Methodists and other Christians around the world will mark the 300th anniversary of Charles Wesley’s birth in 2007. Duke Divinity School and the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church have partnered to offer a ten-day pilgrimage in England to celebrate this important event and immerse participants in the legacy of this important Methodist founder.

The Pilgrimage is designed to acquaint participants with the historical background and religious heritage of the Methodist movement and the life and witness of Charles Wesley. We will visit many sites associated with this great hymn writer — Epworth, his place of birth; Oxford, where he studied and taught, and where he founded the so-called “Holy Club”; Bristol, where he helped to form the first Methodist Societies and began to raise his family; Wales, the home of his wife, Sally Gwynn; and London, where he and his family spent the final years of his life, overseeing the expanding Methodist movement with his brother, John.

We will also visit Salisbury, where we will be accommodated at Sarum College in the shadow of the magnificent cathedral; West Bromwich near Birmingham, Frances Asbury’s training-ground; Glastonbury and Wells, with their connections to the Arthurian legends; Gloucester, associated with the Wesleys’ friend and colleague, George Whitefield; as well as important sites in London such as St. Paul’s and Westminster Abbey. We will have an opportunity to experience the England that Charles Wesley knew and loved: the rolling countryside of the Cotswold Hills near Oxford, the fenland around Epworth, the charm of small English villages, and the elegance of the ancient city of Bath.

Dr. Paul W. Chilcote (Visiting Professor of the Practice of Evangelism and Wesleyan Studies at Duke Divinity School and President of The Charles Wesley Society), Dr. Steve Manskar (Director of Accountable Discipleship at GBOD), and Dr. Tim Macquiban (Principal of Sarum College in Salisbury, England) will provide leadership for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
If there are any problems or questions about the event, please contact Becky Caudill at 1-877-899-2780, extension 7059.