Ryan V.J.G. Davis Page 1 24/10/99 Using specific examples discuss the characteristics of effective nineteenth century urban ministry The nineteenth century sees the western world in the throes of the Industrial Revolution � a period of great advance and significant demographic and geographical change. The agriculture-based medieval period in history was giving way to the modern industrial period. This change was something that all sections of society needed to adjust to. Many institutions found this difficult and suffered as a result. The established church was one of them. In England the Church of England found itself stuck in the wrong place and lacking in the capacity to minister to a great many people. The ministry was thus taken up by those not necessarily involved in the traditional churches. These people were more able to adapt to the prevailing conditions and minister effectively. William Booth was a significant evangelist in the Victorian period. His methods were distinctive and effective and his legacy still lives on today in a very visible way. He was the founder of the Salvation Army that still performs very useful and notable work today. Few people in Britain today do not know of the Salvation Army. His was a radical movement that was primarily centred in towns. Although born an Anglican, Booth came out of a Methodist background but soon grew away from that institution. The army metaphor grew in importance to the movement as it developed. The very fact that it was a developmental movement helped its significance and effectiveness enormously. Owen Chadwick in his book �The Victorian Church� provides a useful critique on Booth�s career. Chadwick (287) sees his conversion in 1844 by the Methodist revival, partly due to the American Street preacher, as crucial. Though he had a Nottingham origin, he moved to London in 1849 in the search for work yet in 1852 he became a minister of the Wesleyan Reformers at Spalding in Lincolnshire. His marriage to Catherine Mumford, who he met in London, in 1855 was central to the movement. She was a pivotal figure in Booth�s work and the furtherance of the Salvation Army. Booth�s methods were extreme � playing any honourable trick or antic to win attention. This is perhaps why it was such a success. Mrs. Booth had a firm belief in the equality of women and this is another important characteristic of the Salvation Army that gave them a broad spectrum of support and interest. This lady would minister alone to the prostitutes and drunks across the country. Though Booth was originally a member of the Methodist Conference, in 1861 he left due to their refusal to grant him leave as a travelling evangelist. This gave them leave for independence that enabled their dynamism to reach new heights. They thus were free to preach wherever and to whomever they felt it necessary to do so. The open-air nature of their ministry enabled them to preach to those who wouldn�t go to church. This was a crucial characteristic that enabled their effectiveness to be even better. By 1868 he had thirteen preaching stations (Chadwick p.289) especially in East London. In 1870 he wrote up a constitution which had the general superintendent as the chief of this branch but under the authority of the Conference. This was unsuccessful, as the Conference was ineffective though the general superintendent was effective. In 1875 Booth fixed the articles of faith which enabled him to set aside the decisions of Conference if he so wished. In 1878 the constitution was even further modified giving the head supreme power in the Mission. The extensive use of music to attract the ordinary poor of the urban regions was dynamic and resourceful and calculated to be what would draw in the ordinary person to a Christian faith. The War motif employed by this Christian mission grew in stature as it developed. The War against non-Christian faith was what was promoted. The title of General for Booth was developed from his title of general superintendent. August 1878 saw the first War Congress and the first appearance of the title Salvation Army. Chadwick sees this as the point at which the military drama really began to grow. (291). The chain of command began to become more authoritarian. The uniforms introduced gave them real presence and distinction that enabled them to continue even more effectively the Christian revival. The avoidance of church-like ideas such as the organ and the word �hymns� was crucial in appealing to those who held a significant antipathy towards the church and its institutions. The widespread poverty and destitution of the populace was as great a problem for the church as the general apathy towards the church. As such, one of the primary roles of the church was to provide relief to the poor through charitable actions. Kitson Clark (p. 276) cites a shining example of this � W.A. Fremantle. His parish was that of St. Mary�s in the Marylebone district of London. He was vicar here from 1866-1882. Though Oxford educated and a conservative Church of England vicar, he saw the need to help the poor and acted with great vigour to this end. He was a firm believer that all those within his parish were his responsibility regardless of whether they attended his church or not; he also believed that the laity ought to be given a say in the running of the parish via elected parish councils. The characters he got involved in this were remarkable, a Jewish secretary of the local Charity Organisation Society � Mr. Leon; Octavia Hill who initially managed he poor relief in the parish and who proved so adept that she was asked to perform many other functions and was an important linchpin of the work undertaken in this parish. Fremantle�s Liberal attitudes are attributed to the time he spent at Balliol in Oxford. The work spread through the influence of Fremantle, Samuel Barnett, one of the curates in St. Mary�s, went to St. Jude, Whitechapel which was even poorer than St. Mary�s where he performed sterling work in helping the poor. The temperance movement was also supported, as it was in the Salvation Army. Belgium was in many ways a bizarre anomaly in the history of Europe (Carl Strikwerda p.62). Though the second country in Europe to industrialise, it relied on longer working hours and a large portion of women�s and children�s work. The bilingual situation was also an unusual aspect of Belgian life. Its reliance on coal, metallurgy and textiles made it similar to Britain and Germany but its French culture and languages made it similar to France making Belgium incredibly diverse. Other countries that industrialised early saw the general level of church attendance and thus Christianity fall in stature, the level of the Catholic Church in Belgium remained remarkably healthy. The Counter-Reformation was significant in Belgium and helped Catholicism a great deal. The most significant and crucial factor in the Belgian Catholic Church�s ability to survive was their decision to support independence from Holland, ally with liberals and support a constitutional monarchy. This was around the year 1830. The laity were very much involved here, which was one of the prime characteristics. Much effort was placed into welfare and charitable works. The Christian Democrat party in Belgium was closely linked with the Catholic Church and the welfare organised from the government also helped enable them to gain more power, thus political power for the ordinary people helped garner action. In all, the crucial factor in Belgian cities such as Liege, Ghent and Brussels was the liberal attitude of the parish churches, which caused them to be more concerned about the welfare of the poor than the conservative churches of other parts of Europe. In France, the leaders of the church lamented the rise of atheism within the working class (Thomas Kselman p.167-169). Kselman states that the absence of clergy and churches in the new enlarged urban districts wasn�t the only crucial factor, he also claims that the urban poor resented the church for siding with the owners and preaching resignation to your fate. In France, it was the efforts of the women that really made a difference. The women were leaving the domestic situation to go and lead prayer groups for conversion and for aid in healing. They kept the spirits of many up and the fact that women throughout history have been the cornerstones of religion is not refuted here. In conclusion, the fundamental characteristics of nineteenth century effective urban ministry gleaned from the examples above are manifold. The temperance movement throughout Europe enabled many people to rise out of poverty and despair and give fresh hope. The role of women as never before was vital to the new ministry. The involvement of the laity and the bringing together of the church and the people thus removing the aloofness of the church was crucial in getting people to care. Politically, the liberal attitude of many of the concerned ministers facilitated the work to help the poor. Perhaps the most overwhelmingly important factor in effective ministry was the characters involved, people such as Booth, Fremantle and Olivia Hill were the driving forces behind the new ministry. Bibliography European Religion in the Age of Great Cities edited by Hugh McLeod (1995) published by Routledge (contains the essays by Strikwerda and Kselman) Churchmen and the Condition of England 1832-1885 (1973) by G. Kitson Clark published by Methuen & Corinth Ltd. The Victorian Church (1970) by Owen Chadwick published by A. and C. Black Ltd.
