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) served as their chief strategist. Thornton 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 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:
Henry Thornton
We bless you for your preservation of us during the past night; and we desire to acknowledge again our dependence upon you, and our unfeigned obligations toward you. We thank you for having poured down upon us so many blessings of this life; we thank you for our health and strength; for our food and dress; and for all the comforts and conveniences which we enjoy. But, above all, we praise you for the inestimable privilege of being born in a land of religious light and knowledge. For these, and for all your various and great mercies, we would render unto you a grateful heart, and we would endeavor to show our gratitude, not with our lips only, but with our lives; by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you; in holiness and righteousness, all our days on earth. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Peter James served 42 years as the senior of Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, VA — 21 years in the 20th century and 21 years in the 21st century. He retired in 2021 and now serves as Pastor-in-Residence at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Even as a pastor, prayer came slowly to Pete. Read Pete’s story.