Anthony Elia, director of Bridwell Library, was invited to give two lectures at the World Methodist Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden, this past August. The conference—held every five years in a different location—was attended by more than 1,200 delegates from across the globe, and each assembly is guided by a different theme. This year, the theme was titled “On the Move” and described as:
an occasion that deepens faith, bonds together, creates energy for growth and discerns future contours of ministry, service and leadership among the world family of Methodist peoples, churches and conferences. Our main themes are migration, pilgrimage and illumination/guiding lights.
Elia, with audiences exceeding 200 people, presented on the history and curation of Methodist museums, with a particular focus on the collections of the World Methodist Museum, now located at Bridwell Library.
The collections originate from the now-closed museum in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. The museum, founded in 1956, held one of the largest collections of Methodism and was overseen by the World Methodist Council (WMC), a global consortium of denominations from Cuba to Korea. The collections narrate the history of Methodism from its birth in the 18th century and exhibit a range of materials, including portraits of the early founders, rare books and manuscripts, and even John Wesley’s traveling pulpit.
The WMC Archival Committee announced Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, and SMU Libraries as the sole recipients in April of 2021, largely due to Bridwell’s ability to ably preserve the collections and its longstanding history with holdings related to Methodism. In what is believed to be the largest single acquisition by Bridwell in the library’s history, the museum’s collections were transferred in May. In a WMC statement, Robert J. Williams, Retired General Secretary of the United Methodist Church General Commission on Archives and History, says, “I am relieved and excited that the collection will remain intact and under the care of the Bridwell Library. All who care about this collection can be confident that its future impact for faithful ministry in the Wesleyan tradition is assured.”
Interested in seeing the collections for yourself? Visit the exhibit located in the Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Galleries at Bridwell Library, where artifacts such as Wesley’s pulpit are currently on display. For more information about the 2024 World Methodist Conference—as well as recordings of the services—can be found on the conference website.
This post was written in collaboration with Fiona Graybill. Fiona is a senior from Dallas, studying English and World Languages, with specializations in Arabic and Russian. On campus, Fiona is a member of the University Honors Program and serves on the Libraries Student Advisory Board. This past summer, she spent two months studying Arabic in Oman through the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center located in Washington, D.C.