Current Plans

Jul - Sep 2010: Author: Rev John Atkinson B.Sc, B.D.
Apr - Jun 2010: Author: Rev John Atkinson B.Sc, B.D.
Jan - Mar 2010: Author: Rev John Atkinson B.Sc, B.D.

Please click on the dates above to view the plan.

Circuit Plans

Introduction

A characteristic feature of Methodism is the provision of a 'Plan'. The plan is in essence no more than a diary of appointments for the group of preachers working within a certain circuit - in practice they are considerably more complex than this and cover more than just the Sunday services.

The need for such a plan comes from one of the major structural differences between the Established Church (and its parent the Roman Catholic Church) with its beneficed vicars attached for an indefinite period to their parish church and responsible for conducting all services there, and the Chapel arrangement in which chapels are grouped into circuits, provide a nucleus of Local Preachers nearly all of whom would be in full-time employment, supplemented by a few 'travelling preachers' appointed by conference, for a limited period (typically 3 years) to supervise and provide full-time pastoral support. Within such a scheme there is need for both these Travelling Preachers (or Ministers) to regularly visit and officiate at the various chapels and for the Local Preachers to take turns, both in their local chapel, and elsewhere.

Quite when the first plan, as such, was drawn up is not known for certain; Leary dates the first mention of a plan to a letter by John Wesley dated 16 February 1780 requesting that Christopher Hopper, one of his assistants at Colne furnish him with a copy of the 'plan' and implying that Hopper had been the originator of such plans within the Colne Society. Certainly in Wesley's journal entry for 8 June 1781, re his second visit to the Island, he states of the Local Preachers: "They speak either Manx or English, and follow a regular plan, which the assistant gives them monthly". However Wesley himself had drawn up a weekly preaching plan for the London preaching places and preachers in 1754.

These plans, originally designed for the convenience of the Preachers, were at some time started to be printed and made available for members to buy. The earliest such Manx plan to survive is that of April-June 1813, and that only because it was issued in facsimile form, as a fund-raising effort, in 1898 - however a handwritten plan for 1800 was recently found. The earliest Primitive plan to survive is that of July-Sep 1824 (i.e. within a year of the first Primitive missioning).

What is contained in a plan

Three obvious components:

A list of the various chapels or other meeting places
A list of the preachers
A diary of places, times and people together with any other special notes (e.g. quarterly collections)