WILLIAM & CATHERINE BOOTH (PART 17)

William Among the Churches

In the following weeks, William found the reformers, for all their zeal, to be disorganised and fraught with many of the same problems as the Methodists; so, William and Catherine decided that they would not renew Edward’s generous support. This left William without any income at all, but Catherine spoke only words of encouragement concerning their dreams. She was confident that God would provide; however, the coming months were not easy. William threw his hat in with the Congregationalists.

Challenges at Stockwell Congregational Church

He and Catherine began attending the Stockwell Congregational Church led by the Reverend Dr. David Thomas. Yet William could not reconcile his beliefs with their Calvinist theology; and, although the open door looked at first to be free of doctrinal stipulations, it was not; and, so, William looked to invest himself elsewhere. He soon found himself selling most of his furniture in order to survive; and, in the end, he returned for a stint with the reformers when Edward Rabbits arranged for him to take charge of a small group of churches in the Spaulding district.

A New Position and Long-Distance Relationship

This provided William with a salary of eighty pounds a year—ten shillings a week—raised from the support Edward had originally provided. William took charge of these churches in November 1852. This new position commenced the first period of a long-distance relationship for William and Catherine; and, while they agreed to write once every week, they started sending and receiving letters once daily.