Circuit rider (religious)
Circuit riders, also known as horse preachers, were clergy assigned to travel around specific geographic territories to minister to settlers and organize congregations.[1] Circuit riders were clergy in the Methodist Episcopal Church and related denominations, although similar itinerant preachers could be found in other faiths as well, particularly among minority faith groups. They were most prominent during the early years of the United States, from 1784–1830, and were part of the Second Great Awakening revival movement.
Modern Methodist practices[edit]
As well as being constantly on the move between the churches in their charge, Methodist ministers were regularly moved between charges, a principal known as itinerancy. Although most charges in the United States now consist of a single church, the tradition of itinerancy is still relevant in contemporary American Methodism and in most Methodist Churches worldwide.[7] Although not moving as frequently as in the past, the average U.S. United Methodist Church pastor will stay at a local church for 2–5 years before being appointed to another charge at the Annual Conference (although technically, every pastor is assigned to a charge every year, it is just usually the same one). In British Methodism, ministers are normally appointed to a circuit for five years (again, they are stationed there annually by the Conference); the Conference may not station someone beyond this period without an invitation from the Circuit Meeting for that minister to remain in the circuit, but it is unusual for a minister to stay for longer than seven or eight years in one circuit.
In the contemporary United Methodist Church, a minister serving more than one church is referred to as having a "(number of churches) point charge".
In culture[edit]
In retrospect, the circuit rider became a romantic figure and was featured in a number of novels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Two of these novels are Edward Eggleston's The Circuit Rider[13] and Ernest Thompson Seton's Preacher of Cedar Mountain.[14]
A circuit rider is also a character in the Newbery Award–winning novel for children, Caddie Woodlawn, set in western Wisconsin in the 1860s.[15]
During the 1970s, prior to its sign-off message, Richmond, Virginia, television station WWBT broadcast "Justice and The Circuit Rider", a rural preacher appearing on his mount, Justice, and presenting a brief parable using props from his saddlebag. These spots also appeared on the Richmond ABC affiliate WXEX, now operating as WRIC-TV just after the end of "Shock Theater". In these short films, the host was identified only as the Circuit Rider from Cobbs Creek, Virginia, at the end of the three-minute segment. The preacher was William B. Livermon Sr., who served several Virginia churches during his lifetime before passing away in 1992.[16]
Inspired by the story of Catholic circuit rider Pierre Yves Kéralum, author Paul Horgan wrote a fictionalized account of the priest's last days titled The Devil in the Desert (1952).[17]
Autobiographies[edit]
The first-person accounts of pioneer circuit riders give insight to the culture of the early United States as well as the theology and sociology of religion (and especially Methodism) in the young nation. Quite a few circuit riders published memoirs. These are generally available in the collections of United Methodist seminary libraries. The United Library of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (Evanston, Illinois) seems to have the largest collection of these writings, including over 70 items.[18]
Through his role as chairman of the United Methodist editorial committee in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the latter 1970s, the historian Walter M. Lowrey spearheaded a project, A History of Louisiana Methodism,[19] which includes material on the church's extensive network of circuit riders.[20]
With the advent of Google Books, several memoirs became available on-line. Some circuit rider memoirs available through Google Books include:
In addition, St. George's Methodist Church in Philadelphia recently digitized the diaries of circuit rider David Dailey.