Reception and Reunion: The Place of the Wesleys in the Journey to British Methodist Union, 1878-1932

Abstract

After almost a century of division, the closing decades of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century saw the gradual achievement of ‘home reunion’ in British Methodism, as sundered denominations came together in the Methodist Union of 1932. The legend and legacy of the Wesley brothers mattered to all the branches of divided Methodism, but the journey to reunion showed how differently the Wesleys were received and understood by the negotiating groups. This article explores the theology, narratives, pedagogy, and practices of the Methodist denominations, using the journey towards and on from the 1932 Union as a case study for the reception history of the Wesleys.