About

Our Beliefs

Wesley Church is a United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church is a worldwide connection of members that opens hearts, minds and doors through active engagement with our world. The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.

John Wesley and the early Methodists placed primary emphasis on Christian living, on putting faith and love into action. This emphasis on what Wesley referred to as “practical divinity” has continued to be a hallmark of United Methodism today. Our spiritual goal as United Methodists is to embody the love of neighbor in a constant and consistent fashion, but when people look at us, all they see is the love of God shining forth from us. This is our understanding of God's grace working in us.

Wesley United Methodist Church embodies these goals through many community outreach projects such as our Saturday Community Meal and Clothing Closet.

Our History

The origin of the Wesley congregation can be traced to its establishment as a Methodist Society in Dover in 1778. Land on North Street was obtained in 1782, and a church was completed there in 1784. Bishops Francis Asbury and Richard Whatcoat, pioneers of American Methodism, conducted services at the “rather nice large brick chapel” on many occasions.

Needing more space, the present site was purchased for a new church. The cornerstone was laid on September 23, 1850, while the building was dedicated the following year, and expanded multiple times since. Wesley has two cemeteries, the original cemetery located on North Street (where Bishop Whatcoat is buried), and Lakeside Cemetery near Silver Lake. Additional information regarding Lakeside can be found under "Life Events" below.

Wesley United Methodist Church looks forward to continue serving the community now and in the future.

Life Events

We offer new members classes a few times per year. These sessions are led by Pastor Christine and co-led by lay leaders in our church. We would be honored to explore the covenant of baptism and membership with you. Also, if you are interested in:

Getting married
Having your child baptized
Using Wesley Church for a funeral and/or funeral meal

Please use our contact page.

In addition, if you would like to contact Lakeside Cemetery located on North State Street about purchasing a plot, please reach out to Lakeside Cemetery, c/o Jordan Shuba at (302) 387-7145