Pastor as GBOD Wesley Pilgrim

"It was like the difference between reading a Bible completely on your own, and reading the very best Study Bible with not only the very best commentaries available, but also the contributors to those commentaries available to answer your questions." Teri Crouse, Provisional Elder and Pastor of Milroy UMC in Milroy, IN (Southeast District), participated in the July 13-24 Wesley Pilgrimage to England sponsored by the General Board of Discipleship. The Pilgrimage was led by the Rev. Dr. Steve Manskar, Director of Wesleyan Discipleship at GBOD, and the Rev. Dr. Paul Chilcote, Academic Dean and Professor of Historical Theology and Wesleyan Studies at Ashland Seminary. Other noted experts such as Dr. Phil Meadows, also provided insights to the group. Although open to all clergy and laity, the Pilgrimage is specifically targeted to provisional clergy still within the ordination process, and scholarships to help pay for the trip from GBHEM are available for them. Rev. Crouse received one of those scholarships.

In addition to guided tours at the sites of historical interest related to John and Charles Wesley, the Pilgrims had the opportunity to meet with British Methodist Presbyters (the equivalent of UM Elders) and a British Deacon to discuss differences and similarities between British Methodism and the United Methodist Church, particularly as it operates in the US. The Pilgrims began each day with worship and Eucharist, and ended the days with Compline.

The first part of the pilgrimage was based in Salisbury, where we stayed at Sarum College in the Close of Salisbury Cathedral -- a very special and holy experience. From there, we traveled to Oxford, Bath, Epworth, and Bristol (including Kingswood School). After that, we moved to London, where our stay included a walking tour of many historically important Wesleyan sites, the John Wesley Chapel, John Wesley's house and grave, and evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral (where it had been arranged for the Pilgrims to sit in the Quire).

During closing worship and Eucharist, each Pilgrim shared what the Pilgrimage had meant for him or her and what they would take back to use in their ministries from it. Each person was touched in different, but equally moving, ways by the Pilgrimage. All agreed we had gained invaluable insights, and further, many new friends upon whom we could draw for support in the future. "I was overwhelmed by what John Wesley had acheived; what one man had done with this movement," said Crouse. "I was spiritually renewed and excited to be part of the same movement."