Edwin Harvey (1865-1926) was a Methodist minister and leader in the

holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emph ...

. His emphasis on communal living led to the foundation of the

Metropolitan Methodist Mission The Metropolitan Church Association, also known as the Metropolitan Methodist Mission and Metropolitan Evangelistic Church, is a Methodist denomination in the holiness movement. The Metropolitan Church Association has congregations throughout the ...

, which supported the

Burning Bush Colony The Metropolitan Church Association, also known as the Metropolitan Methodist Mission and Metropolitan Evangelistic Church, is a Methodist denomination in the holiness movement. The Metropolitan Church Association has congregations throughout the ...

in Texas.

Early life

Edwin Harvey was raised in a pious Methodist home in Chicago. His father Daniel Harvey "was a deliveryman in Chicago, and supplemented his income each summer by selling household products, such as cooking utensils, to downstate farm families." While doing this, Daniel Harvey distributed Gospel tracts to those with whom he conversed. Edwin Harvey started his career operating a chain of hotels in the same city. He had an experience of the New Birth and shortly thereafter, he began to teach theology classes, eventually becoming the secretary of Chicago's Methodist youth organization. Harvey became passionate about

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

, which he learned from his father. In the 1880s, Harvey began to hold prayer meetings in Methodist homes throughout Chicago, where he met Marmaduke Mendenhall Farson. Des Plaines Camp Meeting in 1884, Farson had a conversion experience too after which Harvey and Farson became close friends who worked together in Christian evangelism. In 1890, Edwin Harvey married Gertrude Ford.

Work in the Rocky River Conference of the M.E. Church

In 1890, Edwin Harvey and Marmaduke Farson built a church in the Rocky River Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. While Farson served as the pastor, Edwin Harvey became the

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

superintendent. In 1894, Edwin Harvey acquired property in the northwest side of Chicago and constructed the Metropolitan Methodist Mission church for US$50,000. The mission offered cooking and sewing classes and a

tent revival A tent () is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over, attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...

was held, in which five hundred people approached the altar and prayed at the

mourner's bench The mourners' bench, also known as the mercy seat or anxious bench, in Methodist and other evangelical Christian churches is a bench located in front of the chancel. The practice was instituted by John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church. ...

es there. The Sunday School directed by Edwin Harvey had a weekly average attendance of 800 children, with many being immigrants of Norwegian, Swedish and German backgrounds. The Metropolitan Methodist Mission became characterized for the aid its provided to immigrants. Harvey earned respect in the Methodist community and the Des Plaines Camp Meeting chose Edwin Harvey as its secretary. Beverly Carradine (1848-1931), an evangelist and social reformer from the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

was welcomed to preach at the Metropolitan Methodist Mission. He was known for his preaching on dress standards and attacked gambling. His preaching led to many of those who attended Metropolitan Methodist Church to seek an experience of

entire sanctification Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...

Intentional community

The Metropolitan Church Association held a camp meeting in 1902 in Buffalo Rock, Illinois. There, Gertrude Harvey offered to sell her home and donate the proceeds to the Metropolitan Church Association; she sold her wedding ring, silk dresses, and fancy hats as well. Others followed suit, which resulted in over US$100,000 being donated to the Church. The Metropolitan Church Association's ministry expanded to include a Bible college, orphanages, missionary training home, and several churches. Many of those who sold their homes moved to the Bible college, which was the initial thing that helped in the formation of the communitarian character of the Metropolitan Church Association. In 1904, the ''Burning Bush'', which had a circulation of over 100,000, taught a community of goods. Edwin Harvey and Gertrude Harvey said that in the last days, God was calling people to lay "down their money and their reputations and their lives." Harvey himself sold the eleven hotels he owned, which gave the Metropolitan Church Association a considerable amount of capital. After the Metropolitan Church Association moved its base to Waukesha, Harvey "left the actual direction of the community in the experienced hands of F.M. Messenger as superintendent." Harvey, who served as the secretary-treasurer, was known as a "softhearted man" for his welcoming of any poor person, orphan, or alcoholic into the community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Edwin 1865 births 1926 deaths Clergy from Chicago Methodist ministers Methodist theologians 19th-century Methodists History of Methodism in the United States