In 1784, the founding bishop of American Methodism, Francis Asbury, created Circuit Riding. It required pastors to travel by horseback across the vast emerging frontier. Some preaching circuits took six weeks to complete one rotation. By 1839, there were over 3,500 traveling preachers. Bishop Asbury is one of the equestrian, terra-cotta statues on the Boston Avenue United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Another is the first, U.S. born Methodist bishop, William McKendree. The 1929 building is a stunning, Art Deco design. On top of the limestone and granite façade is a 225 foot, glass and metal tower with a stylized sculpture of praying hands at the pinnacle.
