Aldersgate or Fetter Lane

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Supernatural Occurrences Prior to Aldersgate10Although the wild success of the Methodist Revival had not yet begun, Wesleycould certainly be considered a very “successful” clergyman. He had establishedministries through the Holy Club to the poor, elderly, children, and imprisoned in Oxford.He had delivered a number of sermons that resulted in changed lives, including that ofJames Hutton noted above. He was a fellow of Lincoln College and regular preacher atOxford. He was a missionary to America where he saw congregations grow and a hymnalpublished. He helped found the Fetter Lane society. Thus, by early 1738, when he wasthirty-five years old, Wesley was already an accomplished clergyman because of his hardwork and holiness of life. But where was the work of the supernatural in Wesley’s life?Prior to May 24, 1738, Wesley seemed to have relatively few experiences thatmay be considered supernatural. In his summary text, The Supernatural Occurrences ofJohn Wesley 34 , pastor and evangelist Daniel Jennings includes only one such occurrencein Wesley’s life prior to Aldersgate, recorded on March 28, 1736 when Wesley was inSavanah, Georgia during his missionary days in America. A gravely ill young man, PeterWright, related an experience to Wesley: Peter heard his name being called and lookedup to see his “room was as light as day, and I saw a man in very bright clothes stand bythe bed, who said, ‘Prepare yourself, for your end is nigh.’” The young man recoveredtemporarily from his illness with his “whole temper … changed as well as his life.” He34Daniel R. Jennings, The Supernatural Occurrences of John Wesley (Lexington, KY: SeanMultimedia, 2012). Although this is a self-published work (see seanmultimedia.com), The UnitedMethodist Church includes this text as one of twelve cited in the bibliography of the Resolution,“Guidelines: The UMC and the Charismatic Movement,” adopted in 2008 and readopted in 2016 by theGeneral Conference. (See http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/guidelines-the-umc-and-the-charismaticmovement,accessed July 12, 2018).
died peacefully a few weeks later. 35 Note that Wesley is not directly involved with thissupernatural occurrence and only retold what was conveyed to him first-hand.Two other potentially supernatural occurrences not included by Jenningshappened just a few days after Wesley wrote down the story of Peter Wright. On April 4,1736, Wesley fell sound asleep on a boat and was awakened to find the boat filling withwater. He was able to escape and concluded, “Thou art the God of whom comethsalvation: thou art the Lord by whom we escape death.” Continuing on his journey thenext day, he came ashore to find Charles extremely sick from dysentery. Wesleyexclaimed, “But he mended from the hour he saw me. This also ‘hath God wrought’!” 36 Itis remarkable that these events, supernatural or not, happened so quickly after hearingPeter Wright’s supernatural encounter with the man in bright clothes.In addition, on his voyage to America, Wesley recorded the following:One who was big with child, in a high fever, and almost wasted away with aviolent cough, desired to receive the Holy Communion before she died. At thehour of her receiving she began to recover, and in a few days was entirely out ofdanger. 37Wesley did not indicate that he prayed for her healing, but the power of God in HolyCommunion was a very real presence in this woman’s life. Wesley was able to witnessthis potential miracle mainly due to his role as the clergy officiant over communion. 381135Jennings, Supernatural, 169-70 and also Wesley, Journal, vol. 18, 154-5.36Wesley, “April 4, 1736,” Works, vol. 18, 156.37Wesley, “December 18, 1735,” Works, vol. 18, 141.38Special thanks goes to Dr. Frank Billman for pointing out this potential supernatural incident inthe life of John Wesley. Dr. Billman, through personal correspondence, indicated that he believed thishealing “occurred in spite of Wesley, not because of him” (email dated July 30, 2018).
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Aldersgate or Fetter Lane

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