About Epworth
Wesleyan-Anglican Conference
In October 2003 and May 2006, Epworth Chapel on the Green hosted a weekend conference with our Wesleyan and Anglican overseers. The 2003 conference was the first instance in America for a local congregation to experience simultaneous oversight from both the Wesleyan and Anglican traditions.
A History of Separation
The conferences are a tentative step in America toward the eventual goal of removing the divide between Anglican and Wesleyan churches. John Wesley, an 18th-century Anglican priest, formed "Methodist" societies to encourage holy living and faithfulness to God among the Anglicans of his day. He did not want the societies to become separate churches, but after his death that is what happened in 1795.
The two traditions have been separate ever since.
Envisioning a Different Future
Epworth Chapel on the Green envisions a day when, by an act of God's grace, the rift of more than 200 years will be healed. The pathway toward that healing may be through local ecumenism, from the bottom up, rather than from the top down.
More on the 2003 Conference...
Photos from the 2006 Conference
Photos courtesy of David Ryan
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