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Well, to say the very least, it is good to be home. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts, prayers and support while we traveled.

It is “Blog Day,” Wednesday, and I thought I’d take the opportunity this week to finish what we started from England. My intention was to update frequently during our trip, but long hours of travel combined with difficulty connecting from our hotels made that plan difficult. No problem, I’m sure we’ll show you all the pictures until you’re very tired of seeing them, and we’ve got the chance to catch up a little now.

Truly, the things that we saw on the trip were wonderful, as were the English people. We saw so many of the important places for the Wesleys, and I feel like my understanding of them and of the early days of Methodism has increased tenfold.

Our trip to Epworth was very powerful. We worshipped at Wesley Memorial, a British Methodist church built in Wesley’s hometown after his death. This is close to “ground zero” for Methodist worship, and we took communion around a table from which John and Charles Wesley had served many times. The table was somehow inherited from St. Andrew’s Anglican parish, the home church where John, Charles and the other Wesleys grew up.

We were treated to a visit at St. Andrews, and there Holly and I were able to see the church where John and Charles would have been formed in their faith. Their father Samuel was the rector (pastor) there for nearly 40 years. Seven years after Samuel’s death, John returned to Epworth to preach at St. Andrews and was refused because he was considered too radical. John preached from his father’s tomb in the church yard. This was considered family property under law and he could not be arrested.

A high point for me was the continuation of my “English Baptismal Font Tour,” when I got to stand where Samuel stood when John, Charles and his other children were baptized 300 years ago.

From there we traveled to Oxford on Monday of this week, and it was an incredible experience. We heard a lecture from Peter Forsaith, chair of Wesley Studies at Christ Church, the most prestigious of the Oxford schools. Peter then gave us a guided tour of the town and its campuses that included a trip through Lincoln College where John Wesley taught in the several years after his graduation from Christ Church and before his first mission trip to Georgia. We were able to sit in the Lincoln College chapel (a place almost no one now gets to enter, apart from students on special occasions). This chapel was very special to John Wesley, and he prayed here often. Other than a few electric lights it is untouched from the time of his presence there, and was a very special highlight of our trip. We also saw the “Wesley Room” at Lincoln college, the very room where early meetings of the “Holy Club” of Charles and John would have met in its earliest days.

Finally, we also saw the Oxford Cathedral at Christ Church where John and Charles were ordained as ministers in the Church of England. I stood at the high altar in the very place their ordination took place.

Truly, the trip was incredible and I can’t wait to put together a little more formal presentation for all who want to know more about our English heritage and connection to the Wesleys. That knowledge can help us understand so much more about our roots, and about where we should take Methodism in this new century. As John Wesley said, “The best of all is, God is with us.” Surely this is true. Holly and I are so grateful that we know God’s presence through your faithful witness. Thanks to you all for your support of us in our travels and to Max Vincent and Keith Windmiller for their pastoral support and help. We are classically “jet-lagged” having woken up this morning at 2:30 a.m. feeling for all the world like it was time to eat breakfast and get going. We’ll catch up soon and be as good as new. I plan to be in and out of the office tomorrow but will be taking the rest of today to straighten out on sleep and spend some much-needed time with our boys.

Grace, Peace, and see you all this Sunday ---

Adam

PS – Don’t forget that our 10:00 worship this Sunday morning will be our children’s musical “The Christmas Animals.” They’ve worked really hard and it will be a great blessing.