PASSION MOVES FRONT AND CENTRE: REVIVALS, LOVE FEASTS, AND CAMP MEETINGS Berwick Camp Tuesday July 28, 2015
AGENDA FOR TUESDAY MORNING • John Wesley and others take (spiritual) passion to new heights • Conversion and Revival • Class Meetings and Love Feasts • The Incarnation of the “Camp Meeting” BREAK • Activity Time Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791) • Born in an Anglican rectory; Susanna challenged John and (16) other siblings to holy living • Both John and brother Charles attended Oxford - formed and served in “Holy Club” - received the name “Methodists” • Visited Moravians at Herrnhut – deeply impressed by their piety • Experienced his “heart strangely warmed” at an evening service in London (1738) • Around same time, began “field preaching” with George Whitefield against Deism and social decay, and for “experiential faith” Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
THE WESLEYS AND THE METHODISTS • Formed Fetter Lane Society with Charles and George Whitefield – members met weekly to confess and pray • Broke with other evangelicals over theological issues • Formed “United Societies” for those who “desire to flee from the wrath to come” • The “Rules” of this Society became the foundation of the Methodist Discipline Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
INFLUENCES ON WESLEY AND METHODISM • The Early Church – via Non- • Lutherans: Jurors: • Need for Grace • Importance of Holy Communion • Calvinist Puritans: • Asceticism – Simple Living • Quest for Personal Salvation • The Medieval Monastics: • Need for Conversion • Disciplined Life • Psalm Singing • Spiritual Quests • Pietists/Moravians: • Medieval Reform Movements: • Small Group Ministries • Lay leadership • Hymnody • Preaching Ministry Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
WHAT DID EARLY METHODISTS DO? • Listened to preaching that invited them to the CONVERSION of their hearts to assurance of the forgiveness of their sins (justification) • Joined a “Class Meeting ” – received a ticket that was renewed quarterly if they attended faithfully – at the “Quarterly Meeting” – prayed, testified • Held “Love Feasts”: water, bread, and testimony • Worked at “going on to perfection” • Some became “local preachers” to lead worship in chapels • Formed Sunday Schools • Evangelized their families, neighbours, the poor • Sang hymns , including the 6000 written by Charles • AVOIDED : dancing, theatre, gambling, cards, fancy clothes, alcohol except for medicinal purposes, and idle talk English Methodist Class Meeting Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
THE “CAMP MEETING” • American in Origin • The term “Camp Meeting” first occurs in 1802 in Georgia or the Carolinas • Sources: • Pietist Swedish army encampments in the 18 th Century • Presbyterian “Communion S easons” • Extended “Quarterly Meetings” – added camping • “Second Great Awakening” – increased revival activity across USA • Attendance : Unidentified American • Interdenominational , but Methodists took hold of Communion Season celebration the notion and fostered it Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
DESIGN Roman Military Camp, ca. 100 CE Central platform • Berwick Camp Meeting, surrounded by dwellings founded 1872 Rock Springs Camp (tents, later small cottages) Meeting, South Carolina, • Controlled access founded 1830 Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
EARLY 1800s CAMP MEETING AGENDA • 6 AM – Trumpet call to wake up • 6:10 AM – Prayer and singing at the door of one’s tent • 7:00 – Breakfast, followed by prayer • 10 AM – Preaching for Conversion • Noon – Lunch • 2 PM – Preaching for Conversion • 5 PM – Supper • 7 PM – Preaching for Conversion • Late evening – Prayer and Testimony DURATION: 8-10 days Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
BOISTEROUS AFFAIRS • “The evangelicals were not only defined by their noises; they were noise.” • Leigh Eric Schmidt Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
CAMP MEETING AS THE RE-ENACTMENT OF THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES • And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen’, lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. • And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. • From Nehemiah 8 Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
THE APPEAL OF THE EARLY CAMP MEETINGS • Held in a forest or grove: separation from the world, including vistas and vast scenery • Divine inspiration in nature: “Terra Spiritualis ” • Sociability of camping • Opportunity to preach before huge congregations – asserted power of clergy, yet in context of lay participation (inc. women) • Opportunity for “sanctioned” carousing • Remarkably effective tool for conversion Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
EARLY CAMP MEETINGS IN CANADA • First recorded in August 1805 in Upper Canada: • Dundas (Ralph Morden’s farm) • Hay Bay (Peter Huff’s property) • Recorded in detail by Nathan Bangs • Spread throughout Upper Canada via Methodist Episcopal Church (American) • Wesleyan Methodists (British) considered camp meetings “unseemly” – preferred “Protracted Meetings” with more control by Methodist leadership Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
LATER 19 TH CENTURY DEVELOPMENTS • By mid-1800s areas of North Eastern USA are considered evangelically “burnt over” • Camp meeting settings are becoming comfortable: cottages, eating halls, furniture! • Program is intended more to deepen commitment than to convert: to “capture an elusive experience” (Stephen D. Cooley) • US Northeast is highly urbanized, many immigrants (Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish) Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting • Camp Meeting is a Protestant enclave Cottage Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
ENTER BERWICK! • Edward Foster visits Camp Meeting in Hamilton, Mass., returns to Berwick to form Camp Meeting Association • First Meeting: July 4-11, 1872 • 1884 – 12 acres fenced (cost: $400) • 1885 – Admission Tickets (no tickets sold on the Sabbath): • 25¢ for season (inc. free horse and carriage parking) • 5¢ per day • 1885 - Boarding Tent: Breakfast and tea: 25¢; dinner 30¢ • Full Moon – offers best lighting; so camp is held during full moon period each year Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
BERWICK MATURES • 1891: Flying Bluenose train increases accessibility • By 1898: 56 cottages; dining hall • Attendance in 1890s: 3000-7000 • Highest daily attendance – often “Temperance Day ” • Women evangelists as early as 1899 Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
ACTIVITY TIME FOR … • ACTIVE BODIES: Berwick Bingo/Scavenger Hunt (see handout) • There will be prizes! • ACTIVE MINDS (AND MEMORIES): • What was your first Berwick experience? • What is your most memorable Berwick experience? • How has Berwick engaged your faith passion (if at all)? • ACTIVE IMAGINATIONS: • Berwick and Poetry/Compose a poem (see handout) Sandra Beardsall/July 2015 Berwick Camp
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