This week in Christian history: Missionary who was confidant to FDR, Gandhi dies; 2K killed in battle

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, January 23, 2022

Howell Harris born – Jan. 23, 1714

Howell Harris (1714-1777) | Public Domain

This week marks the anniversary of when Howell Harris, an 18th-century lay preacher who helped spread Methodism in the United Kingdom, was born in Trevecca, Wales.

Denied ordination by the Anglican Church on multiple occasions, Harris was known to engage in lay preaching, conducting worship services at his mother’s home.

“Harris was encouraged in his work by George Whitefield, and later in his life, he preached in Whitefield’s chapel in London,” explained Encyclopedia.com.

“When Whitefield broke with John Wesley over the issue of predestination Harris sided with Whitefield’s Calvinistic concepts. As a result Welsh Methodism was strongly tinged with this doctrine.”