|
|
 |
 |
Being neither beggars nor vagrants, whose ancient prayer was to be delivered from Hull, Hell, and Halifax, we had no qualms about making the latter town the venue for our autumn outing on a sunny Saturday at the end of September. Our destination was Mount Zion chapel in the outlying suburb of Ogden, although timings had been arranged for a brief lunch-time stop in Halifax itself to allow a quick visit to the famous Piece Hall. As I was due to conduct Harvest Festival services at Castleford the following day, Pearl and I made the journey by car, managing for once to pass by Boundary Mill without a stop. But that's another story.
 |
Mount Zion perches on the edge of the expansive moors, its large graveyard still in use as a lovely final resting place. John Wesley came to preach a year after the chapel's opening in 1773, describing the occasion in his Journal: "I stood alone in a dreary waste, but although it was a cold and stormy day the people flocked from all quarters." He stayed the night in the adjoining cottage, where we were later to have our tea, and which was used for the accommodation of visiting preachers, gaining the nickname of "the Prophet's Chamber". |
Wesley came again, somewhat enfeebled by age, in 1790, when he had to be assisted into the pulpit and to be reminded of the subject of his sermon. After his death and the collapse of his autocratic rule over his followers, the chapel fell into the hands of the Kilhamites, who ejected the Wesleyans in 1797, and who never, despite many attempts, managed to return. This situation pertained until Methodist Union in 1932 brought the society back into the Connexion.
The chapel as it is seen today, as visitors are reminded by the splendid sundial on an outer wall, was the result of a complete rebuilding in 1815, when the seating capacity of 350 was only just adequate for its regular congregation. Looking at the lack of nearby housing, I couldn't help but wonder where they all came from. Today, the chapel has a membership of fifteen, who rely on the generous support of various heritage organisations to maintain a Methodist witness. Fortunately, the housing of the extensive Horace Hird collection of Methodist ceramics in the chapel attracts many generous visitors, not least from across the Atlantic, whose donations go a considerable way to balance the books.
,p>We were fortunate to be shown round by local Methodist historian, Irene Cunliffe, who drew our attention to the many interesting artefacts on display, such as the pew rent board, complete with pegs, Sunday School rolls, and the Victorian china funeral wreaths recently found in the graveyard. There was also an added bonus of local knowledge from our member, the Rev. Brian Bullick, who spent some years as minister of the church. The 1890 organ installed at a cost of £350 is still in working order and, though now fully electrified, still possesses the stool bought for its blower at a cost of two-and-sixpence.Outside, the large graveyard provides many poignant moments for the visitor, from the grave of John Chambers, known as "the Bishop of Mount Zion", for 59 years a local preacher, who preached 8,000 sermons and travelled upwards of 20,000 miles preaching the Gospel, baptising 6,000 children, and interring about 4,000 in the process, to that of a local bus conductor, who died saving the life of a passenger.
Whilst we had been savouring the moments of this delightful visit, the ladies and friends of the church had been preparing an appetising tea, which we consumed with our customary enthusiasm both upstairs and downstairs in the eighteenth century surroundings of the cottage where Wesley slept all those years ago. The "domestic arrangements", however, are distinctly twenty-first century. "For which relief, much thanks!"
We are grateful to all those who helped to make this outing such a success and I should mention as a postscript that we also found time to hold a brief A.G.M. at which our Officers were confirmed for another year, with the very welcome addition of Kenneth Haynes as outings organiser. The sun was still shining when the bus set off on its return to the red rose county, then the Bullicks drove off to another meal, and Pearl and I looked forward to the prospect of a Saturday evening's child-minding our grand-daughters in Wakefield.
