They were rich. They were people of influence. And they were committed to Christ. As members of the English leisure class, they were entitled to live the good life. Instead, they banded together to work for social reform. They lived in a small village of Clapham, located five miles outside London. They never adopted a formal name although opponents lampooned them as “the saints.” Years later, someone referenced them as the Clapham Sect and the name stuck. William Wilberforce was their vocal leader, but Henry Thornton (1760-1815) functioned as their chief strategist. Henry was one of the wealthiest people in England and Governor of the Bank of England. He and his wife Marianne bankrolled many of the Clapham Sect projects. They convinced like-minded believers to live in close proximity and “do life together.” They were a diverse group of writers, mathematicians, bankers, lawyers, politicians and clergy. Hannah More, an accomplished playwright and one of their number, likened them to “Noah’s ark, full of beasts, clean and unclean.” Yet they united in a single ambition of “Christianity in action.” They sought to eliminate cruel animal sports, work for prison reform, advocate for humane laws for chimney boys, support Christian mission and abolish the slave trade. The emancipation of slaves was the cause that brought them the most publicity and hostility. They adopted the long view in matters of social reform. They persisted for an entire generation before Parliament voted to abolish slavery in 1833 and then founded a colony for freed slaves.
Henry’s prayer leads us to express gratitude to God not only with lip service, but with our very lives: