2. Created by members of Northaven United Methodist Church, Dallas, TX Copyright Northaven United Methodist Church 2002 Northaven Bicentennial Timeline Banners

3. Designer: J'Ann Pybas Texts: Albert C. Outler Calligraphy: Nita B. Harkey Jane Johnsen

4. A timeline of selected historic events in the story of John Wesley and the evolution of Methodism Northaven Bicentennial Timeline Banners

5. Suzanna Wesley at her diary The focused light from the candle suggests the lifelong influence of this remarkable woman in the lives of her children, especially her son John.

6. As a Brand plucked out of the burning Susanna's words, from Zechariah 3:2 and Amos 4:11, to reinforce her sense of the special Providence that rescued her son John from the disastrous fire that destroyed Old Epworth Rectory in 1709. John shared that notion of a special mission in his life.

7. Oxford All three of the Wesley sons were educated at Oxford, as their father had been before them. John, however, was elected as Fellow of Lincoln College in 1726 with the expectation of finding his vocation there "in the city of dreaming spires".

8. Anglican Priest - Oxford don Although he did serve briefly as his father’s curate in Epworth and Wroot, John much preferred " the groves of the Academe” - declining his father's importunate plea to succeed him at Epworth. "

9. Bible Moths In 1724 John became the leader of “The Holy Club”, a small group of rigorously disciplined young men who drew upon themselves the ridicule of others-- “Bible Moths”, “Supererogation Men”, “Methodists”. Unfazed, the group continued their regimen of piety and good works, of study and prayer, of ministry and service to the poor and to the prisoners of Oxford gaol.

10. Voyage to Georgia John and Charles Wesley volunteered for service as missionaries to the new colony of Georgia. A stormy winter voyage (1735 - 1736) sorely tested their stamina and their faith. In Georgia they discovered themselves unsuited to the needs of the rude pioneers. The result: disillusionment and disgrace.

11. Moravian Influences On the voyage to Georgia, the Wesleys met a group of Moravian colonists whose serenity in the face of hardships and mortal danger struck home. In his diary, Wesley notes "10 a.m., prayed, conversed, afraid to die; storm still raging".

12. Love Feast Part Moravian, part Anglican, the faithful in the Fetter Lane Society celebrated periodic Love Feasts, sharing hymns, testimonies, prayers, and bread and water from a two- handled cup.

13. " Aldersgate " At last! Wesley's long- sought assurance of God’s pardoning mercy was vouchsafed to him, and his heart was " strangely warmed ".

14. Open Air Preaching In response to a call for help from his evangelist friend George Whitfield, John Wesley went to Bristol in March of 1739 and most reluctantly went out into the open fields beyond the city's wall to preach to miners and colliers - and found a new career!

15. " The World is my Parish " …and the back of a horse his home. Having no parish of his own, John Wesley claimed the right, by virtue of his special ordination as Fellow of Lincoln College, to preach wherever an opportunity presented itself. Thus began an incredible itinerancy over the whole of Great Britain and Ireland, first on horseback and then, in his later years, in a special chaise equipped with bookshelves and a writing desk.

16. The Kingswood School In 1740 John opened the Kingswood school for the Christian education of poor boys and the sons of his preachers. Its curriculum was classical, its discipline rigorous, its results remarkable. It still flourishes.

17. The New Room, Bristol First of the permanent chapels for the Methodists; and the only one of the early Methodist buildings not "improved" and altered since that time. Thus it remains (refurbished) as it was in Wesley’s time.

18. Goodbye, Fetter Lane For all his admiration of the Moravians, Wesley found their quietism a flaw. After a period of fruitless controversy, Wesley and his followers moved out to relocate in the ruins of the old foundry of Upper Moorfields.

19. Upper Moorfields Here the Methodists found their London headquarters, in the abandoned cannon foundry, with a nominal rent and in the midst of a London slum. Here they set up a preaching place, a free dispensary, quarters for orphans and widows, a small loans office and a publishing house. Here Wesley lived during the winter months; from March to October he was on the move over Britain.

