixer: he was at home with a judge or an old Etonian or with a Negro slave on some Southern plantation or with a tough settler in the West. When his health finally failed he busied himself with little duties:— “I wind cotton, hear the children read, and teach them a little grammar.” When, still later, blindness became a menace, he wrote:—"My eyes fail: I must keep them for the Bible and the Conferences.”

When Asbury died, aged 71, men knew that a prince among them had fallen: a prince whose watchword was “Duty."