This Week in Texas Methodist History February 23

Texas Methodists Kick Off Aldersgate Bicentennial Celebration, February 1938

As the bicentennial of John Wesley’s Aldersgate experience approached, Texas Methodists launched a campaign to celebrate this milestone of Methodist history.  Although the actual date was May 24, the celebrate began during the last week of February, 1938. 

First Methodist Fort Worth hosted the first celebration on February 23.  First Methodist Houston followed on February 24, and Travis Park San Antonio on February 25.   The following week El Paso, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, and Dallas were the locations. 

Bishop A. Frank Smith was Director of the Aldersgate Committee and appeared at several of the events.  He was joined by other bishops, including Boaz, Dobbs, and Hay of the MECS and Bishops Ralph Cushman and Lester Smith of the MEC.    These bishops would meet again in Kansas City in 1939 as part of the Uniting Conference that created the Methodist Church. 

The schedule at each city followed was the same:  9:30  program, 2:00 discussion, and 7:30 a worship rally.  Promotional materials state clearly that his was not a fundraising program.   Instead they were designed to deepen the spiritual life of participants. 

Naturally Methodist colleges were also involved in the bicentennial observance.  McMurry College in Abilene held a two day meeting on March 2 and 3 with Professor J. T. Carlyon of the School of Theology at SMU as the speaker.  At Southwestern University in Georgetown, the speaker was Dr, Charles T. Thrift, Jr.   His topic was “A brand plucked from the burning.”  Methodists will recognize the phrase as the way John Wesley referred to himself after being rescued from a house fire in childhood.   Following Dr. Thift at Southwestern was Dr. Paul Quillian, pastor of First Methodist Church in Houston who came to Georgetown for two days of programs. A total of 85 Aldersgate programs were held at Methodist schools.

The programs provided a boost to the study of Methodist history.  Francis McConnell’s biography of Wesley was published the next year (1939).  Umphrey Lee’s John Wesley and Modern Religion was available for the bicentennial, having been published in 1936,