Monday, June 1, 2026

It is the 1st of June 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

A happy Monday to you, as is our custom, we head to the mailbag- and to Wisconsin- Gillespie territory and Eric- he writes:

 

I live in Kimberly, Wisconsin, and in a park about a block from my house. There's this historical plaque. Aside from the potentially uncomfortable history of the "mission to the Indians," I've always been curious about the name Methodist Episcopal. Was it a significant movement? Someone obviously thought it was important enough to put up this plaque 100 years later.

 

Ok- so, first Kimberley, Wisconsin (where they surely put cheddar cheese on Apple Pie) is in the Appleton area- just south of Green Bay, where the bad guys play football, and home of onetime Ram Logan Bruss.

 

So- Eric sent me the image- it’s a plaque on a rock that reads: On this ground, then called Smithfield, the First Methodist Episcopal Church between Lake Michigan and the Pacific Ocean was dedicated Sunday, September 16, 1832, as a house of worship and school for the Oneida Indians.

 

Ok- let’s start with the Oneida Indians- yes, Eric, there is an uncomfortable history here. “Oneida,” you might know as one of a few things: it is the city in upstate, central New York near Syracuse. Yes, the story of the Oneida Community remains a favorite Weekend Edition- about the Christian Commune that gave us the fancy silverware. But it all comes from the Oneida Indians, who were one of the six nations of the Iroquois, who were stripped of their lands, going from 6 million acres to about 4,500. There was a Mohawk preacher named Eleazar Williams who helped negotiate with the U.S Government for land in your area, so in the 1820’s they emigrated to your neck of the woods.

 

Being the early 19th century and the frontier, there were also warring bands of missionaries- these were called the “First Christian Party” and the “Orchard Party”. The “First Christian” was Episcopalian, and the Orchard was Methodist.

 

Now, you might or might not know the difference. The Episcopalians and Methodists are cousins- the Methodists were founded by the Wesleys as they were coming out of the Church of England, which, in America, was called the Episcopal Church (Anglican was a bad word at the time of the Revolution). The Methodists were low church- fit a little more with the new American ethos and would eventually, along with the Baptists, become the primary frontier groups.

 

So why does it say “Methodist Episcopal”- well, this is a branding issue. Technically, “Episcopal” is not synonymous with Anglican- Episcopal means “ruled by Bishops” and as the Methodists believed in bishops, they could technically call themselves “Methodist Episcopal”- and many did. If you know the AME church- that’s “African Methodist Episcopal”.

 

It was, in some ways, a branding issue. A little while ago, the not-so-great owner of my Angels baseball team rebranded us as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Ugh. (We are the California Angels if I had my way- it’s how I grew up). But it was taking something familiar and something else new and trying to say “yeah, you know us… we’re Los Angeles and Anaheim” in the same way that the Methodist Episcopal were really Methodist and not Episcopal in the sense of “Church of England”.

 

But the marker is a fascinating memorial to a time in American church history- to the unfortunate relocation of Indian tribes, to warring missionaries, and the formation of a church body in your neck of the woods.

 

As far as the “From Lake Michigan to the Pacific Coast”- that’s a large distance, and the Methodist Episcopal Church would expand, ultimately forming new bodies- like the “United Methodist” that brought many of the hyphenated church bodies under one roof- a 20th-century phenomenon.

 

The plaque, in 1938, is an interesting year- this was likely part of the New Deal public projects that saw markers go up all around the US as historical reminders and as work for those put out of work by the great depression.

 

Thanks, Eric, for listening, for the question, and for the picture. You can send me your questions- pictures, recipes, silly team names… to danv@1517.org.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and 1 Corinthians, and still in the Pentecost spirit:

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 1st of June 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who was also once a Mohawk preacher- but on account of a mistake with his flobee… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who's gonna make the same joke, we don’t call them Indians… they are “Guardians” I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.