David Elliston
Kindly sent by Mr Peter Hanley and compiled by the Rev. Eric W Dykes
Since our Web Site was created last March we have had a number of enquires, comments and commendations. One of the most interesting was from a Mr. Peter Hanley of Gravesend , Kent. He told us that he had in his possession the original handwritten Rules for the Wesleyan Association Sabbath School, Moor Lane, Clitheroe. This was written by his great, great grandfather, John Broadley, a schoolmaster
He has kindly sent us a copy for our archives ( well produced in a substantial folder) and, whilst it is impossible to reproduce the complete book in the Bulletin, I will endeavour to provide the more interesting facets of this fascinating document.
Needless to say that our Archivist Norman Cunliffe would allow anyone to have a look at it. Mr. Hanley has sent a copy to the Clitheroe Library. Just to remind you that the WESLEYAN METHODIST ASSOCIATION was formed in 1836. The leader was Dr. Samuel Warren who was concerned about the growing conservatism of the Wesleyan hierarchy. There was a protest against the establishment of a Theological Institution and concern that too much power was in the hands of two few ministers, especially Rev Dr Jabez Bunting, who held several influential offices in the Wesleyan Church. Samuel Warren was suspended from his superintendency and by 1836 a substantial number of members of the Wesleyan's linked with him and the Wesleyan Association was formed. It later became known as the Wesleyan Methodist Association. Many of these were in the north, including strength in Lancashire.
The late Cyril Ainsworth, in his first volume on the History of Methodism in the Clitheroe Circuit, has given good documentation to the Moor Lane Church and the chequered history covering this period. He writes of the influence of John Broadley and refers to a document he wrote as a curious memorandum book in which he described the early days of the school and chapel.
There are a number of factual details about the members of the earlyChapel, names of those who left, when and where they went to. John Broadley was described as "a veritable leader who arranged all the matters which led to the seceding of the discontents, and was in every sense born to command." This is shown by the contents of the Rule of the Sabbath School that he drew up and was adopted at the yearly meeting held on December 25th 1837 !!! Does this tell us something about Christmas Day being quite an ordinary day in those days ?
The opening pages of The Rules provides an Index to what follows. The several headings are:
Superintendents:
how chosen; moral character; to whom responsible; to act in unison
Teachers:
how chosen; moral character; ability; conduct in school; to see that scholars are clean & free from disorders etc……..
Monitors:
how admitted; subject to same rules during school hours as other scholars
Secretaries: Treasurer and Visitors with similar sub-titles
how chosen etc.
Amongst the other headings in the Index are Committee details; Ringing the bell; Going to Chapel scholars; Charity Sermons; Librarians, how elected and duties… nothing seems to have been left out and they reveal the meticulous nature and leadership of John Broadley.
There follow some 50 pages of Rules and only a small selection can be included in this Bulletin.
(Note that spelling, capitals and punctuation etc. are retained as close as possible to the original documents)Design of the Institution
The design of the Institution isSuperintendents
How chosen: Their Duties
There were nine Instructions on Teachers, how chosen, moral character, duties etc.
Monitors: No person shall be admitted into the monitors class but such as are good readers of steady and serious deportment and regular in their attendance. They must be proposed by a teacher at a teacher's meeting and if approved, their name shall be entered on the class book. None to be admitted but bible scholars. Monitors class shall be subject to the same regulations as the other classes during school hours. Any teacher shall have the privilege of reading in the monitors class on the alternate vacant sabbath but shall not have their names on the class book.
(here there is a pencil note dated December 25th 1842)
The Secretaries: were chosen from among the teachers at the yearly meeting; their duties included keeping all cash accounts; renewing the superintendents books each quarter and all class book when requested; assisting the superintendent in entering new scholars and removing those that are qualified (sic.); keep register of names of scholars, their age, and names of parents or guardians and place of abode; and they will give notice of meetings and take minutes of the same.
Treasurer: chose at the yearly meeting in whose hand shall be deposited all monies collected for the school, who shall be subject to the control of the committee, in the disposal of the same.
