History of Methodist Involvement
| Methodist involvement in prison
ministry began on a day in the summer 1730 when "Holy Club"
member, William Morgan, went to the Castle (an Oxford jail) to visit a
man condemned to death. He
shared his experience with members of the club and urged two other
members, John and Charles Wesley, to join him.
Shortly thereafter, a plan of
services was arranged for those who wished to attend, and
opportunities for discussion followed the reading of extracts from
devotional books. Soon a
plan of regular services was drawn up, so that prisoners and jailers
alike could anticipate the visits.
It was this fondness for system which earned for the members of
the Holy Club the name "Methodist."
See Religion in Prisons by J. Arthur Hoyle, Epworth Press,
1955, p. 4. |