Spring Lectures 2007

Note: This programme of lectures has now finished. However, you can download the text from the Primitive Methodism lecture.

Castle Street is hosting two lectures this spring. Both lectures start at 1930 and proceeds from the retiring collection will go towards Mission and Social Responsibility Committee funds. Everyone is most welcome.

Date	Details
31st May	Rough Informal Energy: The Story of Primitive Methodism Speaker: Rev Robert Dolman You can read the text from this lecture or download it as a PDF (124k). The PDF version requires Adobe Reader or a similar viewing application. Primitive Methodism was founded exactly 200 years ago this month. Castle Street was a Primitive Methodist church until 1932 and it is, therefore, appropriate that the lecture should be given here. How did it all begin? An American revivalist Lorenzo Dow introduced the idea of open-air evangelistic "camp meetings" in Britain and this fired the imagination of Methodists in Staffordshire. Despite the Wesleyan authorities' view that such gatherings were "highly improper", the first camp meeting was held at Mow Cop, near Stoke on Trent on May 31st 1807. It was here that Primitive Methodism was formed because open-air evangelism was seen as a return to the authentic ways of early Methodism. The Primitive Methodists were led by Hugh Bourne, a carpenter and wheelwright, who was expelled from Wesleyan Methodism and joined up with another local Methodist, the potter William Clowes. The "Prims" grew into the second largest Methodist denomination in Britain, with a reputation for being a working-class peoples' church. That was indeed the background when Methodism was introduced to the Castle Street area in the 19th Century.
14th June	Faith and Global Warming Speaker: Ray Galvin Ray will be discussing the environment in general and will give a brief overview of the science of global warming, in simple terms that all can understand. He will ask what global warming will do to the planet if we don't stop it, how this is a spiritual as well as a political, scientific and economic issue and what resources there are in our faith to help us solve it. Finally, Ray will look at our options for a solution and what obstacles we will have to overcome.

Date

Details

31st May

Rough Informal Energy: The Story of Primitive Methodism

Speaker: Rev Robert Dolman

You can read the text from this lecture or download it as a PDF (124k). The PDF version requires Adobe Reader or a similar viewing application.

Primitive Methodism was founded exactly 200 years ago this month. Castle Street was a Primitive Methodist church until 1932 and it is, therefore, appropriate that the lecture should be given here.

How did it all begin? An American revivalist Lorenzo Dow introduced the idea of open-air evangelistic "camp meetings" in Britain and this fired the imagination of Methodists in Staffordshire.

Despite the Wesleyan authorities' view that such gatherings were "highly improper", the first camp meeting was held at Mow Cop, near Stoke on Trent on May 31st 1807. It was here that Primitive Methodism was formed because open-air evangelism was seen as a return to the authentic ways of early Methodism.

The Primitive Methodists were led by Hugh Bourne, a carpenter and wheelwright, who was expelled from Wesleyan Methodism and joined up with another local Methodist, the potter William Clowes.

The "Prims" grew into the second largest Methodist denomination in Britain, with a reputation for being a working-class peoples' church. That was indeed the background when Methodism was introduced to the Castle Street area in the 19th Century.

14th June

Faith and Global Warming

Speaker: Ray Galvin

Ray will be discussing the environment in general and will give a brief overview of the science of global warming, in simple terms that all can understand.

He will ask what global warming will do to the planet if we don't stop it, how this is a spiritual as well as a political, scientific and economic issue and what resources there are in our faith to help us solve it.

Finally, Ray will look at our options for a solution and what obstacles we will have to overcome.

Getting to the church

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