Visitors: two shall be chosen at the annual meeting, one male and one female. They shall attend every Sabbath morning, examine the class books and enquire of the teachers the absentees and enter the worst cases in the visitor's Memoranda and proceed immediately to the habitation of such absentees and enquire of the parents or guardian into the cause of such absence… and make their report to the superintendent the same day.
Adult Classes: There shall be two adult classes formed, one male and the other female, for those scholars who are deficient in reading, and are grown to years of maturity (again the date is 25 December 1839 !!) Meetings for business: That no business shall be transacted at any meeting connected with the school without chairman, who shall be elected at the respective meetings, and such meetings shall commence and conclude with singing and prayer.
Admission of Scholars: Every scholar admitted (sic) into this school shall be brought by their parents or guardians, or enquiry shall be made whether it be their will, or consent, whether they have gone to any other Sabbath School, if so, what was the cause of their leaving, and if satisfactory answers can be given, they shall be admitted by the officiating superintendent, but not otherwise.
Removing Scholars: No scholar shall be removed from one class to another without first being recommended by their teacher, And scholars thus recommended shall be tested by reading and spelling a short lesson. And if the officer appointed to remove, deems such scholar competent, he shall remove them (sic) to the next section and shall add the initials of his name in the class book from whence the scholar is removed. The Alphabet Class is an exception, those scholars who can tell their letters, may be removed from any section, in the Alphabet Class, to the last section in the fourth class.
Scholars going out: No scholar shall leave school during school hours without leave of their teacher, and, but one scholar from a class to be out at the same time.
Ringing the bell: When the Superintendent rings the bell, all business shall be immediately suspended, and perfect silence maintained throughout the school.
Who have the privilege of writing?-Those scholars who can read in the Bible and Testament shall have the privilege of learning to write and also have access to the Library.
Writing Masters: Two writing masters shall be chosen at the annual meeting, whose business it shall be to provided copy books, copy heads, pens, ink and co. and see that the desks are regularly supplied with efficient teachers.
Going to Chapel ! : As many of the scholars as can be accomodated (sic) with seats shall go to chapel in the morning service and an address shall be given to the whole school in the afternoon.
Charity Sermons: Two sermons shall be preached annually (and collections made at each service) by a preacher whom the committee may deem most suitable, and at such times as may best serve the purposes of the school.
Notice of charges: No charge shall be entertained at a committee meeting against an officer or teacher, unless the accused person has received 3 days notice in writing. The notice to specify the charges and to be signed by one of the superintendents.
…to be continued in the next Bulletin.
| Statistics of the Moor Lane Sunday School Teachers April 1849 |
Summary Jan 1837 - April 1849 | ||
| Teachers at commencement: | 65 | Total No. admitted from commencement: | 328 |
| No. Died since "" | 11 | No. died | 33 |
| No. removed to other places | 11 | No. gone to Australia | 7 |
| No. who have left school | 27 | No. gone to other places | 48 |
| No. remaining in the school | 16 | No. gone out as preachers | 2 |
| 65 | No. gone to other schools | 11 | |
| No. females left thro. Marriage | 20 | ||
| No. left to to no school | 57 | ||
| No. of teachers remaining in school | 120 |
"A sound and healthy body,
Freedom from unsightly maiming or deformity,'
A clear good voice and correct speech and pronunciation,' A good clear understanding,'
A dauntless faith that will not be discouraged'
A boundless hope that expects great things of God' A heart at leisure with itself'
Having the charity that beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things: a heart surrendered to Jesus Christ, in simple faith and willing obedience. "
This daunting list is taken from a letter to intending candidates for the Ordination of Wesley Deaconesses in a booklet 'Servants of the Church', published circa 1910, price 3d. The advice goes on to suggest that making beef tea, boiling a potato properly and laying a fire so that it will certainly light are also valuable preparations to practise. A Deaconess should also be able to write well, legibly and with correct expression and music and singing should be practised, for it is a great drawback if a Deaconess cannot at least play the harmonium for her Class or Mothers' Meeting. The best preparation however is to read the Bible till you cannot bear to hear it quoted wrongly and till you can tell the children the stories without misrepresenting them or spoiling them'
The letter ends: so may God help you to prepare yourself for the service of Christ and His Church.
