The Methodists and Covenants MERGED in 2011 in Sweden! Fascinating

 My Mom's Irish-Palatine ancestry had converted to Methodist (and my mom's grandmother was a strict Palatine Methodist against drinking, playing cards and dancing!). My Dad's Swedish-German side was Covenant and also against drinking and playing cards and dancing! wild. 

Yes, the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden and the Methodists were highly similar, and their shared opposition to playing cards stems from a common theological and cultural foundation. [1, 2]

While they belonged to different denominational lineages, both groups were cornerstone members of the 19th-century "Free Church" movement (frikyrkorörelsen) in Sweden. Their cultural and behavioral similarities were so deep that they eventually merged in 2011 to form the Uniting Church in Sweden (Equmeniakyrkan). [1, 2, 3]

The two movements connected through shared spiritual goals, common leadership, and specific moral guidelines:

1. The Common Root: Radical Pietism

The opposition to card playing, dancing, drinking, and theater was not unique to one group; it was a defining trait of Pietism, a revival movement that emphasized personal conversion, a "living faith," and strict moral holiness over formal church rituals. [1, 2, 3]

The Methodists followed John Wesley’s strict "holiness" tradition, which viewed card playing as a gateway to gambling and a waste of God-given time. [1]
The Covenanters (Missionsvänner or Mission Friends) grew out of a Lutheran Pietist revival. They viewed card playing as "worldly" behavior unbefitting of a person who had been spiritually reborn. [1, 2]

2. Deep Historical Ties

The connection between the Covenanters and Methodists in Sweden was highly direct. In fact, a British Methodist minister named George Scott moved to Sweden in the 1830s and sparked the very revival that gave birth to the Covenanters. He partnered with Carl Olof Rosenius (a Lutheran Pietist), and together they founded the highly influential devotional newspaper Pietisten. The early Swedish Covenant congregations adopted many of the lifestyle guidelines, small-group structures, and revivalist preaching styles that Scott and the Methodists championed

Ohio Letters by Irish-Palatine to New Zealand asking about a Canadian sibling!

 I received my 2nd reply from New Zealand - my distant relative! She sent me three letters from a farmer in Ohio who moved from Ireland - he was writing to New Zealand, comparing New Zealand and Ohio to Ireland! He was also strictly against drinking. He said it's a narcotic and destroys anyone eventually if they drink. This was in1886-7. He talked about all the different trees you could grow. He exported his farm beef and crops back to England.

So the Palatine-Irish grew Apple orchards in Ireland and I thought they drank homebrew (I just ordered some cider yeast to ferment some cider from a White Bear orchard). Anyway - John Wesley who created Methodism - he preached at my ancestor's church in Ireland in 1760s - John Sparling. So Wesley said the Palatines drank homebrew and were not religious - but hardworking. I think maybe when they converted to Methodism then they all stopped drinking. hahaha.

"I rode to Ballingarrane, a town of Palatines, who came over in Queen Anne's time... Having no minister, they were become a most eminent, blameworthy people. They had no religion at all, were eminent for cursing, swearing, and drunkenness, but industrious beyond any of their neighbors."

Also the land farming got much harder as they had to keep subdividing their land! They had the same problem as the actual Catholic Irish. In 1821 Christopher Sparling, my ancestor, was murdered by Catholic Irish - because Christopher had built a big German barn and house - and out buildings for farming. He was leasing a 200 acre tract but he could not afford the rent still. Yet because he was Protestant and the owner Lord had kicked off the subsistence Irish - and Sparling had fought back against the Agrarian revolt - he got murdered. He was on his horse on the road with his wife and his wife also fought back. hahaha. 

Anyway that movie Black 47  - I watched it free on Kanopy - and it depicts this struggle between the Catholic Irish and the English Protestants during the famine. The Palatine Germans were caught in between and that's when they all began moving to Canada from Ireland - or New Zealand or the U.S.

So my Mom went to Canada with her grandmother - who showed my mom the farm in Canada - that was in the Palatine community in Canada. The letters I read said they had not heard from Susannah Sparling much at all - she was my mom's great-great-great grandmother (my Mom's grandmother's grandmother). Susannah Sparling had married Rody Hanly who was 100% Irish! My question is "was Hanly Methodist also?" Did he convert from Irish-Anglican or Irish-Catholic to Methodist? Hanly is a classical Irish name - meaning he must be the reason my oldest sister has Strawberry-Blonde Hair!? Wild.

She sent me a Sparling book also - but it's in Apple Icloud and I have to wait for Apple to approve me for password. hahaha. Anyway Sparling means "Sparrow" - in German - referring to a person with lots of energy. Another Palatine name is Switzer - the Swiss Huguenots had fled to Palatine - but then the French Catholics invaded Palatine. Crazy how Europe had so many wars over religion. hahahaha.  About 10% of the Palatines were also Catholic but Queen Anne was sponsoring the Palatines to move to British Colonies as Protestants - so she demanded conversion or be sent back. 1000 Palatines got sent to Jamaica to clear the land and very few survived!