April 21, 1809 — to Brethren Neal and Burneston

Seely Bunn, one of the preachers, was appointed to Baltimore. Evidently Neal and Burneston were prominent laymen in the church at Baltimore, and Asbury needed their help in getting Bunn received there. He takes advantage of the opportunity to make observations on the difficulties he was having with local and retired men.

BATSTO FURNACE, NEW JERSEY

April 21, 1809

[TO BRETHREN NEAL AND BURNESTON]¹

My dear Sons:

Great grace. I cannot command you as my children but humbly entreat you to take another burden and blessing. Seely Bunn² cannot ride a circuit if he had a horse, our stations are full in the Philadelphia Conference; the brethren in Wilmington boldly refuse to receive him, on no other consideration, but inability to support him. I have been visiting these parts in pain, and peace, and power. I heard that there was a wish for another preacher in Baltimore, when conferences are wide in magnitude as [New] York, and Philadelphia, 100, each or upwards; it is not so easy to support them and find them work. My abstinence, my daily labour, and such shocks of opposition, such locality³ in the ministry called travelling; it is very serious. Philadelphia Conference holds 10 or 11 preachers, supernumerary and superannuate without stations, claiming 1800 dollars or 2000⁴ annually. The doctrine is you have no right to locate a man without his consent.

What the end of these things will be possibly I shall not live to see, but I doubt it will not be good. As you are all oeconomy and tho you have wives you have not children. Sister Roberts,⁵ and Bunn are blessed women. I think it providential, as we could not foresee you had but 3 preachers sent from conference. I hope you will receive them gladly. The peoples’ feelings are fine, and so are mine. I told the conference in Philadelphia I was willing to serve as long as I could please, and if not I must be supernumerary as Bishop McKendree brought it out, and he expected to be absent from some conferences if the preachers, and I may say, people do not accommodate themselves to me; but you have obeyed present and absent, you have collected some money. I applied it, some a part, to our chair,⁶ now rendered useful by stiff new shafts and I have bought a horse at 76 dollars out of my own pocket, my own, and reserved the balance of the money over what paid the carriage for the suffering brethren in New England. I am, very dear sons, yours in the Lord

FRANCIS ASBURY

P.S. To Brethren Neal and Burneston. We have need to give ourselves wholly to God and seek the Lord by fasting and prayer that the spirit of the world may be cast out the Church.

Methodist Historical Society of the Baltimore Conference

(Lovely Lane Museum)