John Wesley

[datasuspect]

founder of methodism

[yellowdogintexas]

1. Fort Worth; host to 2008 General Conference of the United Methodist Church, starting April 23

yep, 8000 Methodists are coming to Fort Worth. Gonna be interesting.

[libnnc]

2. He supposedly cured himself of TB by walking long distances

every day.

Interesting guy.

[Critters2]

3. He was a vegetarian. Which is why, whenever I go to fundraising dinners at UM churches,

I ask for the vegetarian option. They never have one. What would Wesley eat?!

[yellowdogintexas]

4. Oh, my ministers will love that one. LOL all that fried chicken and nothing for John to Eat!

well, baked beans if no pork in them, coleslaw or salad, deviled eggs if he isn't a vegan,and back then he probably wasn't vegan, lots of desserts

see a true UM fellowship dinner would be a potluck, unless of course it is a huge church like ours and a potluck is unmanagable. Our small subgroups do a bang up job at potlucks though.

and there is always a plate or 2 of deviled eggs!

[mitchum]

7. "I was raised a Methodist. We believe that you have to bring a covered dish...

to get into heaven" David Letterman

[Critters2]

15. Here's the info:

http://www.all-creatures.org/cva/famousveg.htm

I find UMC clergy know everything about Wesley...except this!

[bbernardini]

5. John Wesley

<>

He's the one on the left. Guitarist/vocalist. Touring member of Porcupine Tree, worked with former Marillion vocalist Fish.

[mitchum]

6. Poor Charles Wesley must have felt a whole lot like Tom Fogerty...

or Chris Jagger

[SoxFan]

8. The theological Ozzie Canseco

[mitchum]

9. Good one!

:)

[IntravenousDemilo]

11. We sang one of Charles Wesley's pieces this morning, so for today he's not a total second-banana. nm

[mitchum]

12. I think Charles actually actually wrote about half of the hymns...

in the Methodist Hymnal we used when I was a kid

[IntravenousDemilo]

14. It's kind of like that in the United Church of Canada.

But then, the church did come about as a result of union between Methodists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists 80-odd years ago. The UCC, particularly through the device of the Methodist Social Gospel, was instrumental in the foundation of the socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, which became the New Democratic Party later on. The CCF/NDP are greatly responsible for introducing universal health care, unemployment insurance, and old-age pensions to Canadians, particularly through the work of Tommy Douglas, a Baptist minister-turned-politician, whose picture is my avatar. I'd Jimmy Carter is very Tommy-like, but without Douglas's electoral success. The United Church is sometimes called the New Democratic Party at prayer, and it's our single largest Protestant denomination, which partly explains why Canada is the way it is. The religious left is pretty strong in Canada. Our country is on the whole quite Wesleyan in terms of social policy, even among Catholics and atheists -- that's how pervasive it is.

[sasquatch]

10. He was still a member of the church of England when he died

Good friend of both Gustavas Vassa and William Wilberforce. Also went to Georgia to work as a missionary.

[Critters2]

13. Ulrich Zwingli

founder of Reformed Christianity.

[grasswire]

16. here's a cool thing

In a box of old books acquired at a New England auction, I found an old theological book, unbound, in quite loose condition. I gathered together all the pages and the pieces of the binding, and in doing so noticed that the name C. Wesley was inscribed in ink in the front. Hmmmmmmmm. So I listed it on eBay "as is", with a photo scan of the signature for bidders to see. A specialist in antiquarian religious books bought it, and authenticated it as Charles Wesley's signature.

Pretty cool, eh?