Asbury in the Great Smokies

At 14, Francis Asbury, a British harness maker's apprentice, decided to become a preacher. At 26, he came to America. During the 1784 Baltimore conference, where the Methodist Episcopal Church was formed, Preacher Asbury, as yet unordained, was on successive days ordained deacon, elder, consecrated "superintendent" and (despite John Wesley's "strong objections) immediately started calling himself Bishop.

Forthwith the Bishop packed his saddlebags, got on his horse and headed for the frontier--traveling some 275,000 miles over wilderness trails in the southeast, often going hungry and sleeping on the ground.

One spot where early Methodists used to gather to hear their first bishop was on the Cataloochee Trail in the Great Smoky mountains. Last week the historical-minded among southern Methodists, meeting at Lake Junaluska, N.C., sent a petition to President Truman, the Congress and the Department of the Interior. They wanted to clear, restore and officially designate a six-mile section of the Cataloochee as the "Asbury Trail," to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth, Aug. 20, 1745 of American Methodism's most famed circuit rider.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.