At this point, we consider ourselves “seasoned travelers.” I am considering beginning a side-bar series called “Living on the Road” – we’ll see. We continue with Asbury’s northern leg of his circuit. I am writing this from our hotel room in Alexandria. When we leave here after breakfast, we’ll be headed for a 2-night stay in Baltimore, MD. For those of you who like statistics:

• We have travelled 1967 miles
• We have bought 44 gallons of gasoline (don’t use these numbers to calculate mileage)
• We have visited over 70 waypoints mentioned in Asbury’s journal.
• We have visited 19 churches – most are active, some closed, some disaffiliated… and worshipped at 2.
• We have made use of the “guest laundry room” at a motel twice (yes, they do exist)
• We have both come down with colds, mine first. I’m mostly recovered and JoAnne is getting there.

Monday, September 8: After our usual complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we left for Chatham… from Asbury’s journal entry of April 10, 1791:

Doctor Coke and myself both preached at Watson’s church; and there was some little effect produced.

Research had revealed that Watson lived in Chatham. And so we visited Watson Memorial United Methodist Church. It was discontinued by charge conference action in 2023. An article in the local newspaper covered the angst of members as they discerned the closing. The building and grounds seem to be well kept up, but there are beginning signs of decay, so I hope the district is keeping a lookout on that. The newspaper article noted that the district was exploring subsequent uses of the building. There is a season for everything.

Following Asbury’s journal entries, we found ourselves in Charlotte Court House. There is a court there, but that is the actual name of this small rural town on the southern border of Virginia. Asbury preached here on April 13, 1791. The Charlotte Court House Methodist Church dominated Main Street (a disaffiliated church still displaying the cross & flame on their sign out front). It was likely founded from a Methodist society in the area visited by Asbury. Both of us were a little perplexed with its architecture. After visiting a couple of historic markers… one that led us to pay a visit to Olive Branch UMC in Gasburg, VA, and subsequently interrupt an Admin Council meeting there… we settled down for the night at Dinwiddie, VA.

Tuesday, September 9: From Dinwiddie, Asbury moved onto Hanover and then Caroline County. Rouzie’s Chapel UMC can be found along that route. While Asbury makes no mention of Rouzie’s, as you can see from their sign they were founded in 1791 and are surely what I call a “descendant church” of Methodist society visited by Asbury. It is a beautiful country church which appears to have undergone some recent renovations. Finding no one there, I tucked a Prologue in a door and we moved on.

Following Asbury’s journal, we traveled through the corn fields of Caroline County, passed through Port Royal and found a quiet spot at a local community park in Colchester. Somewhere between Port Royal and Colchester, Asbury and Coke learned of the death of John Wesley at his home in England, on March 2, 1791. There is a lengthy entry in his journal as Asbury reflects on his old friend and mentor. I shared a brief excerpt of those reflections on In the Shadow of a Prophet’s Facebook page.

After resting for a while in the park, we navigated our way through late afternoon Northern Virginia traffic, arrived at our hotel safely and with a sigh of relief. We found sustenance, did a load of laundry and settled down for some much needed rest.

Peace,
-Pastor Tim