Barratt's Chapel in Frederica, Delaware

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By the time our forefathers signed their names to the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago, a revival movement shook the walls in the Church of England. The Methodist Movement began in 1729 with John and Charles Wesley. While students at Oxford, the brothers decided with some friends to form “The Holy Club” – a more precise and measured means of studying the Bible and of conducting their lives as followers of Christ.  People who didn’t understand mocked them and called them “Methodists.” 

However, the Wesley brothers broke with the traditions of the Anglican church and preached outdoors to the working class. As their numbers grew, they formed accountability groups. They trained others and sent them out to preach the Gospel. Methodism grew in the colonies as members of the Methodist Societies made America their home. 

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John Wesley sent eight lay ministers to the colonies in 1771 to care for the 600 Methodist believers who had settled in America. However, it seemed as if the movement had hit a brick wall when the winds of revolution filled the air. During the Revolutionary War, only two ministers remained in the United States; the rest returned to England. Of the two lay ministers, one gave up full-time preaching to become a farmer and preached only occasionally. The other was Francis Asbury. By the time he died in 1816, Francis Asbury had ordained over 2,000 Methodist ministers to tend to over 200,000 members of Methodism. 

In 1778, a Methodist Society was formed north of Frederica, Delaware. One of the members was Phillip Barratt, landowner, sheriff, and merchant. In 1780, he donated land so a house of ministry could be built. By the autumn of 1780, Barratt’s Chapel was ready. 

On November 14th, 1784, Phillip Barratt had died a mere 14 days before Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke made their way to Barrett’s Chapel. The two experienced a meeting that would become the impetus for the nickname bestowed upon Barrett’s Chapel: “The Cradle of Methodism.” 

Following the historic Sunday service, the sacraments of Baptism and Communion were administered for the first time by an ordained Methodist Minister on United States soil. Following the church service, the widow Barrett invited the two esteemed ministers to take dinner at her home. It was there that they discussed plans to gather all Methodist clergy on Christmas Day. The Methodist Episcopal Church was formed at the Christmas Conference in Baltimore, becoming a separate denomination. 

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Since it was first built, Barrett’s Chapel at 6362 Bay Road in Frederica has had only two exterior changes: the conversion of two large first-floor windows into doors and the addition of a gable window. Inside, various changes have been made, and some of the chapel’s original furnishings are housed in the museum next to the church. A star marks the spot on the floor where Francis Asbury and Thomas Cooke met for the first time. Barratt’s Chapel is the oldest structure in the United States of America that was built by Methodists for Methodists.  

An anniversary service is held annually the second Sunday in November. The Sunday before Christmas, Barratt’s Chapel opens its doors for a special Christmas service. While the church sits next door to an 11-acre cemetery that is the final resting place of those who were and were not born free, the cemetery is not under the care of the chapel or museum. Graves date from 1785 to the present, and include the Barratt family.

Barratt’s Chapel and Museum is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The museum also houses an extensive collection of books and papers that would delight a serious researcher seeking to learn more about the early history of Methodism in the United States. To schedule a tour, wedding, baptism, or other special event, call 302-335-5544.

While this church was built during the American Revolutionary War, the groundwork these men laid helped our nation count on His provision during good times and bad over the past 250 years of our nation’s independence.

• Rebecca Jones

  Rebecca Jones is a freelance writer who lives in Seaford, Delaware, with her husband Tim and her youngest son—a musically gifted young man named Samuel. She is equally proud of her birds who have flown from the nest: Glenn, Daniel, and Rachel, and loves her role as mother-in-law to Taylor and Conner. She also relishes being referred to by a new title—"Oma." She is owned by her three beautiful kitties -- Shiloh, Fritzie, and Baby -- and plays frisbee with her playmate: a dog named "Ringo."

  Rebecca makes her spiritual home at Abundant Life Church, Donovan's Road, Georgetown, where she helps in whichever capacity she is able and available.

  Rebecca has had work published in trade magazines and in the former "Christian Woman" magazine. "Chicken Soup for the Soul" has published stories in two of their books. She has had short stories published in five different books.

  Rebecca has been a freelance newswriter for Morningstar Publications. She has been a freelance writer for web companies and organizations. In addition, she enjoys voice-over work, cake decorating, painting, and oral storytelling.

  Rebecca is Vice-President of Delmarva Christian Writers' Association -- a local writers' group that usually meets the third Saturday of every month at Abundant Life, beginning at 9:00 AM.

  She is currently working on personal writing projects, which include two plays, a book, a memoir, and a children's book or two. Rebecca can be reached at rebecca.jones.storyteller@gmail.com.