Epworth Affiliated
Epworth Chapel has officially affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. What does that mean? I’m glad you asked! First, a little history lesson. As originally conceived, Epworth was going to be a Nazarene church, but the District Superintendent at the time wasn’t interested in having a liturgical Nazarene church (now College Church, a large Nazarene church in Nampa, Idaho, has a liturgical service). The founding Epworthies didn’t want their congregation to be entirely independent.
The solution was to have two “overseers”. These were leaders in the Nazarene denomination and Anglican Church that had informal authority to advise the Epworth leadership as needed. This kept a foot in both the Wesleyan branch of denominations and the Anglican branch of denominations (yes, there are several denominations that fall under the “Anglican” umbrella). That arrangement lasted a few years before falling apart, leaving Epworth completely isolated.
It is very unusual for a church to be both liturgical and non-denominational. Those who value liturgy tend also to be those who value submission to authority, as well as connection to a larger historical body. Yet Epworth found itself without both. Was there a denomination out there that would allow Epworth to be both Wesleyan in doctrine and Anglican/liturgical in worship? That discussion started in earnest during the last six months of Pastor Brook’s tenure at Epworth. He was ordained in the Nazarene Church and Pastor John was ordained in the Free Methodist Church, so those were the logical places to look first.
The Free Methodist Church has an internal ministry organization called the Free Methodist Liturgical Network, which is a partnership of pastors and congregations within the Free Methodist Church to support liturgical expressions of worship within the denomination. It is not an informal grouping; it is officially sanctioned by the Board of Bishops. The Nazarene Church has nothing similar. That and the very close match between Epworth’s articles of religion and those of the Free Methodist Church (both coming from the same source) made the Free Methodist Church the logical choice for a denomination to join.
Epworth may very likely join the Free Methodist Church in the coming years, but for now, we are taking steps to move in that direction without being obligated. Assuming Epworth does join the denomination, it would be the only English-speaking Free Methodist congregation in Boise. We are excited about Epworth’s future as part of a healthy, growing body within the larger Wesleyan movement
