John Wesley had interesting parents. They were products of the ferment of the 17th century. The English Civil War, between Parliament and the King, really bw Puritans and the Royals, was brutal and bloody. The King Charles II was beheaded. When the monarchy was restored, it was no longer hip to be a Puritan. Remember, John Milton, the greatest poet in the English language, was a Puritan, an influential member of the revolutionary government, and even he was in some deep trouble.
Wesley's grandfathers were important Puritan theologians, Dr. Wesley, and Dr. Annesley. But these Puritan Divines had children who went "the other way;" both John's father Samuel, and his mother Susannah Annesley, were convinced royalists. They were not Dissenters from the Church of England.
You can take the kids away from the Puritans, but you can take the Puritans out of the kids, or something like that. So while John and Charles Wesley (and notice the boys' names; the two least popular kings in English history, and Charles was so named to announce the Wesley's solidarity with the Royalist and Church causes.)
Samuel Wesley was the rector of Epworth. Susannah and he had 19 children, 9 of whom died in infancy. John was number 17, the baby so to speak.
Susannah is perhaps the model for Methodist womanhood. A great mother, but truly possessed of her own mind and with unbelievable intelligence.
She had a weekly conference with each of her children, to see how they were doing and to guide them in the ways of the Lord. With all the work of being the pastor's wife, having so many kids and running the household, she also found Sabbath in an important way. She would sit on a chair and pull her apron over her head. When the children saw her sit thus, they knew to be quiet and leave her alone. When she was rested, she would soon enough be back to her work as mother!
When each child reached 5 years of age, she would sit with him or her, begin to teach them the alphabet, open to Genesis 1 and teach the children to read.
When her husband was away from the parish, and some of the parishioners complained of the dry morsels the curate preached in Samuel's absence, Susannah began to hold services, reading sermons, and preaching (she called it "exhorting" so that no one would complain of a woman preaching). Pretty soon the parsonage was full, and the people spilled onto the grounds to hear her clear and insightful words on Bible-living.
The curate complained and Samuel wrote back asking her to stop, but she refused. She was not doing it during church hours, and she could not leave the people with no sound guidance. Clearly, John Wesley learned something from his mother's example: be bold to preach in season and out of season, but also make sure not to take away from the Church of England-- do it in the off hours to strengthen the people to take their faith more seriously
Another thing he learned in the early years of the Methodist revival came from Susannah and her time of preaching in the parsonage yard. There was a young lay preacher, whom Wesley wanted to stop from preaching because he was not ordained. Susannah wrote to John saying that the man had as much right to preach as anyone, and it would be best for John to let God move. Thus began the use of lay preachers flung throughout the Kingdom who travelled and spread the Gospel. You know some of their names-- Thomas Coke, Francis Asbury...
John and Charles were formed in a home that valued Puritan piety as well as the ancient doctrine of the Church. They were taught to have their own minds, but submit the will to God. If you are a Methodist, or from one of the Holiness denominations, Susannah is your mother in Israel.
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