It has been said that women's work in the church began when Christ, who came not to be ministered to but to minister, accepted the loving service of women, such as, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, Salome the mother of the sons of Zebedee who was anxious about her sons' place in the Kingdom, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the Bethany sisters, Mary and Martha all of whom are mentioned in the New Testament.
Paul also acknowledges the service of women. Prisca is described as a fellow worker in Christ Jesus and Phoebe's devotion helped a poor and struggling church. In his letter to the Romans, Paul also sends greetings to a woman called Mary who 'has worked hard among you' and to Tryphaena and Tryphosa who have worked hard in the Lord. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul greets Euodia and Syntyche 'who have laboured side by side with me'.
The place of women in the early church became increasingly important so that by the end of the 4th Century, there were a great many 'sisters of the Church', who were known as 'Deaconesses, but 'modern' deaconess work had its origin in Germany when Theodore Fliedner was appointed as pastor of the Lutheran church at Kaiserworth, near Dusseldorf. He became committed to social reform and in 1836 he opened the Deaconess Institute having for its object the training of Christian women who desired to devote themselves entirely to the service of Christ and His Church. A few years before, Fliedner had visited England and, in the company of Elizabeth Fry, visited Newgate and talked with her about the treatment of women in prison and after discharge. The first branch of work undertaken by the deaconesses was nursing and the Kaiserworth Institute soon gained a reputation for thorough and efficient nursing. In 1849, Florence Nightingale, as yet unknown to fame entered the Institute for training in sick nursing.
METHODIST ORDERS.
In Britain, the Wesley Deaconess Institute was founded in 1890 by Revd. Dr T. Bowman Stephenson, a Methodist minister who was influenced by what he had learned when he visited Kaiserworth. Dr. Stephenson also founded the Children's Home and at first, there were very strong links between the Wesley Deaconess Order and the Home. Pastoral, teaching and evangelistic work were entrusted to the deaconesses and Dr Stephenson laid down these principles for them:
There must be vocation but no vow,
There must be discipline without servility,
There must be association not excluding freedom.
In 1891 a similar Order was founded in the United Free Methodist Church by Revd. T. J. Cope and from 1895, deaconesses were also at work in the Primitive Methodist Church. The Wesley and U.M.F.C. Orders of Deaconesses were organised on parallel lines and their subsequent history ran on parallel lines too. Conferences were reluctant to accept any responsibility for deaconesses, but by 1907, both these Orders were recognised as departments of their respective churches.
Mowburn House, London, opened in 1890, was the first home of the Wesley Deaconess Order and a year later, training was also carried out at branch homes in Norwich and Leicester. In 1900 Ilkley was made the centre of the work. The College opened two years later and Dr Stephenson was appointed 'Honorary Warden', a position he held for four years until ill health compelled him to retire, Revd. William Bradfield, B.A., taking over as his successor. During the first quarter of the 20th Century, there was a long, hard struggle for financial support for the Wesley Deaconess Order. Theological Colleges, the Children's Home and the Missionary Society received large sums of money from benefactors, but the Warden over and over again went to Conference to plead for financial support of £500, to augment the £1,000 promised from private subscriptions. For many years, no help was forthcoming and desperate efforts had to be made to clear the mounting debts. Eventually an Establishment Fund was provided which generated £200 each year and there was Connexional support, which eased the situation.
TRAINING. In the early days, candidates accepted for training at Ilkley attended the College for one year, after which the Committee decided on their fitness to be received as Probationers, to be sent out on active service. Two complete years' active service were required before the Probationer was fully received into the Order. |
 |
The cost of the year's training was £40 and those candidates who could afford it were expected to contribute the whole or part of the amount. In addition, the cost of books (about £1) travel between Ilkley and home, and dress had also to be borne. (This at a time when a 'good manager' could feed, clothe and house a family adequately for 'round about a pound a week').
