The Life And Ministry Of Alfred Hewlett
John E. Hazelton, Hold Fast:
We now come to two ministers of the Gospel who loved and preached the truths dear to the hearts of those who have been named, and who, in their day and generation, exercised a wide influence for good, effectually disproving the libel that the doctrines of grace produce supineness and indifference to the needs of men. Alfred Hewlett, D. D. (1804-1885), was during the greater part of his long life Vicar of Astley, near Manchester. It was a neglected place when he first went there; brutal sports and practical heathenism abounded. In the course of time schools were erected and institutions formed for the benefit of the people; he founded and edited “The Christian Cottagers’ Magazine,” and gave lectures on temperance and other topics, besides taking an active part in the movement against Papal and Ritualistic aggression. Few could get through the work he was able to accomplish; for many years he rose between five and six in the morning to pursue his studies and correspondence, and then to visit or preach throughout a long day with scarcely any semblance of weariness. Many young men were trained under his roof for the Christian ministry, some still continuing with us, and their revered friend is ever spoken of by them in affectionate terms. Preaching the Gospel was, however, the work of his life, and in 450 Churches and elsewhere he proclaimed “the present truth” His own words as to his faith are, “Love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost and is the hand of faith, for faith worketh by love.” “Christ, then, is to be preached, the food, raiment, strength, life, all and in all, of a believer, and thus through the invisible agency of the Holy Ghost he is strengthened in faith to rely on God in Christ for eternal salvation and present comfort and to bring forth fruit to the praise and glory of God. This is the uniform tenor of my preaching; and, ignorant though I am in many things, I hope ere I cease so to preach I shall cease to be numbered with the living.
Alfred Hewlett (1804-1885) was a High-Calvinist Anglican preacher and writer. In 1831, he was appointed Vicar of Astley, near Manchester, a position he held for almost fifty-five years. In 1841, he became a key figure setting up St. Stephen’s School. Aside from his polemical and doctrinal publications, he served his flock with a pastoral heart, known for his regular and frequent visits to their homes.
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