The West London Methodist Mission was established in 1887 under the leadership of

Hugh Price Hughes Hugh Price Hughes (8 February 1847 – 17 November 1902) was a Welsh Protestant clergyman and religious reformer in the Methodist tradition. He served in multiple leadership roles in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He organised the West London M ...

, a leading voice in Methodism and in Non-Conformity, and has a long track record as a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

ministry and as a spiritual home for "good works". Its early days are very much associated with its founder, Price Hughes, a strong supporter of Britain's

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

. The mission has been instrumental in teaching Methodism, and providing a spiritual and physical base from which such notable Methodists as Lord Soper worked. At its founding it was associated with suffragettes and suffragists, and gave them encouragement and active assistance. According to Charity Choice, a directory of UK charities, under the charity title "West London Mission":

"''For over 100 years the West London Mission of the Methodist Church has been in the forefront of care for some of the London's neediest people. The work now concentrates on the homeless, those with drug and alcohol problems, offenders against the law and counselling. The Mission runs Day Centres and specialist high care residential units. This work relies on voluntary contributions and more information is always available.''"

Hugh Price Hughes’ colleague,

Mark Guy Pearse Mark Guy Pearse (3 January 1842 – 1 January 1930) was a Cornish people, Cornish Methodism, Methodist preacher, lecturer and author who, during the last quarter of the 19th century and the first of the 20th, was a household name throughout Brit ...

, engaged with the artistic and literary scene in the West End. Involved in the

Forward Movement Forward Movement is the name taken by a number of Christian Protestant movements in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and other countries. United Kingdom The term "Forward Movement" is said to have been used for the first time in the mid-18 ...

and in the raising of funds for the

Central Hall, Westminster The Methodist Central Hall (also known as Central Hall Westminster) is a multi-purpose venue in the City of Westminster, London, serving primarily as a Methodist church and a conference centre. The building, which is a tourist attraction, also ho ...

, the mission's base was finally to be

Kingsway Hall The Kingsway Hall in Holborn, London, was the base of the West London Mission (WLM) of the Methodist Church, and eventually became one of the most important recording venues for classical music and film music. It was built in 1912 and demolished ...

in Holborn. Here the West London Mission entered a second defining phase of its life with the Superintendency of Donald Soper (later Lord Soper), under whose control it suffered catastrophic decline. Upon Lord Soper’s retirement the Mission moved its base to its current home at Hinde Street Methodist Church in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

, from where it runs a number of specialist social care ministries. These are in the fields of homelessness and drug and alcohol recovery. It also has a chaplaincy to the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...

. There are two churches in the West London Mission: Hinde Street and King’s Cross. The latter has a significant Chinese-speaking ministry.

Objectives

Historical objectives

Hughes wanted to tackle the poverty in the West End of London and to challenge the rich: both expressions of the Christian Gospel he preached. From its outset, the mission has combined Christian commitment, community, outreach, and social care.

Current objectives

The West London Mission has several mission statements attributable to it. A distillation of these is that it works with the socially and economically disadvantaged in West London, concentrating currently on ''people who are homeless, young, misusing alcohol or drugs and/or in trouble with the law''.

History

The Mission was the birthplace of many initiatives, including: * Establishment of The Sisters of the People by Katherine Hughes, wife of

, a forerunner of the Wesley Deaconess Order * Crèches for working girls * One of Britain’s first hospices for the dying
West London Mission Housing Association
* Daycare centres * Specialist high care residential units * Helping the homeless * Helping those with drug or alcohol problems The history of the mission was written by Philip Bagwell (D 2006) in his book ''Outcast London''.

Superintendents

(1847–1902), from 1887 to 1902. * Rev Dr

Donald Soper Donald Oliver Soper, Baron Soper (31 January 1903 – 22 December 1998) was a British Methodist minister, socialist and pacifist. He served as President of the Methodist Conference in 1953–54. After May 1965 he was a peer in the House of Lor ...

(1903–1998), later Lord Soper, from 1936 to 1978.

References

External links

West London Mission
{{Churches in Westminster Methodist churches in London Social philosophy Churches in the City of Westminster Methodist missions