Teach me.

[banished]

Hello,

Is the reception of the consecrated wafer in the eucharist to be the receiving of Christ himself (Roman Catholic), or in rememberance like most Protestant churches?

Do the Methodist still follow Wesley's list:  No drinking, No gambling, No Worldly Games, No bargaining at the market, Sunday is the Lord's Day, etc  I forgot the rest of the list?

As a life-long Methodist/United Methodist, I've NEVER even heard of "Wesley's list", let alone of "following it".

tandemlady

Yes, you probably only know of "new school" Methodism, and of course the "old school" will most likely have followed the Wesleyan standards. In other words, Christians are behaving quite a bit different nowadays.  Last year was Wesley's 300th birthday, and there is a book out titled, "How John Wesley Changed America"     

[ex cathedra]

while the free"will" methodist minipulate emotions Much like billy Graham was noted for.  so one thinks he or she was not a believer untill thses emotions were displayed which moved the free will to come to a alter call and accept Christ .
as if thats  scriptual.( sarcasim intended )

yet of course billy grahams manipulation was even better he included members of his own gang that would come down first
all teary eyed for the alter call.
yea that was scriptual to.(saracsim intended)

They believe in infant baptism, they believe Jesus is LORD...  they sing praise and worship songs, they do not lift or clap hands during.  They keep attendance each Sunday, women can be ushers, they confirm at about the age of 13.  I've never seen an altar call there.  They take communion, and they have women pastors.

My daughter joined the Methodist Church and my best friend was a PC in the Methodist church before getting saved.  If you have any questions specifically, I can ask one of them. Peace.

Kensington,
I'm sorry but your knowledge of the United Methodist Church is limited and filled with errors and misconceptions.

The United Methodist Church's primary statement of belief is found in the Apostle's Creed, which is recited regularly during most "formal" or "traditional" worship services. The Nicene Creed is also occasionally recited.
 
Even in most "traditional" services, members of the congregation are free to lift their hands in praise and to say "Amen" when led to do so by the Holy Spirit, however this practice is most common during "contemporary" services.  During contemporary worship services, the congregation members are strongly encouraged to clap and sing and raise their hands in praise.

As far as "Altar Calls".......sometimes it is as Wolfet said, a "general" invitation to pray at the altar...but there are also many "Altar Calls" which deal specifically with accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior or repentance and rededicating our lives to Christ.  

In the UMC, infant baptism is an act by the parents and congregation to "bring the child up in the knowledge and love of the Lord".  This baptism does NOT insure salvation for the child after they reach the age of accountability.  However, if/when the child accepts Christ as his/her personal Savior, they may or may not be re-baptized.  IMO, most DO choose to be re-baptized but the UMC regulations do not require it.  

Baptism may be done by "sprinkling", "pouring", or "immersion"----it is totally up to the person making the decision to follow Christ.  However, most UMCes do NOT have a baptistery, so immersions are traditionally done at other venues.

Most UMCes have strong Sunday School and Youth programs, however this varies greatly depending upon the size and resources of the local church.

Organizationally, the local churches are "grouped" into areas called "Conferences".  Each Conference has a "Bishop" and each Conference is divided into "Districts" which have "Superintendents".  "Conferences" meets annually to "appoint" the clergy to the local churches.  "Conferences" are members of larger area groups called "Jurisdictions".  The "General Conference" is the National organization and it meets every 4 years to review/revise the rules and regulations of the UMC.

The United Methodist Church was founded by John Wesley and "Methodists" got their name from the unusual "methods" of John Wesley.  Other Wesley-tradition denominations "broke off" from the Methodist Church and are much more conservative in their practices (Holiness, Mennonite).

John Wesley was one of the first church leaders to welcome women as ordained pastors.

HTH,
Tandemlady

[fcadcock]

Also a life-long methodist here.  I grew up in the church that my grandfather built and recently moved to a larger church in a new town, also a united methodist church.  I can't say that I have ever heard of "Wesley's list."  One of the things I like most about my church is that it has always held a very honest and tolerant view of things such as drinking.  My pastor has gone so far as to remind me (not the congregation, this was a conversation at my home) that Jesus turned water into wine, not wine into water.  We don't believe in being drunks, but we will gladly speak to each other in the liquor store. 

I left a large southern baptist church I attended in college after I heard the pastor jokingly point out that his facebook picture showed him drinking a glass of spiced cider at a party he attended at my home. I was ashamed at the hypocracy I saw there when an adult could not even admit to having a glass of wine in front of his church.

Side note:  As a bit of trivia, it's interesting to point out that the Welches juice company got it's start when a man (Mr. Welch) decided to start a company making grape juice for communions at church.  Mr. Welch was a methodist and began selling his juice to the methodist churches in his area.  When you go to a methodist church today, the only grape juice you will find there will be Welches grape juice.