Life at Ilkley was disciplined, the day beginning with a bell at 6.30 am. Housework was undertaken by the students before lectures started at 10 a.m. Supper was at 8.30 p.m. and there was strong emphasis on times of quiet and spirituality
The College course included the following subjects: |
Specimen Paper ! Tell the story of the temptation in the Garden of Eden. Tell what you know of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. |
And after Paper 1 in the morning, came Paper 2 in the afternoon:
|
Give information about the town or village you know best. Name 3 Railway Companies of England and for each mention towns they serve. Name 3 towns in Canada, 3 in Australia, and 3 in South Africa and tell what you know about each. Name 4 towns in France, Germany and Italy and give information about 1 in each country. Name either 20 English wild plants, 10 English freshwater fish, 10 English wild birds or 6 English wild animals. Give the duties of 3 of the following: Policeman, Guardian of the Poor, member of the Town Council, Magistrate, Sanitary Inspector, School Attendance Officer. Name the author of each of the following: Canterbury Tales, The Tempest, The Faerie Queen, Paradise Regained, The Holy War, The Lady of the Lake, Excelsior. State what you know of one of the following: The Norman Conquest, Wars of the Roses, Spanish Armada. Give a brief account of one of: Henry viii, Queen Elizabeth 1, Charles 1, William 111 Give the titles of 4 works of 2 of: Dickens, Thackeray, Ruskin, George Eliot. If 3 guineas had to be divided between 6 women and 6 boys, the women to get twice as much as the boys, how much would each get? For a Mothers' Meeting, tea for 48, the following provisions are ordered: 1lb tea at 1/8 a lb., 6 lbs sugar at 5d for 2 lbs., 2 lbs butter at 1/2 per lb., 12 lbs cake at 6d per lb., 6 loaves at 3d each, 3 quarts of milk at 3d per quart. The Chapel keeper is paid 2/6. How much must be charged in order to meet the expenses without making a profit? |
Little wonder that 'Examination Saturday' was sometimes compared to Dante's solemn and awful Day of Judgement !
WORK AND ORGANISATION
The Wesley Deaconess Order flourished and by 1909, when the Revd. William Bradfield was appointed Warden of the Institute; there were 104 fully accredited Deaconesses, 63 Probationer- Deaconesses and 17 Student Probationers. In the early days, the bulk of the diaconal appointments and work were in the large city missions, like those in Bradford, London, Manchester and Sheffield, but there was also a need for some help in villages and some Deaconesses appointed to rural circuits had to work in lonely, difficult conditions. Deaconesses were expected to accept any post of duty to which they may be appointed.
Appointments were for one year although they could be renewed indefinitely. It was stressed that Deaconesses were expected to stand the strain of their vocation, there were no easy appointments for those who might need relief from heavy responsibility. Foreign appointments were made by special arrangement. Sister Gertrude Nettleship was sent to Ceylon to take charge of the "Deaconesses' Own Mission" and the same year saw the beginning of the work in New Zealand. A few years later, Deaconesses were serving in China, Sierra Leone and the West African Gold Coast.
Allowances to Deaconesses were always modest. In 1950, a Circuit was expected to pay £230 annually, £200 of which was paid to the Sister herself. Basic accommodation was provided, as were travelling expenses to and from appointments and Convocation, but heating and lighting were not usually included. (Just 5 years later, my monthly 'take home pay' as a graduate teacher was £32, but this was before equal pay for women was fully implemented!) The plain grey dress worn by probationers was provided, but after Consecration the dress was of a similar style, but navy blue. The badge of the Order presented to each Deaconess at the Consecration service was afterwards worn as part of the uniform. After 12 years' active service, a badge attached to a bar inscribed with the word 'true' was presented and worn, and after 21 years, the word 'faithful' was attached to the newly presented badge.
