The Moravians

As a young man, John Wesley came to Georgia.  It was 1735 and James Oglethorpe was carving the city of Savannah into existence.  And while there were significant things which happened as Wesley went back and forth from Savannah to St. Simons Island, one of the most significant moments took place on board the sailing ship, The Simmonds.  On board with John Wesley and his brother, Charles, was a group of Moravian Christians.  Their intent was to establish a Moravian community in the new colony, but their intentions like those of Wesley to convert the Native American Indians did not bear fruit.    

What they did do was to have a powerful spiritual impact on the young English missionary.  As the ship sailed across the Atlantic there was a violent storm which broke the mast off the ship and threatened the safety of those on board.  During the storm Wesley feared for his life and the Moravians calmly sang hymns and prayed.  Wesley saw in these believers a deep inner faith which he also saw himself as lacking.    As we go through life, we do not always see in the moment the power of the present in changing our future.  

Such was surely such a moment for Wesley.  The witness of these unafraid to die Moravian Christians and Wesley's disappointing work in Savannah sent him back to England a broken man who was so unsure of his faith that he was ready to give up preaching.  Had the Savannah experience with all of its attendant moments not happened, John Wesley may not have made the trip to Aldersgate Street where as a man desperate for God, he had his heart strangely warmed.  The Savannah experience made him ready for the Aldersgate Street transformation and the Aldersgate Street transformation set in motion a spiritual stream that still has the power to make the broken whole.