Welcome to the MWRC

The Manchester Wesley Research Centre promotes and supports research on the life and work of John and Charles Wesley, their contemporaries in the 18th century Evangelical Revival, their historical and theological antecedents, their successors in the Wesleyan tradition, and contemporary scholarship in the Wesleyan and Evangelical tradition. This includes areas such as theology, history, biblical studies, education, ethics, literature, mission, philosophy, pastoral studies, practical theology, and social theology.

The MWRC is located on the campus of Nazarene Theological College in the Manchester suburb of Didsbury and is affiliated with the Methodist Archives, housed in The University of Manchester John Rylands Library. These research centres provide magnificent resources for students and researchers in this field.

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Contact Us

If you are interested in further information about the Wesley Centre and its programmes, or would like to be placed on the mailing list for information about forthcoming events, please contact the Director at the following address:

Manchester Wesley Research Centre
Dene Road
Didsbury, Manchester
England M20 2GU

MWRC Director
Geordan Hammond, Ph.D.
Email: ghammond@nazarene.ac.uk

Postgraduate Assistant
Chris Foster
Email: cfoster@nazarene.ac.uk 

 

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Glen O'Brien, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer in Church History, Sydney College of Divinity, Head of Humanities, School for Christian Studies, Booth College.

Glen O’Brien is an ordained minister who served in several Wesleyan Methodist congregations between 1987 and 2009. He is a graduate of Kingsley College (where he served as Vice-Principal and Academic Dean), Asbury Theological Seminary (MA Theological Studies) and La Trobe University where he earned a PhD in history. He has taught at Kingsley College, Tabor College (Victoria) and Booth College and has lectured in Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. A member of the Australian Historical Association, the Evangelical History Association and the Wesleyan Theological Society, he serves on the editorial committe of Pacifica theological journal, Crucible online theological journal and Aldersgate Papers. His research has appeared in numerous scholarly journals including The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, The Journal of Religious History and The Wesleyan Theological Journal. Along with Professor Hilary Carey and Dr Troy Duncan of the University of Newcastle he is co-convenor of a research project with the aim of publishing a new History of Methodism in Australia.

The Revd Dr. O'Brien's recent publications include:

“God in the Appendices: Writing History as a Person of Faith,” Lucas Evangelical History Journal new series no. 2 (December 2010).

"Why Brengle? Why Coutts? Why Not?,” Word and Deed: A Journal of Salvation Army Theology and Ministry (November 2010): 5-24.

“Anti-Americanism and Wesleyan-Holiness Churches in Australia,” Journal of Ecclesiastical History 61:2 (April 2010): 314-43.

“Reading Wesley’s Sermons in Edwardian Melbourne,” in The Master: Life and Times of Edward Sugden (Melbourne: Uniting Academic Press, 2009), 109-24.

“They Made a Pentecostal Out of Her: The Church of God (Cleveland) in Australia,” Lucas Evangelical History Journal new series no. 1 (January 2009): 67-99.

“Their Sphere is Among the Wattles: Doug and Maysie Pinch and the Nazarene Mission to the Bandjalang,” Australian Journal of Mission Studies 2:2 (Dec 2008): 45-52.

“Joining the Evangelical Club: The Movement of the Wesleyan-Holiness Churches in Australia along the Church-Sect Continuum,” The Journal of Religious History 32:3 (Sept 2008): 320-344.

“A Beautiful Virgin Country Ready for a Revival of Bible Holiness: Early Holiness Evangelists in Australia,” Wesleyan Theological Journal 42:2 (Fall, 2007): 155-81.

“A Dogged Inch-by-Inch Affair: The Church of the Nazarene in Australia 1945-1958,” The Journal of Religious History 27:2 (June 2003): 215-233.