Methodist Recorder

File:Methodist Recorder.jpg

The Methodist Recorder is an independent weekly newspaper that examines events and current affairs within the Methodist community in Britain and worldwide. It has been published continuously since 1861, absorbing its major rivals the Watchman in 1883, the United Methodist in 1932 and the Methodist Times in 1937.{{cite news|url=https://sites.google.com/site/methrecmeth/community/movies|title=Our History|newspaper=Methodist Recorder|accessdate=4 October 2016}}

On 13 February 1992 the Recorder published its 7,000th edition and the following year published its first April Fools' Day joke, claiming that there would be a "complete standardisation of Methodist worship" which would require local preachers to wear a "uniform" and be trained in clowning and juggling.

In 2010 the Recorder revamped its design and began to be published in full-colour. Its circulation was estimated at 20,000.{{cite news |last1=Greenslade |first1=Roy |title=Methodist Recorder gets colour and a revamp |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2010/jan/08/newspapers-religion |access-date=20 February 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=8 January 2010 |language=en}}

Although not available online, the Recorder maintains a basic website offering subscription details and a brief outline of the newspaper's contents.{{cite web|url=http://www.methodistrecorder.co.uk/|title=Methodist Recorder|accessdate=4 October 2016}} A full archive in both bound copies and microfilm is available from the Methodist Studies Unit of the former Westminster College, Oxford, now part of Oxford Brookes University.{{cite web|url=http://www.history.brookes.ac.uk/Research/Centre-for-Methodism-and-Church-History/|title=Centre for Methodism and Church History|publisher=Department of History, Philosophy and Religion|accessdate=4 October 2016}} Public access is free of charge (by prior appointment) and a small charge is made for reproduction.

Paul Flowers was a previously art critic for the Recorder, writing the Gallery Notes column.{{cite news |title=Naked truth about those pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2001/mar/12/guardianletters |access-date=20 March 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=12 March 2001}}