20. Enthusiasm! Methodist zeal and their joy in worship shocked the staid and comfortable. They were ridiculed and persecuted. But the downtrodden were learning not only to hear the Gospel but to read it as well. Out of it all, they came to a new sense of dignity before God and their fellows. Good news to the common folk! " Plain truth for plain people! "

21. Methodist Baiters It was a favorite tactic of the enemies of the Methodists to drive oxen into their open-air meetings to disrupt them. What is worse, such shenanigans were actually condoned by some Anglican clergy. But the Methodists were not intimidated and the revival continued to flourish.

22. The New Chapel on City Road In November of 1778, the Methodists moved their headquarters from the foundry to a bright new chapel they had built nearby on City Road. Here, in the following August, Wesley presided over the Annual Conference, which continued and ended in peace and love.

23. The Setting Apart of Dr. Thomas Coke At the urging of the Americans and without consulting Charles, John "set apart" Dr. Thomas Coke to convey his authority to the Americans and provide them with ministers of the sacraments.

24. Charles was predictably furious: " How easily are Bishops made By man's or woman's whim. Wesley his hands on Coke has laid, But who laid hands on him? " Furious

25. A Summoning of the Methodist Clan Francis Asbury knew the Americans as Wesley and Coke did not. If he was to lead them, he must be elected by them and not merely appointed over them by Wesley’s Atlantic- stretching hand. And so the summons went: "Come to Baltimore in all haste."

26. The Christmas Conference Convened in Lovely Lane Chapel on December 25,1784. As Asbury reports in his journal, "We were in great haste and did much business in a little time." Thus was organized the Methodist Episcopal Church.

27. The Christmas Conference Assisting in Asbury's " setting apart " were Philip Otterbein and Martin Boehm, ministers of what would become the United Brethren in Christ (later, Evangelical and United Brethren and, finally, in 1968, the United Methodist Church).

28. Hand in Hand Bishops Asbury and Coke were the first church officials to pay an official visit to President George Washington and were kindly received by him. Then, without abandoning the Atlantic seaboard base, the Methodist itinerants moved into the opening frontiers with an avowed mission: "to reform the continent and to spread Scriptural holiness over the land."

29. The Torch and the T-Square Asbury was a born leader because he never sent another where he had not already ventured. His equal passion for zeal and orderliness kept the Methodists on the move and launched them into a great success story in the 19th century.

30. Missionary to the Wyandot American Methodists took the whole of the new continent for their parish. Their first missionary to the Wyandot Indians was a black preacher named John Stewart. His work and that of many others inspired the formation in 1819 of the Missionary Society.

31. " There’s a Meeting Here Tonight " From far and wide they flocked to the "camp- meetings", with their food and bed rolls, in their wagons and on foot, these scattered pioneers--oh, so hungry for good company, great singing and the Gospel

32. Embroidery on Whole Cloth The stories of Methodist missionary ventures multiplied, just as the Methodist circuit riders broke new trails into the West. Their mission was to follow the people and to minister to all--as they did to the Flat- head Indians who came to them in St. Louis in 1831 seeking Bibles--first to the Northwest Territory, then "beyond the wide Missouri" and on to the Pacific rim.

33. Amid the Shoutings - Great Silences For all their zeal, the Methodists had their blind spots: The O'Kellyite schism Insensitivity to Black sensibilities Indifference to women’s rights Rejection of lay representation Compromises with slavery Violation of Indians' rights

34. Methodists North and South of God The Methodists' most notable failure was over the issue of slavery, which led to the Great Separation of 1844. From one church in 1784, the Methodists in America were now divided into six. It was the prelude to our greatest national tragedy.

35. Five Points Mission The first "institutional mission" in the city, a model for work in the new urban society. Here was the Gospel in the slums, with shelter for the poor, a day school for the young, a sanctuary and temple for Gospel proclamation and Christian nurturing.

36. The Second Blessing Over and beyond their experience of pardon, Methodists turned their hopes to the ideal of perfect love (of God and neighbor) in this life. The notion of this possibility exalted the human will and inspired great expectations for a Christian experience of grace that far surpassed all nominal Christianity.

37. The Palmyra Manifesto A trumpet call to mission for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South hatched at a meeting in Missouri, fledged by the Southern bishops, cast into stirring prose by Holland N. McTyeire. Methodism in the South would live on.

