Susannah Wesley: The Mother of Methodism

Susannah (Annesley ) Wesley was born January 20, 1669 and died July 23, 1742 at the age of 73. She was the youngest of 25 children. She was born and raised in London, England by Dr. Samuel Annesley and Mary White. Dr. Annesley preached to thousands during his lifetime and was said to have read between 6 and 60 scripture verses daily.

Susannah met Samuel Wesley when she was 12 years old at her sister's wedding. She married him in 1688 when she was 19 and he was 26. After her marriage to Samuel she moved from her childhood home in London to a rectory in Epworth, England where Samuel had a pastorate. They lived here until Samuel's death in 1735.

Samuel spent most of the family’s finances on his works on the Book of Job. Samuel's inability to manage the finances often left them with many outstanding debts. He spent time in jail because of this but was released after he received help from a friend. Their marriage was far from easy; they survived 2 fires nearly losing their youngest child, Charles in one of them!

Susannah was often left alone while her husband traveled on church business. She had 19 children, 10 died before the age of 2. She reared her 9 remaining children, teaching them important Christian principals of prayer and devotion to the Lord. She placed education and Christian values above all else. She was deeply concerned for their souls. Susannah felt it was important to spend time with each child individually and gave her undivided attention to one child at a time for an hour each day.

Susannah held services in her home on Sunday evenings, often reading both her fathers and her husband's sermons. Before long over 200 people were attending. This was unique because women preachers were unheard of at the time! Susannah's way of teaching had a great impact on her children; the two youngest, John and Charles, founded Methodism because of their mother's method of teaching. Thus came the name "Methodist". John founded the Methodist religion while his younger brother, Charles, wrote thousands of poems and hymns, many of which are still sung today.

Susannah believed that in order for a child to grow to be a self-disciplined adult, they must first learn self-discipline as a child. I have included below Susannah's 16 rules of self-discipline, taken from www.familyofdestiny.com

Here are 16 rules she laid down in her home.

1. Eating between meals not allowed.

2. As children they are to be in bed by 8 p.m.

3. They are required to take medicine without complaining.

4. Subdue self- will in a child, and those working together with God to save the child's soul.

5. To teach a child to pray as soon as he can speak.

6. Require all to be still during Family Worship.

7. Give them nothing that they cry for, and only that when asked for politely.

8. To prevent lying, punish no fault which is first confessed and repented of.

9. Never allow a sinful act to go unpunished.

10. Never punish a child twice for a single offense.

11. Comment and reward good behavior.

12. Any attempt to please, even if poorly performed, should be commended.

13. Preserve property rights, even in smallest matters.

14. Strictly observe all promises.

15. Require no daughter to work before she can read well.

16. Teach children to fear the rod.

Of 9 children, Susannah and Samuel's 3 sons graduated from Oxford University and were ordained by the Church of England. Susannah's daughters either became governesses or were married. Susannah's husband Samuel passed away in 1735 after nearly 40 years of pastoring the church in Epworth, after which Susannah made a home with her children. Susannah Wesley wrote meditations and scriptural commentaries for her own use; she also wrote extended commentaries on the Apostles Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments.

The Susannah Wesley Community Center was built in honor of Susannah offering services to the needy; it is based in Honolulu, Hawaii. This ministry was started in 1899 with a $500.00 donation given by The National Home Missionary Society, what is now known as the Methodist Church. It was started to help both Korean and Japanese immigrant women learn household skills and still exists today.

Susannah passed away on July 23, 1742. Most of her children were with her at her time of death. Her son John bought the land where she was buried and built his home nearby. He positioned his desk near a window facing the cemetery so that he could look out at the grave of the most influential woman in his life.