The Wesley Guild

1898 a long answered prayer came to fruition in the person of the Rev. R. A. Ellis who took over the pastorate in February. Soon after his arrival he established a branch of the Wesley Guild. This Guild was a movement in England spreading rapidly in the Methodist Churches, mainly to retain the sympathies and activities of the young for the Church, by the formation of Guilds.

This was a long felt need of our Church, and proved to be a fruitful source of enlisting many young people into the fellowship and service of the Church. Despite the constant changes of ministers, which made pastoral visitation almost impossible, “the loyalty and patience of our people have been unbroken”. Fellowship meetings were conducted by Mr. Donaldson while Mrs. King continued her “little acts of kindness and love” to the poor and needy

What brought sadness was the closure of the Wesley Guild due to lack of support. The Church hoped to

revive the Guild soon adapting it to local circumstances.

The Wesley Guild was revived in 1901, and had met regularly during the year, but the desired impact was not fully realised. As such, the Church did have a band of loyal workers whose earnest service was rendered in many ways, in a neighbourhood where it was most needed.

The highlight of the year 1908 was the inauguration of the Wesley Guild, an experiment that proved to be a great success. In three months its membership rose from 30 to 130. Apart from the weekly meetings the Guild had turned its attention to the sick, who were regularly visited by the Visiting Section. To reach out to the poor the Dorcas Work Class was commenced. The year also witnessed increased financial assistance. Several alterations in the building, were made with specially raised funds. The Pastor’s Fund was doubled, and the stewards worked hard to make

our Church, a self-supporting one.

The Wesley Guild continued to flourish under the guidance of the Rev. Arthur Slater. Our Church owed a great debt to this center of useful activity. Both old and young enthusiastically worked in its different branches. Besides the spiritual and educational evenings provided by the officer’s of the sections, the sick were visited by the SUNSHINE LEAGUE. History records the provision of a good reading facility, provided by means of a library of twelve hundred books. A tennis club was then formed and helped to promote the good fellowship already existing.

Special series of lectures on “Heroes of the Reformation” and “Great Indian Heroes”, were well attended and aroused great interest. A Convention for the deepening of spiritual life was held in October and proved to be a great blessing. It was hoped that this would become a regular feature.