Book Description

The Methodists tells the story of Methodism in New South Wales from the establishment of the first class meetings in the colony until the inauguration of the Uniting Church in 1977. No mere chronicle of events, it seeks to interpret the broad sweep of Methodist history in the state and to understand the place of the church in Australian society. Who were the Methodists? Why did Methodism find it so hard to establish itself in the early years of the Colony? Why was it able to spread so rapidly in the second half of the 19¼th century? How did the Church respond to the great questions raised by war and depression, industrial and social conflict in the 20th century? How has the Church related to both individuals and the community? Has Methodism been able to find an adequate response to the secularism of our times? The Methodists throws new light on the work of the earliest Methodist missionaries in Australia and, for the first time, gives some of the minor Methodist denominations their rightful place in Methodist history. It also tells the story of the important role the Church has played in the wider community: from inner industrial Sydney, to the mushrooming suburbs of the modern era and the wide spaces of the Methodist missions in the inland areas. The Methodists is a book about people and ideas rather than buildings and organisations. As well as making an important contribution to the social and religious history of Australia, it will be of interest to members of the Uniting Church.