CHAPTER Two

ORIGINS OF OUR FAITH

he United Church of Canada is built on the foun-

dation of several church traditions. The Canadian

iii . ¥\/\ TPresbyterian, Methodist, and Congregational

Churches overcame many obstacles in successfully reaching the objective of a united church. While our national history

draws from three church traditions, the history of the Lot 16 United Church stems from the roots of Methodism and Presbyterianism. Thus, an exploration of the origin of these two traditions was a starting point in charting the journey of the Lot 16 United Church. The second step was tracing the introduction of Methodism and Presbyterianism to Prince Edward Island. The third step was tracing the two faiths to Lot 16, and their union at the local level.

«:43.» Imam

Ma.

The Ritformation was a religious movement that gave birth to Protestantism. The Reformation began in 1517 when Martin Luther, a Ger- man monk, protested certain practices of the Roman Cath- olic Church. VVIthin 40 years, Protestantism was established in nearly half of Europe. (World Book, Vol 16, p.186.)

ORIGINS OF THE METHODIST FAITH

he Methodist tradition was born within

the folds of the Church of England and was never originally intended as a separate religion. Over the centuries, intolerance, per- secution, and continued strife marked the development of the Christian religion. The Protestant Reformation had broken the authoritative hold of the Roman Catholic Church, but differences within the dissenting group were soon to add to the strife. The Puritans evolved when a group within the Church of England desired to have all

remaining papal traditions removed.

The 1700s witnessed the beginning of the Age of Reason. “Former distrust of man’s reason and human culture as seen in the traditional emphases on depravity, original sin, pre-

17 ORIGINS OF OUR FAITH