´óÏó´«Ã½

Early life

Introduction

Charles Wesley ©

Charles Wesley is best known for his prolific hymn writing, his poetry and for being one of the founding fathers of the Methodist denomination of Christianity. He wrote more than six thousand hymns, of which a handful remain in modern day worship. He wrote the words to And can it be, Christ the Lord is risen today and Love divine, all loves excelling.

The Wesley family

Charles was born on 18th December 1707 in the Rectory of the isolated village of Epworth in Lincolnshire. He was the 18th child and youngest son of the Revd Samuel and Mrs Susannah Wesley. Only ten of their nineteen children survived infancy. His father, a priest in the Church of England, although very conscientious, had firm views on how people should behave and serve God. As a result he was treated with hostility by some parishioners. His poor judgement in financial matters led to Samuel spending time in prison for unpaid debts. Charles would later express the impact this had on him through his ministry to prisoners.

It was Charles' mother who had the greatest influence on him. Susannah gave the children their early education. Charles and his older brother John learnt from her to be methodical as she instilled in them the self-control and routine in study and in daily prayer and devotions which characterised them in later life.

Education and influences

In 1714, John won a scholarship to a school in London. Charles joined him in London two years later, attending the school where their eldest brother, Samuel, who also paid for him, was teaching. In 1720 John went to Christ Church, Oxford, and Charles followed him in 1726. John was ordained in 1725 and he later returned to Lincolnshire for two years to assist his father. While John was away, Charles and several other students applied themselves diligently to study and religious duties. On his return, John became the leader of these earnest, devout young men, forming what became known as the Holy Club.

The group met regularly for worship and carried out charitable work, visiting the sick and imprisoned. Their methodical ways led to fellow students nicknaming them 'Methodists'. During the late 20s and early 30s, as the number of 'Methodist' groups in the colleges grew, John began to formulate the foundation of the Methodist beliefs, notably that salvation was for all, and that all should strive for 'Christian perfection'. This is the belief that conversion is the beginning of a road to be explored, after which the believer should continue to seek Christian holiness and growth rather than remaining static at the point of conversion.

In that period Charles befriended George Whitefield, who later became a great evangelist and played a pivotal role in getting John Wesley to preach in the open air, thus launching the Methodist movement.

In 1735, Charles was ordained as a priest and travelled with John, who felt called to be a missionary in the new colony of Georgia. During the four-month voyage the Wesley brothers were much influenced by the serene faith of Moravian Christians. In Savannah, Charles served as the secretary to the Governor, General James Oglethorpe, but was not prepared for the resistance to his message. Exhausted, disheartened and depressed, he returned to England within a year, and a similarly dispirited John returned a few months after.

Later life and legacy

Spiritual renewal

Charles Wesley ©

Both brothers went through a period of spiritual depression, but were helped by conversations with Moravians in London. Whilst both thought themselves to be Christian, each went through an experience of renewal - Charles on what he called a Day of Deliverance on Whit Sunday, 21 May 1738 and John three days later.

Charles' preaching style became transformed. He felt renewed strength to spread the Gospel to ordinary people and it was around then that he began to write the poetic hymns for which he would become known. It wasn't until 1739 that the brothers took to field preaching, under the influence of Whitefield, whose open-air preaching was already reaching great numbers of Bristol colliers.

The Methodist style was to take the word of God to people, wherever they were, rather than try to get them into a church to hear it. The numbers of converts grew and were gathered into 'societies' to nurture their faith.

Soon after, Whitefield left for one of his many visits to America, leaving the Wesleys to organise the growing Methodist movement.

With their helpers they began their travelling ministry, covering thousands of miles on horseback over the years throughout England and in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, with London, Bristol, and Newcastle being the main centres of their work.

The brothers travelled first, separately, to Cornwall in 1743 and found both a ready response and stiff opposition. Although they encouraged converts to attend the parish churches, few clergy welcomed them and many led the resistance to their message and encouraged riots to get them out of town.

Yet the brothers maintained their conviction that the Gospel was for everyone and took it to all who would listen. If John was the one who developed and preached the Methodist theology, Charles was the one who enabled the people to learn it as they sang his hymns. The travelling allowed Charles time for reflection and it was on horseback that he composed the words of many of the Methodist hymns sung today.

Because so many of the churches were closed to them, the brothers felt it necessary to find places in which the people could meet. In late 1739, friends advanced money to enable John and Charles to buy the Foundery, a ruin in the heart of Moorfields, London, as a base for their work. Another was the New Room at Bristol.

Marriage

Charles lived in Bristol after his marriage to Sarah Gwynne (known as Sally) in 1749. Even though there was a large age gap, the couple remained devoted and in love with each other throughout their marriage. They had eight children, only three of whom survived. Charles' two sons went on to become talented musicians and composers in their own right.

Family tensions

Charles' marriage to Sally created some difficulties between the two brothers, as did his resistance to the steps which John took that eventually led to the separation of the Methodists from the Church of England, rather than being a revival movement within it.

Charles, who was never in the best of health, wanted to spend more time with his family, and to travel less. John, on the other hand, placed increasing importance on itinerant preaching. Charles gave up travelling in 1756 and was able to dedicate more time to hymn writing whilst sustaining a preaching and pastoral ministry, first in Bristol and then in London, after the family moved there in 1771.

Tension between the two brothers was further aggravated when Charles intervened in John's engagement to Grace Murray, eventually persuading her to marry someone else.

Additionally, Charles' loyalty to the Church of England meant he was extremely unhappy when John used his authority to make decisions that moved Methodism away from the Church.

Charles retained his brotherly love for John until the end of his life, but these events cast a deep shadow over their relationship.

The legacy of Charles Wesley

The high-intensity preaching took its toll on Charles; he suffered from nervous exhaustion and severe depression. He was 80 when he died on 29th March 1788.

He is buried in the churchyard of Marylebone Parish Church at his own request, as he always considered himself to be a member of the Church of England.

The legacy of the Wesley brothers lives on. While the Methodist Church has experienced decline in England, the denomination is growing in parts of Africa and Eastern Europe.

Charles' hymns have been featured on television shows such as South Park and The Simpsons, and recorded by artists as diverse as Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Mariah Carey. To this day people training as Methodist local preachers have to study John's sermons and be knowledgeable about Charles' hymns.

With his famous carol Hark the Herald Angels Sing heard everywhere from cathedrals to supermarkets, the legacy of Charles Wesley is likely to continue for years to come.

Find out more

• The Methodist Church