Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia - Background and Formation

Background and Formation

The "Wesleyan Methodist Connexion" (later Church) had formed in Utica, New York in 1843 with a strong commitment to the abolitionist (anti-slavery) movement. Subsequently the Wesleyans became a crucial part of the 19th century interdenominational Holiness Movement which saw itself as raised up to renew interest in Wesley’s teaching about holiness. They are not sinless perfectionists but believe, with John Wesley, that Christians can know the fullness of God’s sanctifying grace in a definite experience subsequent to their conversion.

The beginnings of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Australia may be traced to 1945, when the Rev. Dr. Kingsley Ridgway offered himself as a Melbourne based "field representative" for a possible Australian branch of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of America, after meeting an American serviceman who was a member of that denomination.

Kingsley Ridgway's legacy continued to be felt in the church, with his son, the Rev. Dr. James Ridgway, providing denominational and institutional leadership over many years, and grandson the Rev. Kent Ridgway serving as Southern District Superintendent.

Contrary to a popular assumption, it is not a "continuing Methodist Church," formed as a result of the merger in 1977 of Congregationalist, Methodist and Presbyterian congregations to form the Uniting Church in Australia. It was never a part of the merger negotiations with those bodies that formed the Uniting Church, though some members and ministers, unhappy with the Basis of Union, switched allegiance to the Wesleyans.