
Newbeggin Chapel in County Durham, built in
1760, is the oldest Methodist Chapel in the world in continuous use and where
John Wesley himself once preached. I stood in the pulpit he used, now in
the right hand corner of the sanctuary. Facing it is tiered seating which meant no-one could
escape his eyes. Later, youngsters could not escape the eyes of their
Sunday School Teachers, since in order to get employment in a local lead
mine they required a reference from the Sunday School. That employment
gave them a life expectancy of around 47 (15 years less than the national average in 1840), so maybe it was because they
would soon meet their Maker!!. The Victorian stained glass which we admire
so much was set in lead so gained. Plenty to think about there and perhaps
to compare with Third World situations today.

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