Founded in 1889, the Epworth League is a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

young adult association for people aged 18 to 35. It had its beginning in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, at its Central Methodist Church on May 14 and 15, 1889. There was also a Colored Epworth League. Before then, as many as five young people's organizations existed in the Methodist Episcopal church, such as the Methodist Alliance, claiming 20,000 members in 1883; the Oxford League, organized at the Methodist Centennial Conference with a large chapter at Central Methodist Church; and the Young People's Christian League. After discussions of a merger into a single body, 27 persons gathered at Central Methodist to form the Epworth League and adopted a modified version of the constitution of the Oxford League and the motto of the Young People's Christian League, "Look Up, Lift Up." The league, which soon spread worldwide, divided its social service into six departments: Spiritual Life, Social Work, Literary Work, Correspondence, Mercy and Help, and Finance. Local chapters organized Fresh Air Work (day camps for city children), literary events, lecture series, and fellowship gatherings. At its conception, the purpose of the League was the promotion of intelligent and vital piety among the young people of the Church: The League takes its name from the village of

Epworth Epworth originally referred to Epworth, Lincolnshire, a town in England that was the birthplace of John Wesley and Charles Wesley, early leaders of the Methodist religious movement. The town's name has since been used for other places and instituti ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, the birthplace of John Wesley and

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "Christ the Lord Is Risen ...

. Its members are known as Epworthians.

Historical growth

Within 10 years of its founding, the League claimed over 1.75 million members in 19,500 chapters internationally. The League existed in both the Northern and Southern branches of the Methodist Episcopal denomination and also in the Methodist Church of Canada. The headquarters of the Northern League was in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and its organ was the ''Epworth Herald''. The organ of the Southern branch was the ''Epworth Era'', published monthly at

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

Tenn. Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

The membership of the Senior branch in the Methodist Episcopal Church North in 1913 was 593,465, and of the junior branch 218,509. New International Encyclopedia In 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 ...

there were 3846 chapters of the league, with 133,797 members.

Modern era

The original Epworth League existed from 1889 to 1939. After denominational mergers among Methodists in the 1930s, the Epworth League became known as the Methodist Youth Fellowship; it survived in 1994 as the United Methodist Youth Fellowship.

Publications

Bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sa ...

and Northrup, ''Young People's Societies'' (New York, 1900) * ''The Methodist Year Book'' * Dan B. Brummett, ''Epworth League Methods'' (New York, 1906)

In popular culture

* In ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'', set in 1912

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, teenager Zaneeta Shinn declines a date because "it's Epworth League night". * In '' All the King's Men'', by Robert Penn Warren, the protagonist describes the blandness of the column he is hired to write by reference to the Epworth League. * In '' Against the Day'' by

Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, Literary genre, genres and Theme (narrative), them ...

, a saucy secretary tells St. Cosmo, who has entered the office after-hours, that "'this

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

ain't the Epworth League.'" * In Sherwood Anderson's short story/ Winesburg, Ohio piece titled "Adventure," the self-stifled heroine Alice, "who could not have understood the growing modern idea of a woman's owning herself and giving and taking for her own ends in life," joins the Winesburg Methodist Church and every "Sunday evening attended a meeting of an organization called The Epworth League." * In Dawn Powell's 1944 novel, '' My Home is Far Away'', Epworth League meetings are one of the few social gatherings deemed acceptable for the main character, an adolescent girl, and her two sisters. * In the 1934 W. C. Fields movie '' It's a Gift'', when Amelia Bissonette tells her husband Harold that his Uncle Bean has died, she says, "It seemed he was getting better, but he attended the Epworth League picnic, and he choked to death eating an orange." * In '' Across the River and into the Trees'', by

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

, the colonel describes General Eisenhower as "strictly the Epworth League." * In '' The Chill'' by Ross Macdonald, drunken Bridget Perrine bids farewell to Lew Archer with "See you at the Epworth League." *"That remark of yours was pos'tively Epworth Leaguish." Philo Vance, in The Benson Murder Case, by S. S. VanDine. * In '' The League of Frightened Men'', by Rex Stout, Archie Goodwin remarks "I’m just waiting to see you and Nero Wolfe and the Epworth League prove it on him."

References

External links

Epworth League:
A United Methodist Association for Young Adults
Epworth League Institute:
2011 Global Conference for the Epworth League
Epworth League Handbook (2011)The Epworth League: its place in Methodism – a manual
by Rev. J.B. Robinson, D.D., PhD
The Efficient Epworthian
by Dan B. Brummitt {{Authority control Epworth League Epworth league Religious organizations established in 1889 Youth organizations established in 1889 United Methodist Church Youth organizations based in the United States Christianity in Cleveland Christian youth organizations