ary 2011, Methodist Heritage Practitioners' Forum Spring MeetingEvery 3-4 months I convene a meeting of the salaried managers from the main heritage sites, the Methodist Heritage Practitioners' Forum. This group was one of the first innovations of the Methodist Heritage Committee. This group previously knew of each other, but rarely met or collaborated. Now they get together and email in between: they share successes and challenges and work together on common issues such as improving the shops at their sites and recruiting and developing their vital volunteer teams. At Friday's meeting, they discussed developing educational programmes.
At each meeting, I arrange a guest to provide advice or we visit and tour a Methodist Heritage site. Last September we were able to meet at the John Rylands Library at the University of Manchester where the 'Connexional archives' are held. We were privileged to see some of our treasures from the Methodist manuscript collection, such as Charles Wesley's hymns and John Wesley's sermons and accounts.
This time - thanks to links between the ministry team at Wesley's Chapel, City Road and the Master - we were able to visit the Charterhouse, London. Today it is home to over 40 retired gentlemen known as 'Brothers', but it started out as a Carthusian monastery and was then a Tudor mansion, school and almshouse, and part became a medical college. Its claim to being Methodist Heritage is that John Wesley was educated at Charterhouse from the age of 10.
If you would like to discover more about this special corner of London, tours of Charterhouse run on Wednesday afternoons at 2.15pm from April until August and cost £10 per person. Tours are taken by the Brothers and tickets must be pre-booked. In addition, a number of evening (7.30-9.30pm) Musical Tours are offered throughout the year for groups of 25-50, accompanied by performances by the Thomas Sutton Singers and a 10-minute recital on the restored 1842 Walker organ in the Chapel. Various catering options are available. For more information and to book, visit http://www.thecharterhouse.org/tours.html
This time - thanks to links between the ministry team at Wesley's Chapel, City Road and the Master - we were able to visit the Charterhouse, London. Today it is home to over 40 retired gentlemen known as 'Brothers', but it started out as a Carthusian monastery and was then a Tudor mansion, school and almshouse, and part became a medical college. Its claim to being Methodist Heritage is that John Wesley was educated at Charterhouse from the age of 10.
Charterhouse is far bigger than its narrow gatehouse suggests, with evidence of all the stages of its history in its buildings. The Master took us on a fascinating tour of the site and then we shared lunch in the dining hall with the Brothers, who were warm and generous in their welcome. Many thanks to all at Charterhouse for their kind hospitality. After lunch, with fish in a rich butter sauce and a delicious apple pie, it's fair to say that the male members of our group were planning how to get themselves into Charterhouse in time for their retirement!
If you would like to discover more about this special corner of London, tours of Charterhouse run on Wednesday afternoons at 2.15pm from April until August and cost £10 per person. Tours are taken by the Brothers and tickets must be pre-booked. In addition, a number of evening (7.30-9.30pm) Musical Tours are offered throughout the year for groups of 25-50, accompanied by performances by the Thomas Sutton Singers and a 10-minute recital on the restored 1842 Walker organ in the Chapel. Various catering options are available. For more information and to book, visit http://www.thecharterhouse.org/tours.html
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