Charles Wesley Celebrated at Pitts Theology Library
by Valerie Loner
Three hundred years after his birth, and more than 200 after his death, Charles Wesley is still giving Christians around the world a reason to sing.
Charles Wesley
The prolific hymn writer and poet was also coleader of the Methodist movement, along with his brother, John Wesley. Pitts Theology Library at Emory University is celebrating the lesser-known Wesley brother's 300th birthday with an exhibit that commemorates his contributions to hymnody and Methodism. Charles was born on Dec. 18, 1707, and died in 1788.
The exhibit, "Singing Faith: A Tercentenary Celebration of Charles Wesley," is located in Pitts' Durham Reading Room and will be on display through January 3. Library hours are listed online.
The exhibit, which includes items from the Pitts Theology Library Archives and Special Collections and Emory's Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Book Library, features poetic and prose writings, family portraits, and documents from the early years of Methodism. One item that may be of special interest is a first edition of Charles' 1749 hymnal, Hymns and Sacred Poems. Another is a paraphrase of the Psalms in Charles own handwriting.
"Charles Wesley's contribution to Methodism has been overshadowed by that of John, yet without the emotional appeal and solid theology of his hymns, it's doubtful whether the movement would have flourished as it did and still does today," said Pat Ziebart, Pitts' reference librarian.
Ziebart said many Methodists learned much of their theology from Charles' hymns at early ages. The prolific Charles wrote between 6,000 and 9,000 poems and hymns, she added. Many of Charles' best-known hymns are still sung today, including "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," both written in 1739.
Unlike his more well-known brother John, Charles didn't publish many of his sermons. In fact, only two were published during his lifetime, Ziebart said, noting that Charles usually preached extemporaneously by flipping open the Bible and preaching on the passage revealed.
Ziebart said there is still much scholarly work to be done in determining Charles Wesley's contributions to Methodism.
"It was good to explore him as a person," she said. "My goal was to tell his story in a coherent way."