Dear Editor,
I have just received August’s en.
I am writing to warn you, I suppose, (if you have not already been made aware of it) of the extremely sad irony that in the same edition in which you give news of the Methodist Church’s latest unbiblical decisions, you feature the life of William Hartley. Your article makes brief reference to his connection with the Primitive Methodist Church at the bottom of column three.
What kind of influence he had was described in the review your paper carried by Robert Oliver of Change and Decay by David Young, published in 2017. The review headed ‘Sad Experience’ and the book tell you all you need to know to understand that there is a direct connection between the two stories you carry this month.
I much regret not writing to the publishers as I intended when I read their book recently.
Yours sincerely,
Colin Reasbeck By email
Dear Colin, thank you for this fascinating letter! Our review of the book was published in June 2018 and can be accessed online (www.e-n. org.uk) The reviewer, Robert Oliver, does state that the author identifies three key figures in the liberalisation of Methodism, and one of them is indeed William Hartley. The extent to which Hartley was conscious of how one Methodist college lecturer he helped fund was relatively liberal is unclear from the review. It would be fascinating to know more! Thank you – Ed.
