Programs**

Sermons and Services

Simon can easily transport your Sunday service back in time, creating a full hour-long early Methodist or Anglican service, complete with period songs, liturgy and even sermons in the style of John Wesley, George Whitefield, William White and others. Simon has promised not to let his sermons run his usual two to three hours in length.

*This is a perfect opportunity for a pastoral vacation—let the laity handle the morning details and Simon will lead the service! (Of course, if your curiosity won't keep you away, you can sit quietly in the back—your secret is safe with Simon!)

TIME: approximately 60 minutes

Class meetings

If you're looking for that special presentation for your luncheon, dinner or evening programming, then a Class Meeting is just right. Simon will enter your room as if it were 1780,  and your group were a fledgling Methodist society class.  You will participate in a time of all things Methodist: early songs sung to their original hymn tunes, a little bit of testimony, and of course some good stories and  a few laughs. Your pianist, your leader, and even your stained glass windows may be chided, but it's all in good fun. This gives you a window into what our ancestors may have experienced before Methodism became a denomination.

TIME: approximately 30-45 minutes

Testimonies

Ideal for your Anniversary or Heritage Sunday, this “testimony” will fit right into your sermon slot. Right as the Gospel lesson finishes, Simon will burst onto the scene, apologizing for arriving late. What he doesn't yet realize is that he's over two centuries late!

After some spirited dialogue between Simon and your pastor (don't worry; it's all scripted and you have very few lines!), Simon will be encouraged to tell of what led him to the Methodists. What ensues is a combination of testimony and history, telling an individual and a group journey from religious melancholy to spiritual fire.  Revive your congregation's understanding of its history, along with its fervor for the future, all in one special visit!

TIME: approximately 25 minutes

Love  Feast Service

Since John Wesley did not want Methodists to administer their own sacraments, society members went to other churches to take the Eucharist. But for their own fellowship and spiritual communion, Methodists employed a Moravian tradition known as the Love Feast. “Members” of the society receive “tickets” to the feast. Gathered together at common tables, members share bread and water amid a service of prayer and song. It is a unique, simple yet meaningful way of sharing in the fellowship of believers, and drawing closer as a community.

TIME: approximately 30 minutes

Watch Night Service

While the Watch Night service originally was established as an alternative to drunken New Year carousing, it took on a much stronger prominence in the American Methodist tradition. This is a late evening service that brings prayer to the fore, combining with song and celebration. A more serious service, this was used during the Revolution in times of need, and will provide your congregation with a more simple means of returning to their Methodist roots.

TIME: approximately 35-40 minutes

 

**While many of these services are designed for the Methodist tradition, there are also Sermons and Services in the Anglican tradition available, as well as Evening Prayer services of a shorter nature. Please contact for more information.