We worshipped at St. George’s Church before leaving Philadelphia Sunday morning. I was invited to try out the pulpit… but as you can see, the result was that the church emptied before I reached the platform. The raised pulpit was a later addition and was not present when Asbury was serving there.

Sunday, September 14, 2025: After leaving Philadelphia, we travelled on to Trenton, Princeton, Kingston and Elizabeth NJ. At this point in time, Asbury is presiding at many conferences, he reminisces on how his ministry has changed over the years:

Sunday, 22. I preached in Trenton, on Joel 2:17. Several preachers exhorted, and the Lord made sinners tremble. Eighteen years ago I often slipped away from Philadelphia to Burlington one week, and to Trenton another, to keep a few souls alive: I had then no conferences to take up my time and occupy my thoughts; and now—what hath God wrought!

We attended to the business of the conference with a good spirit. In the course of our sitting we had some pleasing and some painful circumstances to excite our feelings.

Asbury’s calendar turned the page to June, 1791 as we arrived in New Rochelle, NY to settle down for the evening.

Monday, September 15, 2025: This proved to be a busy, tiring day. The mileage we covered was typical of other days, but we had 17 waypoints to cover today. My confession is that I skipped some. To understand… some of the waypoints I had marked on our map were points of interest, not necessarily connected to Asbury’s circuit. Today, we darted in and out of New York and Connecticut. The towns seem to morph from one to the other, with no clear delineage between boundaries. Add to this the unfamiliar terrain of sharp curves combined with steep rises and falls – and it made for a stressful drive, both for driver and JoAnne, my trusty navigator. Despite those challenges, there were some bright spots before we settled for the night in West Haven, CT.

On June 3, 1791, Asbury passed through the township of Pound Ridge in Westchester County, NY. The photos above are of The Community Church in Pound Ridge, it is and has always been Methodist… but according to their online history, being the only church in Pound Ridge, many years ago they changed their name to note that they were welcoming to all. We were greeted by Kristin, the church secretary, who was kind enough to give us a tour and answer questions concerning the church’s history.

From Pound Ridge, NY we traveled to Wilton, Redding and Newtown CT. From Asbury’s journal entry on June 5, 1781:

Rode in the evening twelve miles over rocks and uneven roads to Newtown: I found multitudes of people in a Presbyterian meeting house.

This may not be the meeting house used by Asbury, but it could have been. This is typical of early America, where often there was a central meeting house that was shared by denominations – sometimes holding day-long worship with traveling and local preachers of mixed denominations. Often, Asbury records accounts in his journal of preaching alongside Episcopal, Presbyterian and Baptist pastors.

Our last stop for the day was Stratford UMC, in Stratford, CT. It was mid-afternoon when we arrived, and after office hours. I tucked a Prologue through the door. This is a large campus, clearly connected to Asbury’s visit on June 6-8, 1791. Note the weather vane on top of their steeple. Asbury’s journal entry about Stratford:

Wednesday, June 8. We rested at Stratford; and had meeting in brother Peck’s house: finding that most of those who attended were serious people, I spoke on our blessed Lord’s words, Matthew 11:28-30; it was a time of comfort to the few seekers and believers present.

We ended the day, checked into our 15th hotel room to rest up for another similar day of miles and waypoints on Tuesday.

Peace,
-Pastor Tim