Additional Resources
CHAPTER 2: METHODISM COME TO NEWFOUNDLAND: REVEREND LAURENCE COUGHLAN
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Introduction
In
Chapter 2 of the student resource Expressions of Faith we
follow Jennifer and Sean to Stapleford, England, where they hear a sermon
by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. John Wesley, an Anglican priest,
was also an itinerant preacher, meaning that he travelled from place
to place spreading his religious views throughout Great Britain. In
the early 1750s in Ireland, Methodist itinerants converted a Roman Catholic
by the name of Laurence Coughlan, who became the founder of Methodism
in Newfoundland and Labrador.
If we were to use the Time Pilgrim to investigate the origins
of Methodism in our province, we would visit the Conception Bay area
in the year 1766. It is there that we would meet Reverend Laurence Coughlan,
his wife Anne, and his daughter Betsy. Through connections that residents
of Carbonear had in England, Laurence Coughlan was ordained as an Anglican
priest and sent to Newfoundland, where he also became a magistrate or
Justice of the Peace for the community of Harbour Grace. Eventually,
he also received financial support from the Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel (SPG), an Anglican organization that supported overseas
missions.
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Fig.
1: Laurence Coughlan and his family arrived at Harbour Grace in 1766.
Fig.
2: Laurence Coughlan
Courtesy
Hans Rollmann
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Fig.
3: The Bishop of London authorized travel funds for Coughlan's mission
to Newfoundland.
SPG
Records; United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts; Rhodes House Library. Oxford University.
Coughlan's
Work in Newfoundland
At first, Coughlan experienced little success in Newfoundland. He went
from door to door and organized people into smaller groups led by lay
people. The small groups that their minister formed provided people
with a sense of belonging and dignity, no matter what class they belonged
to in society. Coughlan acknowledged in his 1772 letter to Wesley, "My
preaching in this land would do but little good, were it not for our
little meetings." Eventually a noisy and emotional revival took
place. Coughlan observed that the long time it took for this revival
to occur was different from other revivals he knew in Europe.
THIS
Work began in a very remarkable Manner; not common, as in England,
Scotland, or Ireland. We find the Revival of Religion in England
(which has been carried on for above Thirty Years) began soon after
the Gospel came to the Parts where it had been preached, but this
differs somewhat; for the Gospel was preached in Newfoundland near
three Years before there was the least Appearance of any Awakening.
Coughlan encouraged people to turn away from irresponsible
behaviour, or mere going through the religious motions, to a life of
virtue and personal commitment under what he felt was the guidance of
the Holy Spirit. Coughlan often preached fiery sermons and converted
people on their deathbed, but he also proclaimed what the people perceived
as a hopeful saving message of Christ.
Several converts described themselves as individuals who
attended church regularly but did not see the need for a conversion. Eventually,
Coughlan's preaching encouraged in them a need for a religious and moral
change. Especially women and young people responded. Next, there was
a period of personal struggle under a burden of guilt. Finally, the
individuals were freed from their sin and guilt in a dramatic experience,
called a "conversion," a radical religious change.
According to Coughlan, "Some prayed aloud in the Congregation;
others praised aloud, and declared what God had done for their Souls:
Nor was this only at their private Meetings, now and then, but also
in the great Congregations." Once the revival had started, the
religious experiences took place with a great "noise," so
that "under almost every Sermon and Exhortation some were cut to
the Heart, and others rejoiced in loud Songs of Praises."
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Fig.
4: This Methodist Church, built in 1788 by Reverend John McGeary in
Carbonear, replaced a chapel built by Coughlan. McGeary came to Newfoundland
in October of 1785.
Philip
Tocque, Newfoundland Almanach (Newfoundland 1849); Reprint taken from
Charles P. de Volpi, Newfoundland: A Pictorial Record (n.p.: Longman
Canada, 1972), 28.
Changed
Lives
Conversion
usually followed a religious or personal crisis, but the situations
in which this liberation took place varied greatly: during private or
public prayer, public or private Bible reading, during or after taking
Holy Communion, in a fearful personal situation or even during illness
or on the deathbed. People experienced a great emotional release from
guilt and an abiding sense of peace and assurance.
Several of Coughlan's parishioners, who once had felt trapped
in a credit system that exchanged rum and supplies with fish caught
during the fishing season, broke free from their alcohol addiction and
achieved a greater sense of self-worth and financial and personal independence.
Coughlan observed:
Before
they received the Gospel, they spent much of their Time in Rioting
and Drunkenness; but when the Word took place in their Hearts, many
of them not only got out of Debt, but also had to spare. Here I
would remark, how groundless is that Report, that those People who
grow religious grow poor, or turn Beggers [ sic ].
But
the revival, which was Coughlan's greatest religious success, also brought
about his eventual downfall, especially after repeated confrontations
with the local merchants at Harbour Grace. The merchants claimed Coughlan
verbally abused them, and threatened them with physical abuse. They
also claimed that he withheld the sacraments unjustly. In 1771, Coughlan
was forced to give up his office of Justice of the Peace. Two years
later, he was forced out of Newfoundland by a combined effort of the
merchants, the governor, and his employer, the Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.
By then, however, Coughlan had laid the foundation for
Methodism on the island. Others would continue his work. The weekly
meetings Coughlan organized became even more important after his departure.
These meetings were a thorn in the eyes of merchants and other community
leaders because they established a community of believers that those
in power could not control. In fact, it didn't matter what your social
standing was. Leadership in these groups was measured not in terms of
power and wealth but whether you had a close relationship with God,
whether you could comfort your neighbour, and whether you had insight
into what the Bible meant.
After 1800, Methodists become a religious force in Newfoundland.
In 1925 they changed their name to the United Church. (Note: In Canada,
the United Church came into being through a merger of many Presbyterian,
Methodist, and Congregational Churches. In Newfoundland, the United
Church represented merely a name change.)
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Fig.
5: The Title Page from Coughlan's Account of the Work of God in
Newfoundland about his Experiences in Newfoundland, which he wrote
in 1776.
From
an original of his 1776 book, Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Queen
Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's,
NL.
Questions
- Construct
a timeline based on key events described in the above material. Include
at least 5 dates on your timeline.
- What
impact did Coughlan believe that hearing the Gospel had on the day-to-day
lives of some Newfoundlanders?
- Why
did the merchants of Harbour Grace object to the meetings Coughlan
established? ( Hint: Think about how leadership was defined
at these meetings. Was this a new definition to the merchants?)