When the Methodist Churches united in 1932, Conference ruled that all the various orders of sisters and deaconesses must come into the Wesley Deaconess Order and that the church should employ no woman unless she was in the Wesley Deaconess Order and therefore properly trained, provided for and pensioned. So 304 Wesleyan Deaconesses, 45 United Methodists and 24 Primitive Methodist sisters became the Wesley Deaconess Order of the Methodist Church. The new Book of Offices in 1936 included a service for 'The Ordination of Deaconesses'. This followed the wording used by the United Methodist Church, whereas the Wesleyans had used the word 'Consecration'. The Warden at the 1933 Union was Revd. Russell Maltby. The Methodist Conference, 1942, 3 years into the second World War, was significant for the Order, calling the attention of the Methodist people to "the widespread changes in women's work taking place throughout the world and the many spheres of service now open to women, offering not only a career but a vocation". |
Rev Dr W Russell Maltby Warden 1920 - 1940 |
The resolution urged "the necessity of adjustment to this changed situation both in thought and practice. Ordained Deaconesses are not to be regarded, any more than Ministers, as employees. The only right relation is an honourable colleagueship, in which no gifts of leadership insight need be denied their exercise, and a Deaconess will have scope and freedom to do the work for which she has been trained and ordained".
(Twelve years earlier, in 1930, a report to Conference had included the view that "the work of our Deaconesses would be still richer in results if it were not sometimes limited and crippled by obsolete traditions of what women's work should be").
The 1942 Conference adopted various regulations, among them that candidates should intend life service, that ordinands should be personally presented at Conference and admitted to full membership of the Order by a resolution of Conference. Ordination continued to take place at Convocation but the Conference resolution put the Order firmly as part of the Methodist Church.
Convocation was held annually at various venues at the invitation of the Chairman of District. In his editorial address printed in the 1954 Convocation Agenda, the Revd. Thomas Morrow asked, "What then is Convocation?" He answered his own question: "It legislates for the Order, yet only part of the time is given to formal business. It is our open forum, yet the majority of our members remain silent. It brings the Order more vividly to the minds and prayers of the Methodists of the city in which it meets, yet very few of them attend the meetings. It is a time when we renew our vows of loyalty to God and of service through His church. It is a time when lonely deaconesses find again the joy of being part of a great company, and when those who have seen little success for their work are encouraged into fresh enthusiasm. It is a time when our vision of Gods purpose becomes clearer and our love for Him is deepened".
All deaconesses were expected to attend Convocation unless abroad or sick. In 1950, the Warden Revd. Harold Beales in his address in the Convocation Agenda, said that members of Convocation would be "coming from far and near and from labours not only abundant but extraordinarily varied. There are those who wear khaki or the grey of the Army or Air Force, in which Services they are doing chaplaincy work. Others are evangelising from caravans, tackling new areas on the edge of great cities, carrying on moral welfare work, and holding groups for the recruiting of new local preachers. A company are preachers themselves, teachers and trainers of teachers, class leaders with thousands of members on their books, organisers of youth clubs, young mothers' clubs, old people's clubs, pastors who visit and for tens of thousands of folk in the great central missions and in town and country circuits. These are only some of the activities in a ministry than which there were none more sacrificial in the life of our Church".To be continued in our next issue……..
After reading the above readers might like to know of the publication of a fuller history of the Wesley Deaconess Order written by the secretary of the Wesley Historical Society, Dr Dorothy Graham with the title Saved to Serve (Methodist Publoishing House £19.95) Saved to Serve is the story of the history and work of the Wesley Deaconess Order from 1890 to 1978. Through first hand accounts, we read stories of the deaconesses' self-sacrifice, commitment, devotion and the incalculable contribution which they made to the ethos of Methodism. |