Old Christ Church

Old Christ Church

The old Christ Church on Frederica was organized by John and Charles Wesley in 1736, but not built until about 1808. It was destroyed by the forces of General Sherman during the War Between the States. For a long while, the settlers of Savannah and St. Simon's Island did not have a church building. Indeed, during the colonial era while Oglethorpe's troops were still on the island (they left about 1742 after winning the land war with Spain and returned to England), open air services were given by John Wesley whose efforts went unattended and unappreciated. The complaints against Charles Wesley included the fact that he frowned on getting drunk and shooting up the town after dark. Brothers, John and Charles Wesley were unsuccessful in acquiring public assistance for the construction of a church building.

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