wfn.org | Charismatic Aldersgate Conference

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3106 notes).

Note 3103 by UMNS on Aug. 6, 1996 at 16:14 Eastern (5016 characters).

SEARCH: charismatic, Aldersgate, conference, annual, Holy Spirit,
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CONTACT: Linda Green                             389(10-71P){3103}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470              Aug. 6, 1996

Aldersgate Conference embraces
working of the Holy Spirit

     NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Allowing the heart to "Fan into Flame" is
how some leaders characterized the actions of more than 2,500
charismatic United Methodists attending a four-day Aldersgate
conference here on the working of the Holy Spirit, July 31-Aug. 4.
     Participants from across the United States, Russia and the
Philippines attended Aldersgate '96, the 18th conference on the
Holy Spirit. This annual event is the United Methodist version of
the charismatic movement that has swept through mainline
Protestant denominations for more than 30 years.
     The conferences are the annual gatherings of people involved
in Aldersgate Renewal Ministries, the working name of the United
Methodist Renewal Services Fellowship Inc., a network of United
Methodists who pray and work together for the denomination's
spiritual renewal through the power of the Holy Spirit. 
     Aldersgate conferences include lively worship, hugging,
praying, singing, dancing, and exclamations of praise to God. They
provide workshops to equip believers for witnessing and teaching.
     The fellowship, headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tenn., is an
affiliate of the denominationwide Board of Discipleship through
the Upper Room Program Section. The board does not support the
organization financially. It is financed through donations from
its network of supporters.
     The fellowship "is not adversarial and it moves in the grace
of God by the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about renewal in
the church," said the Rev. Richard M. Burns, a general evangelist
for Aldersgate Renewal Ministries and a founding member of the
Aldersgate movement. 
     Unlike some caucuses in the denomination, Aldersgate members
are "apolitical" and have the freedom to make individual decisions
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he said.
     Although the Aldersgate ministry and conferences are United
Methodist in origin and follow Wesleyan tradition, the worship
services are reminiscent of a Pentecostal revival meeting.
Participants are uninhibited in their celebration of the Holy
Spirit, practice healing rituals and are open to all of the
spiritual gifts including speaking in tongues. 
     More than 150 United Methodist churches have embraced the
charismatic style of worship, but the Aldersgate message has not
caught on in the church at large.
     "This conference is the best kept secret in Methodism ... and
the best thing happening in the United Methodist Church," said the
Rev. Gary Moore, executive director of Aldersgate Renewal
Ministries.  
     Jeanne Becken, a member of an interdenominational church in
Knoxville, Tenn., believes Aldersgate is a secret because "it is
too good to be true." She said the movement "unites everyone with
the love of Jesus and is about the glory of God."
     According to Tony Santiago, from Bayshore United Methodist
Church, Tampa Bay, Fla., "Aldersgate is not going to be a secret
much longer. It is going to explode." He said he gets a spiritual
recharge from Aldersgate.
     Moore said the high attendance indicates the spiritual hunger
in the church. "People are looking for something that has life and
vitality." 
     "Aldersgate encourages a genuine encounter with God without
going outside the denomination," he said. It helps fill the
spiritual void for people by offering worship that is full of life
and points to a commitment to Jesus, he added. In contrast some
traditional United Methodist worship services focus on "the right
liturgy" and people are "not provided opportunity to make their
relationship right with God."
     The movement is not opposed to liturgy, he said, but "it
tries to revitalize the worship experience with the expectation of
God's real presence and anticipation of the ministry of the Holy
Spirit within the worship service."
     For Sarajane Blanchett of Charlotte, N.C., Aldersgate '96 was
surprising. She said after visiting worship services in various
traditions, she has found that most United Methodist services are
conservative. 
     At Aldersgate, the United Methodists "are full of energy and
spirituality. They are caught up in it and full of emotion."
     Joseph Awotwi, a member of Resurrection United Methodist
Church, Durham, N.C., is happy that people here "are not inhibited
as they are in a typical worship service in the United Methodist
Church."
     He said "many people in churches would cheer their favorite
football team with enthusiasm and be uninhibited, so why not be
uninhibited and cheer for God?"
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