The First Methodist Conference of Sri Lanka, 1814




          The month of August every year is significant for the people called Methodists in Sri Lanka. The Annual Conference of the Methodist Church meets in Colombo for its annual deliberations. The Methodist clergy and lay leaders representing different parts of the island gather for deliberations on the mission work of the church. The gathering elects the President Bishop, the Vice-President and other officials for a term and is the supreme decision-making body of the Church.

The annual Conference is a great tradition of Methodism, introduced by John Wesley in 1744. John Wesley has recorded the following: "In June 1744, I desired my brother and a few other clergymen to meet me in London to consider how we should proceed to save our own souls and those who heard us. After some time, I invited the lay preachers that were in the house to meet with us."

The first Methodist Conference on Sri Lankan soil took place at the Governor’s House (the building still stands as seen in the two photos) in Galle Fort on July 11, 1814. This building was built in 1683 by the Dutch as a residence for the chief VOC commander, Thomas van Rhee. With the British takeover of Galle Fort, they have used the same building as the Governor’s House.

The path to holding the first Methodist Conference in Ceylon in the Governor's house was paved by the Governor of Ceylon, Robert Brownrigg. The Commandant of Galle Fort, Lord Molesworth, had been instructed by the Governor to provide accommodation as guests of the Governor to the first Methodist missionaries, James Lynch, Thomas Squance, Benjamin Clough, William Ault, and George Earskin, who arrived in Galle on June 29, 1814.

  On July 11, 1814, the five missionaries met together at their "little conference. They did

not have a printed Conference Agenda containing various reports, as we have today. There was only one session to find an answer to the following question: "Who shall go to these several places? It would have been a very hard decision-making moment. It would divide the five of them in different directions. They were to serve among unknown people without being based in one place, to support and be with each other. This is why they wept when departing from each other on July 17, 1814. Sadly, all five never met together because, a year later, William Ault, who went to Batticaloa, passed away.

The decision to divide themselves across the country was made after much prayer and casting lots. Casting of lots? Yes indeed. It was a prayerful act! Accordingly, James Lynch and Thomas Squance Jaffna; William Ault to Batticaloa; George Erskin to Matara and Benjamin Clough to Galle were assigned to the stations. The decision to divide them into both Sinhala and Tamil areas of the island designed the future pattern of Methodism in Sri Lanka. It was a decision made by them in the spirit of John Wesley and Thomas Coke: embrace the whole Island. It is an excellent design that the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka follows for its mission even today.

This year’s Methodist Conference will be held from August 30 to September 3rd at the Methodist College Auditorium, Colombo 3. The Conference must take stock of its self-honesty and sincerity before God in its reports and audited statements of accounts for various funds. Policy decisions will have to be revisited or reconfirmed. The stationing of our Ministers and Evangelists for the year 2024 will have to be approved. As per the decision of the Conference 2022 (made with the recommendation of the ministerial session of the same), the election of a new President Bishop to take office in August 2024 will have to be conducted at the representative session of the Conference on the second of September.

All in all, it’s not only what happens at the Conference but also how the participants will leave the conference to return to their stations. At the end of the first Methodist Conference convened by John Wesley, this is what he felt about it: "We conferred together for several days and were much comforted and strengthened thereby. This is what those who attended felt: "At the close of the conference, the Methodists felt the meetings had been so productive that they agreed to hold similar conferences every quarter." (This did not work out, and the conferences became an annual affair instead.)

May all who read this article be moved to pray for the Methodist Conference 2023 so that those who attend will "feel comforted and strengthened" because it "has been so productive".

 

Rev. Asiri P. Perera
Retired President Bishop
Methodist Church, Sri Lanka

 August 28, 2023

 

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