Not really a sect, but a close knit family. It was started in a town near London called Clapham and consisted of a number of wealthy and ardent Evangelicals who knew what it was to practice "saintliness in daily life" and to live with eternity in view. John Venn became their spiritual guide and found leadership in William Wilberforce, the parliamentary statesman. Under Wilberforce's leadership the Clapham friends were knit together in solidarity. At the Clapham mansions they held what they chose to call their "Cabinet Councils". They discussed the wrongs and injustices of their country, and the battles they would need to fight to establish righteousness. They moved as one body, delegating to each man the work he could do best to accomplish their common purposes. As a result a host of evangelical causes sallied forth from quiet little Clapham: The Church Missionary Society (1799), the British and Foreign

(1759-1833)

Leader of the "Clapham Sect." At twenty-five he experienced a striking conversion after reading Philip Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. Prime Minister William Pitt once said he had the greatest natural eloquence he had ever known. Some called him "the nightingale of the House of Commons." Under his leadership the Clapham Sect was knit together in intimacy and solidarity. Under his guidance and leadership this little group was singularly successful in aiding the abolishment of slavery in England, and their emancipation.

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Clapham-Sect, history, Philip, William-Wilberforce[/tags]