Methodism is described as being born in song; discuss the role of Essay

Methodism is described as being born in song; discuss the role of hymnody in the theology and practice of Methodism - Essay Example Young John was travelling to Georgia as a preacher when a big storm struck the ship, threatening the lives of the travellers. While most of them including John were worried about the prospect, a group of German Moravian Christians sat calmly through the whole period singing devotional songs (Galli et al 2000). In the end the whole party arrived safely in the United States, but it appears that the calm faith of the Moravians, their devotion, and their singing had an impact of John Wesley. This could have been one of the reasons why John brought in the concept of hymnody into the prayers of the Methodist Church. Other authors also share this belief regarding the role of hymnody in Wesley’s and the Methodist Churches’ reliance on songs. The book, ‘A panorama of Christian hymnody’ states that his contact with the German priests also inspired him to learn their language and to translate many of the German hymns into English (Routkey & Richardson 2005). This ferv ent hymn by John Wesley is an indication of his deep rooted belief in the power of songs in prayer. â€Å"O for a thousand tongues to sing my great redeemer’s praise, The Glories of my God and King. The Triumphs of His Grace† (Wilkinson 1992). The use of the words ‘a thousand tongues’ and ‘sing’ is indicative of this core belief of the Methodist church as founded by Wesley. As mentioned earlier, the Wesley brothers practiced an evangelical form of preaching and began to use hymn books in their weekly gatherings usually in homes and other areas not belonging to the church (Creamer 1848). There are also reports that this practice along with audience participation came in for extensive criticism from many quarters in England during that time. But his practice of Friday gatherings in order to sing the praise of the Lord began to be noticed and many other communities began