The Clapham Sect – A Company of Friends

William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was the Member of the English Parliament who led the campaign to abolish the slave trade in England. A committed Christian, Wilberforce received the following note from the aging John Wesley:

…unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you?

Wilberforce’s forty years of public life and activity were filled with one moral and religious project after another. In addition to his abolition work, he was consistently involved in church work which included the Church Missionary Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society, the School Society, the Sunday School Society and others. His public philanthropic efforts were many, including relieving the suffering of the manufacturing poor and French refugees while always working actively in reform movements addressing such injustices in hospital care, asylums, infirmaries, and penitentiaries. A great public reformer, Wilberforce was also a strong family man and deeply disciplined in his dedication to Jesus Christ.

What’s little known is that he had an amazing circle of friends.

Throughout history groups of men and women have banded together to promote causes they believe in. When abolition was defeated in Parliament in 1789, Wilberforce and his closest friend, Henry Thornton, called together such a group–the Clapham Sect, as it became known. This informal group of friends included Charles Grant and Edward Elliot, brother in law to William Pitt. William Smith, Granville Sharpe, James Stephen, Zachary and Selina Macaulay, and others joined these “Saints” in the village of Clapham, a prosperous suburb five miles from the heart of London.

The common bond that held these friends together was “the desire to apply their faith in Jesus Christ to personal, social, political, national and international matters.” Making no claim to be theologians, they worshiped together, prayed together and studied the Bible seriously, believing that they were representatives of God’s kingdom on earth and faithful stewards of all God had given them.

Richard Gathro said the Chapham Sect shared these characteristics:

1. A common commitment to Jesus Christ and a clear sense of calling.
2. A commitment to lifelong friendship and mutual submission.
3. A thoughtful pursuit of causes marked by careful research, planning and strategy.
4. A friendship that was inclusive and focused on essentials. (Wilberforce, for example was Wesleyan and his closest friend Henry Thornton a Calvinist.)
5. A long view on completing projects. Abolition of the slave trade took over 20 years.
6. They saw no dictonomy between evangelism and social action. Their magazine, The Christian Observer, exemplified this.
7. Their faith was integral to all of life…family, career, friendship and more. They allowed no compartmentalization.
8. They made family life a clear priority and delighted in each other’s marriages and children.
9. They enabled one another. They recognized each other’s passions and supported one another in them.
10. They worshiped both privately and publicly, gathering twice weekly at the Clapham Church.

(Source: C.S. Lewis Institute Report, Summer 2001. See article by Richard Gathro)