May 24th is an important day in the Methodist tradition, when people around the world remember and celebrate John Wesley’s spiritual experience at Aldersgate Street in London in 1738, during which he felt his heart “strangely warmed.” This was a profound awakening experience which had a tremendous impact on the whole movement of revivals around the world. In some places this day is called “Aldersgate Day,” in others it is called “Wesley’s Day,” and others call it “Day of Wesley’s Spiritual Experience,” among many other variants in different parts of the world. This same day is celebrated differently, but always with the same meaning!
The International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU) has been leading a process of “visibly affirming the Wesley tradition in education” as an important strategic priority for the future. In partnership with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM), Southlands College at the University of Roehampton, the Methodist Independent Schools Trust (MIST), and Wesley House in Cambridge, England, IAMSCU just concluded its international conference, which brought participants from Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America to the birthplace of Methodism. On this day, May 24th, 2023, we remember John Wesley’s experience at Aldersgate Street in London, during which he felt his heart “strangely warmed.”
To celebrate this special occasion, IAMSCU is sharing the video of students from Methodist schools around the world, singing the song, “The World is My Parish,” written especially for the joint conference in 2023 and performed by students from five continents. The song “The World Is My Parish” was composed and mixed by Richard Mainwaring, especially for the International Conference of Methodist Schools in 2023, “Transforming Lives.”