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| James Creighton |
My
Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather, James Creighton, was a seeker of
truth and dedicated his lifetime to religious endeavors.
Born in Ireland in
1737 or 1739 (records conflict), he graduated from Trinity College in Dublin
and was ordained into the Church of Ireland in 1764. He was appointed to a
curacy in the Cathedral Church.
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| Cathedral Church |
At that time a curate was a person responsible for the care (cure) of souls in a parish, so in essence, James was the parish priest. Sincerely devoted to truth, his ministry left him with questions, as the Church of Ireland had a wide range of beliefs, from Catholicism to Protestantism.
James wanted a more definitive understanding and began to
correspond with John Wesley (co-founder of the Methodist Church) in 1773. There
is evidence of multiple communications between them and a few are still in existence.
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| Letter from John Wesley |
James’ role as a parish minister
became increasingly controversial as he drifted towards Methodism. After
much soul-searching, he became fully converted to the teachings of John Wesley in
1776 and commenced an evangelical ministry in the parish of Swanlinbar near
Londonderry.
This change of heart, which he proselyted to his parish, met opposition
from church leadership. One existing letter from a church leader by the name of
W. Martin warned James of “excessive zeal”.
A letter from John Wesley during
this time period encouraged James to remain in his troubled curacy in Ireland
until “our great Shepherd” called him to go elsewhere. Although this “call” is
not documented, in 1783 James moved to London to
act as one of Wesley's clerical helpers.
He was named as a member of the Methodist
Conference in the 1784 Deed of Declaration.
After
John Wesley's death, James continued his ministry at the John Wesley’s City Road
Chapel preaching and administering communion to the Methodists of central
London.
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| City Road Chapel |
