I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? – Isaiah 43:19a
Dear People of St. David’s,
Last Friday about thirty-five of us gathered in Allen Hall to watch the movie, “A Great Awakening.” It was a wonderful evening, complete with a popcorn machine and a velvet rope entrance.
The film is about the religious movement which swept colonial America which is generally referred to as the “First Great Awakening.” Some of the figures who were instrumental in this period were John and Charles Wesley (the founders of Methodism), Jonathan Edwards, and the preacher who the movie focused the most on, George Whitefield.
The Wesley brothers and Whitefield (pronounced WHIT-field) all came out of the Church of England in the 1700’s, which is by and large known to have been a low-point for Anglicanism. It was a time marked by spiritual stagnation, extraordinarily long-and-boring preaching, and a pervasive dour sentiment.
Of course, it wasn’t ALL bad. The Church of England in this time also marshaled great missionary efforts in many countries, pushed for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire as part of the Gospel message, and had some notably wonderful preachers, pastors, and teachers. St. David’s was one of the beneficiaries of the missionary zeal of this time. We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the passion of that day to plant churches in the outer reaches of the colonies.
All this and, out of the gloom of the 18th century Church of England rose these extraordinary preachers that set ablaze the Great Awakening. They spoke with great passion, called the people to repentance and holiness of life, and woke up a sleepy religion. Of course, many people flocked to them and huge crowds began to surround them.
…And the established church… wasn’t exactly excited about it!
There’s a moment in the movie where Whitefield goes to a Church of England parish church, somewhere in the British countryside, and ends up getting thrown out in the middle of his sermon! His message, and his delivery of the message, did not complement the Anglicanism of the day to say the least.
The film highlights the unlikely relationship between George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin. Of course, Franklin was famously nonreligious—and sometimes outright irreligious! But, as the owner of the largest newspaper in colonial America, Franklin became the “publishing house” for Whitefield’s sermons, and their friendship grew from there.
In the movie, Franklin credits Whitefield as being one of the matches that set off the Revolution. His preaching on the freedom that Christ has given each of us individually primed people for the realization that together we should be free from the tyranny of a king who ruled across the Atlantic. For Whitefield, the Good News of Jesus Christ sets us free, and that was very good news indeed for colonialists who were ready for a new life of liberty in this land.
There’s another scene in the movie, where Whitfield arrives in Philadelphia by boat, straight from England, and ends up preaching a sermon to tens of thousands of people in the streets. It was a stirring scene, and I thought to myself as I was watching it, “There would have absolutely been people from St. David’s, Radnor in that crowd.” Our forebears were there to hear Whitefield preach—I just know it! —and they were among those whose faith was being awakened.
I sensed that while watching the movie. I didn’t know how right I was!
Our Parish History and Archives Committee has a letter from The Rev. William Currie, the priest of St. David’s Church at that time, to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel—one of those missionary efforts of the Church of England that was so instrumental in our founding. This letter seems to be an addendum to the annual “state of the church” report of the Rev. Currie to the society, and this addendum is entirely consumed with the presence of Whitefield in Philadelphia in particular, and the American colonies in general.
Here is the opening of the letter, transcribed exactly, with all the colonial flourishes:
“Radnor, July 7, 1740.
Revd. Sir:-
You have here enclosed an acct. of ye state of my two congregations from May 1739 to May 1740. It may perhaps be somewhat surprising to ye Honble [sic] Society to find so great a difference between this and ye last acct I sent you; But did they know how much pains and Labr ye Revd. Mr. Whitfield [sic] has lately spent among us to Rob us of our character and then our hearers, their wonder would immediately cease. This strolling preacher what by a musical voice, by an agreeable delivery, a brazen forehead, impertinent asseravations and impious imprecations upon himself, if what he says be not true, has raised such a confusion among the people of this province as I believe will not be laid in haste, and (which I am troubled about) has made a very great rent in all the congregations belonging to the Church of England…”
Later in the letter he calls Whitefield a “mad man” and a “Mad Enthusiast” whose followers are “Craz’d Brethren.”
So, to be clear, the Rev. Currie does not seem to be much of a fan of the Rev. Whitefield!
Historically, this all makes sense, and for me personally, it sheds a lot of light on our parish’s past as a microcosm of our nation’s history. Whitefield and the other monumental preachers of the Great Awakening were incredibly exciting to many of the people of that era, and they flocked to hear them, and they were deeply moved by their message. This letter shows us that the people who worshipped at St. David’s, Radnor were among those who were so moved. The message of these preachers was so different from what the rest of the church was communicating—both in the words they were saying, and in the power and emotion that was behind those words—that they were seen as a threat by much of the established church. Our priest, the Rev. Currie was part of that group of clergy who were enraged by the novelty of this movement, and by how successful these preachers were in their backyard.
The history here is fun. I love this stuff! But the story is old as time: Things change. That change really excites some people and really threatens and enrages other people.
This is true in the world, and it is true in the church. God works in so many ways, to so many different people, and we are each only privy to just a sliver of that activity. I understand why the Rev. Currie was so fearful and upset. He had given his life to the church as he knew it, and the Rev. Whitefield and the other preachers of the Great Awakening were threatening what he knew the church to be.
I also understand why the people of the colonies, and of Radnor itself, were so taken by the Rev. Whitefield, his message, and his passionate oratory. It was a profound reminder to those people that God is real, that God is truly active in the world, and that God really desires for people to turn towards Him. Many of them had known the church to be a place devoid of emotion and feeling, and in the Great Awakening their hearts were being “strangely warmed.”
Not every novel thing, or every glittering thing, is of God but God is always moving. To keep our eyes open to God’s movement is a great act of prayer, a great joy, and a great way to walk through history into the present.
Peace,
The Rev. Rick Morley
Rector
Image: Photo of the Parish History and Archives committee’s copy of a reproduciton of the Rev. Currie’s letter to the Society for the Propogation of the Gospel, July 7, 1740, in which he complains about the Rev. Whitefield.
Published on August 7, 2026.