Moore Methodist Museum

10/18/2026

Both Episcopalians and Methodists claim this great Christian theologian with ties to St Simons Island

THE WESLEY WINDOW

Faith Beneath the Oaks at Frederica

Last Sunday we looked at the Oglethorpe Window at Christ Church, Frederica. This week we move to another of the church’s two stained-glass windows devoted specifically to Georgia history.

The Wesley Window depicts brothers John and Charles Wesley preaching beneath the great live oaks at Frederica in 1736. In the background is the ship associated with John Wesley’s journey from Savannah. Christ Church’s own stained-glass guide says the window represents the Wesleys’ ministry at Frederica.

Their connection to St. Simons began almost 150 years before the present Christ Church was built.

Charles Wesley arrived at Frederica in 1736 as General James Oglethorpe’s chaplain and secretary. John Wesley also ministered in the young Georgia colony, traveling between Savannah and Frederica. The present congregation traces its Anglican roots to worship held beneath these oaks during that period.

The window itself is much newer. It was created by the Willet Studio of Philadelphia and installed at Christ Church for Easter 1969, along with several other windows.

What makes it especially interesting is that Christ Church says nearly all of its stained glass depicts biblical or inspirational subjects. Only two windows portray scenes from Georgia’s colonial history: Oglethorpe with Tomochichi and the Wesley brothers preaching at Frederica.

Nearly three centuries later, people still worship on the same grounds where the Wesleys preached.

That is what makes this window more than beautiful stained glass.

It connects the Christ Church of today with the very beginnings of Christian worship at Frederica.

Next Sunday, we’ll continue uncovering another story preserved in the windows of Christ Church.

Saint Simons Island On My Mind

10/14/2026

John and Charles Wesley set sail on this day from England to the American colonies thus beginning the journey where the brothers would later be converted to by the Moravians and their belief in salvation by faith alone.

10/14/2026

This is a valuable resource for all church historians and local archivists

Third Thursdays in the Archives is set for Oct. 15. This month, join UMC conference archivists and allies to discuss vendors (archival supplies, digitization services, etc.).

Zoom link:https://zoom.us/j/93673972503?pwd=lzwXL7K4ba6a4f4M7qUzDeEi3sWbDf.1

Meeting ID: 936 7397 2503
Passcode: 054467

10/12/2026

Barbara Heck emigrated from Ireland to America in 1760 and settled in New York. By October 1766, religious observances among the group had declined, so she gathered fellow immigrants and urged Irish Methodist minister Philip Embury to preach, forming the first Methodist society in America. This gathering later became John Street UMC.

10/11/2026

Another wonderful Methodist organization

In 1908, a Methodist laymen's conference declared that "a great Assembly should be built in the Southeast." Five years later, they had one. ⛪

Bishop James Atkins and George R. Stuart pushed the idea, inspired by Chautauqua Lake in New York and Winona Lake in Indiana. The Southern Assembly was incorporated in 1908, 1,200 acres were bought in Haywood County, and a dam went up across Richland Creek between 1911 and 1913.

The first conference met on June 25, 1913, in the new Stuart Auditorium: the Second General Missionary Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. By the end of 1913, the community had 13 private homes, the auditorium was finished, and the dam was complete. 🏔️

The lake takes its name from Mount Junaluska, now called North Eaglenest Mountain, which was named for a Cherokee leader. A place built so people could gather in the mountains became a community of its own. What makes a place feel sacred to you: the landscape, the people, or the tradition?

10/10/2026

History is made every day

10/09/2026

John Wesley's legacy is still strong in south Georgia

On September 26, 2026, Goshen United Methodist Church in Rincon, Georgia, celebrated an incredible 275 years of faith, fellowship, and service. Dating...

10/01/2026

We love to celebrate the history of Epworth by the Epworth By The Sea

09/30/2026

We can agree to disagree on the frenemy part...

George Whitefield, often called (at GCAH anyway) John Wesley's "frenemy" died on Sept. 30, 1770.

As a young boy, Whitefield worked as a servant at his family's inn in Gloucester. There, he found he had a passion for theater and would entertain guests with reenactments of Bible stories. Without funds to pay for college, he attended Oxford University as a servant, earning his tuition by assisting Fellows, including cleaning their rooms, carrying their books and helping them bathe.

It was on the recommendation of Charles Wesley that Whitefield read Henry Scougal's book, "The Life of God in the Soul of Man," that Whitefield says led to his conversion. In 1736, Whitefield was ordained as a deacon by the Church of England.

Whitefield preached his first sermon in his hometown of Gloucester, a week after his ordination. The Church of England did not assign him a church, so he began preaching in parks and fields in England on his own, reaching out to people who normally did not attend church. Does that sound familiar?

There's a lot to Whitefield's story, including building and running an orphanage in the American colony of Georgia. In fact, it was Whitefield's return to Georgia after raising funds in England for the orphanage that led to the most vile moment in Methodism.

Because he was returning to Georgia, Whitefield invited John Wesley to take over his Bristol congregations and to preach in the open air for the first time at Kingswood and then at Blackheath, London.

As we know, it is accepting this invitation that led John Wesley to proclaim that he "submitted to be more vile" by preaching in the fields.

In 1770, the 55-year-old Whitefield continued preaching in spite of poor health. He said, "I would rather wear out than rust out." His last sermon was preached in a field. The next morning, Sept. 30, 1770, Whitefield died in the parsonage of Old South Presbyterian Church, Newburyport, Mass., and was buried, according to his wishes, in a crypt under the pulpit of this church.

It was John Wesley who preached his funeral sermon in London, at Whitefield's request.

Portrait (public domain art) attributed to Robert Hunter.

09/29/2026

This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone living near Atlanta

𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 & 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻: 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗡. 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻

Join us Friday, October 9, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., for the Georgia Archives' next Lunch & Learn featuring Michael N. Henderson.

Henderson will share how his genealogical research helped bring renewed recognition to overlooked Revolutionary War patriots and led him to become the first African American member of the Georgia Society, Sons of the American Revolution.

While you're here, be sure to visit the special exhibit based on Henderson's research and genealogical journey, on display at the Georgia Archives through November 20.