John Wesley, 1703-1791: Founder of Methodism

Chatham County · dedicated 1969 · Located in Reynolds Square in Savannah.

On the "trust lot" south of President Street and immediately west of this square stood in 1736-'37 the parsonage in which John Wesley resided. In the adjoining garden he read, prayed and meditated. Weekly meetings of members of his Christ Church congregation were held in the small wooden dwelling. According to Wesley, "The first rise of Methodism was in 1729 when four of us met together at Oxford. The second was in Savannah in 1736 when twenty or thirty persons met at my house." The monument here was dedicated in 1969. Wesley is depicted at the period of his Georgia ministry, wearing Church of England vestments. The sculptor, Marshall Daugherty, says of this rendering: "The moment is as he looks up from his Bible toward his congregation, about to speak and stretching out his right hand in love, invitation, and exhortation. In contrast, the hand holding the Bible is intense and powerful - the point of contact with the Almighty.."

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