38. Chautauqua The original Chautauqua is an old Methodist campmeeting ground on a New York lake - a culminating symbol of the Wesley-Methodist belief in self-education and its delightful compatibility with religion and recreation.

39. Women's Christian Temperance Union "Recognizing," said Frances Willard, “that our cause will be combated by mighty and relentless forces, we will, trusting in Him who is the Prince of Peace, meet argument with argument, misjudgment with patience, denunciation with kindness, and all our difficulties and dangers with prayer."

40. Salvation Army comes to America Although social action was a Wesley tenet, English Methodists threw minister William Booth out of the Church for ministering to the rag-tag. So he founded the Army, adding soup to sermons, and later came to America.

41. One Voice In the 1894 Pullman Strike, the Reverend William H. Carwardine railed against the "company store" syndrome of industrialization. He spoke then virtually alone. But the next few years saw the Church come down from the clouds to add a mighty choir to this lonely voice.

42. If Not a Horse - Then a Heifer When "Frank" Willard was a young girl, her father forbade her to ride a horse, so she broke a heifer to the saddle and rode the cow. When she reached fifteen, her father gave her, belatedly, his permission to ride a horse.

43. Goodwill The song went on and stronger yet, as Methodist preacher Edgar Helms and his wife originated what has become the largest rehabilitation agency in the world - the Goodwill Industries. Partners still: mutual self-help and Methodism.

44. Trust and Obey … and the Lord will provide. How many depression era P.K.'s do you suppose were clothed out of the missionary barrel?

45. Reunification In 1939, three came together at last - the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Protestant Church merged to form the Methodist Church, with nearly eight million members.

46. Dallas, 1968 Scars, warts and all, the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church were joined, forming the United Methodist Church. This was the largest of the Methodist bodies, even though it left out a dozen other churches with the title and heritage of "Methodist". But among other welcome visitors was a Roman Catholic Cardinal - a sign of a new day in ecumenical unity.

47. The United Methodist Logo "Flame" and "light" were two of John Wesley’s favorite metaphors, and the Cross is the central symbol of all Christians. Thus the cross and flame seemed to gather up many images and visions of what the United Methodist Church is and what it aspires to be.

48. Founding, Division, Union This banner portrays a timeline of the founding, division and reunification of the Methodist church in America.

49. The Northaven Community In the dance of life we help each other. (Banner design is adapted from the Matisse " Dancers " )

50. Notes on the Timeline Banners These banners form a timeline of selected historic events in the story of John Wesley and the evolution of Methodism, from its beginnings in the Methodist Societies of England on through 200 years of development in America. The heraldic Shield represents the Church of England, in which the early Methodists were nurtured by the sacraments. As the Methodists became more and more distinctive, their disciplined approach to religion is suggested by the square corners of a rectangle. In America after the Revolution, the Anglican influence wanes and only the rectangle remains. Cont…

51. Notes continued Forming the lower edge of the rectangle, notice the line of music. It is to draw attention to the fact that Charles Wesley and his hymns shared equally in the movement with John and his sermons. The music's irregularities are meant to remind us of the physical hardships of Wesley and his " circuit-riders " over the rough roads and tracts of English countryside and the American wilderness. Now, they remain as needful hints of obstacles overcome.

52. Banner Art Created by Sherry Brown Fran Cranfill Jeanette Crawford Bob Freeman Ann Garrard Marijo Gibson Anna Marie Harkey Patty Harvey Jane Johnsen Sheila Linn Wini Lynn Carolyn Melton Lou Ann Milam Laurelle Moffett Gloria Moeller Virginia Morris Collette Merlin Carla Outler J’Ann Pybas Mike Pybas Georgianna Robertson Judy Rorrie Kathy Rowe Jan Sanders Shirley Sterling Linda Strem Janie Tealer Betty Thompson Harry Thompson Bob Tigelaar Mary Tigelaar Dede Tignor Charlotte Walker Vivian Walker Kiki Warrick Cindy Williams

53. Northaven United Methodist Church 11211 Preston Road Dallas, TX 75230 Voice: 214-363-2479 Fax: 214-373-3972 E-Mail: numc@northaven.org www.northaven.org