The journal of the Reverend William Impey, 1838-1847 : a critical study of his work and theology
- Authors: Owen, David Rhys
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: Impey, William, 1818-1896 Methodist Church of Southern Africa -- Clergy -- Biography Methodist Church -- Missions Missionaries -- Biography
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1243 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009691
- Description: William Impey (1818-1896) came to South Africa as a Wesleyan Methodist Missionary in 1839. He held various missionary and colonial appointments until 1860 when he succeeded William Shaw as Chairman of the Albany and Kaffraria District and General Superintendent of Wesleyan Methodist Missions in South-East Africa. Impey's major contribution was in the provision of education for the indigenous peoples of this region, especially as President of Healdtown (1868-1878). This institution eventually became one of the most highly thought of mission education academies in South Africa. To date little has been known of the life and work of William Impey despite his senior position in South African Wesleyan Methodism. J Whiteside's History of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of South Africa, the last comprehensive history of South African Methodism, published in 1906, only devotes a few lines to Impey. He does however make further reference to Impey's work in his section on education. The Methodist Archive at Manchester University, which contains the personal records of all 19th century Wesleyan Methodist ministers, also has very little information about Impey. The reason for this relative lack of information is that he resigned from the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1878 on doctrinal grounds. Impey came under the influence of 19th century liberal theology and eventually drew the conclusion that he could no longer accept the doctrine of 'eternal punishment'. He believed that the only honest thing for him to do was to resign from the Wesleyan Methodist Church, which he believed required its ministers to adhere to this doctrine. He was accepted for ordination by the Anglican Church and served as a deacon in 1878 and then as a priest until his death in 1896. Impey's journal affords the reader an opportunity to have a glimpse into what life was like for a 19th century missionary living and working in South Africa. Perhaps its particular value lies in the many detailed entries Impey made about his personal spiritual experiences. The aim of this thesis is to place the life's work of William Impey in its historical and theological context in the belief that this will enable us better to understand the 19th century missionaries. It is hoped that this study will make a further contribution to our understanding of both 19th century missionaries and the times in which they lived and worked.
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- Date Issued: 1993
The work of the Reverend James Cameron of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society from 1829 to 1835
- Authors: Van Heerden, Gary Paul
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: Cameron, James, 1800-1875 Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society Methodist Church of Southern Africa -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1245 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009726
- Description: The name James Cameron is not a familiar one. Despite being one of the missionary pioneers of Methodism in southern Africa, serving for more than forty-six years in various districts and being elected as chairman of two of these districts, very few people have ever heard of James Cameron. Barnabas Shaw says of Cameron that he "excelled in preaching the great truths of the gospel, and applying them to the heart of sinners".¹ Whiteside describes Cameron as a "remarkable man ... well read in most things".² W.B. Boyce pays Cameron an even greater tribute: In my day, as a preacher and as a theologian, he was unequalled in South Africa; and I do not think that he was second in these respects to any of his brethren in England.³ Notwithstanding the high esteem in which he was held by prominent peers, Cameron is mentioned only in passing in a few secondary sources, and to date has not been the subject of academic research. The reason for this is not clear. He was well educated, read and wrote extensively, and most of his correspondence has been preserved. Cameron's Journal is very well written, containing some beautiful poetic sections. It is a personal record of a missionary coping with peculiar and difficult circumstances, and a record of how determination, courage and faith enabled Cameron to overcome seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Cameron's recording of his struggles help fill out our understanding of missionaries and their tasks and problems in the nineteenth century. I believe that so important a figure in South African Methodism should be examined and deserves a definitive study. The aim of this thesis has been to provide a reference to his work in the western Cape, possibly to form a basis for closer historical scrutiny. ¹ Shaw 1840:232 ² Whiteside 1906:374 ³ Boyce 1874:179-80.
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- Date Issued: 1993