A Theology of the Sacraments Interpreted by John and Charles Wesley: Including Hymns for Baptism and Holy Communion with Commentary and New Musical Se - Paperback

by S. T. Kimbrough (Editor), Dean B. McIntyre (Editor), C. Michael Hawn (Foreword by)

This volume brings together the theological interpretation of the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion as expressed in the writings and hymns of John and Charles Wesley. -Section 1 addresses the Anglican-Methodist sacrament of baptism as interpreted by John Wesley with excerpts from his Treatise on Baptism. -Section 2 contains commentaries on six of Charles Wesley's hymns on baptism. The commentaries seek to elucidate not only the theological emphases of the texts but also their meaning for the church today. -Section 3 moves to the sacrament of Holy Communion and includes excerpts from John Wesley's sermon "On the Duty of Constant Communion." Charles Wesley expresses similar views in his treatise on Holy Communion, "And upon the first Day of the Week," and in his twenty-two stanza poem "Happy the Saints of Former Days." -Section 4 includes the commentaries on sixteen Wesley hymns for Holy Communion. -Section 5 includes new musical settings for all of the twenty-two Wesley hymns on baptism and Holy Communion included here by twenty contemporary composers from North and South America, Asia, and Europe. In a variety of musical styles they seek to capture the various theological emphases and nuances of the texts.

Author Biography

S T Kimbrough, Jr., holds a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and has taught on leading theological faculties in the USA and abroad. He is currently a Research Fellow of the Center of Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. He has written these books with Wipf & Stock: The Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley; Radical Grace: Justice for the Poor and Marginalized; Participation in the Divine Nature in the Writings of Charles Wesley; May She Have a Word with You? Women as Models of How to Live in the Writings of Charles Wesley, and six books of poetry: Why Should a Child Be Born? Poems for Peace and Justice in the Middle East; Of Death and Grief: Poems for Healing and Renewal; A Seagull Lunch and Other Nature Poems; Snowbound: Poems for Winter Days; Rethinking Christmas; and Living with Coronavirus: Poems for Suffering, Grieving, Dying, and Living.



Dean B. McIntyre is retired as the director of music resources at The General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church in Nashville. He holds a bachelor's degree in organ performance, a master's in post-secondary music education, and a PhD in fine arts. He has taught church music and music history courses, and has over fifty years of experience in church music and worship. He has authored six books, Hymns for the Revised Common Lectionary (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), Song Leading (1989), and A Reference Companion to The United Methodist Hymnal and The Faith We Sing (2009).