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MAY

 20, 1759 --England. This Sunday, John Wesley goes to hear Rev. John Berridge preach, and he writes, “The text was, ‘Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.’ When the power of religion began to be spoken of, the presence of God really filled the place. And while poor sinners felt the sentence of death in their souls, what sounds of distress did I hear! The greatest number of them who cried and fell were men, but some women and several children felt the power of the same Almighty Spirit, and seemed just sinking into Hell . . .. Numbers wept without any noise; others fell down as dead; some sinking into silence; some with extreme noise and violent agitation. I stood on a pew seat as did a young man in the opposite pew, an able-bodied, fresh, healthy, countryman. But in a moment while he seemed to think of nothing less, down he dropped with a violence inconceivable. The adjoining pews seemed shook with his fall. When he fell, ... I felt our souls thrilled with a momentary dread, as when one man is killed by a cannon ball, another often feels the wind of it.”

20, 1775 --Georgia. George Lisle (Leile) is ordained the first Baptist Negro in America. Henry Sharp, a Deacon in the First Baptist Church in Savannah has freed him that he might preach the Word of God.
   In 1778, he will establish the first Negro Baptist Church near Savannah, and when his former “owner” dies in 1783, he will borrow money to go to Jamaica to avoid re-enslavement by the Deacon’s children. He will repay this money acting as an indentured servant.
     In Jamaica, he will preach on the streets in Kingston and at the racetrack. Five years later, four people will meet in his rented room and in 1789, he will erect a chapel in Kingston. By 1792, there will be five hundred converts.
     He will establish a missionary enterprise that will dispatch forty missionaries to Africa within the next fifty years.
     Mr. Lisle is a missionary nine years before Adoniram Judson is born, and four years before William Cary is baptized.

20, 1824 --Switzerland. English Methodists have been instrumental in bringing revival to the canton of Vaud, but a law is passed today which officially sanctions intolerance here.

21, 1382 --England. William Courtney, Archbishop of Canterbury, has called an ecclesiastical assembly of notables at London to “purify the land from false doctrine.” The doctrine to which he refers is that enunciated by John Wycliffe. Today, an earthquake occurs. The terrified participants wish to break up the assembly, but the Archbishop sees in the earthquake a favorable sign meaning the purification of the earth from erroneous doctrine.

21, 1471 --Germany. Albrecht Durer is born the second son of Albrecht Durer, the Elder. The Elder Durer has left Hungary to live in Nuremburg. While his father is a goldsmith, the younger Durer will devote his life to art and will become a friend to the Reformation and a devoted friend to Martin Luther.

21 - June 8, 1526 --Switzerland. At Baden, a disputation takes place between the Old Church party and the Zwinglians. As it has been thought dangerous for Zwingli to go because the Old Church party has meditated his death, he will not attend, but will maintain close connection with those of Zurich who will speak for him, and he will give them daily instruction.
     The speakers and audience are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, and both sides will claim victory, but in 1528, Zwingli will be in Bern and will play a prominent role in the formal introduction through magisterial action of the Reformation into that city.

21, 1536 --Germany. A meeting has been called at Wittemberg to arrive at an agreement between representatives of Upper Germany and Switzerland concerning the Lord’s Supper. The meeting was called on May 14th at Eisenbach but the Swiss having already planned not to attend that meeting but rather to stand by the Basel Agreement, excused themselves citing brevity of time and length of journey. Today, however, a large representation of South Germans arrives at Wittemberg, among whom are Martin Bucer and Capito. On August 31, 1543, Luther will respond in a letter that he has broken off all relations with them, declaring he will pray and teach against them until his end.

21, 1536 --Switzerland. In Geneva, the General Assembly composed of citizens here, votes in favor of the Reformation, thus making Protestantism the official religion.

 

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