It recalls the day in 1738 when Church of England priest John Wesley attended a group meeting in Aldersgate, London, where he received an experience of assurance of his new birth.

[3][4] This was the pivotal event in Wesley's life that ultimately led to the development of the Methodist movement in Britain and America.

[9] It was there, while someone was reading from Martin Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, that he felt that his heart was "strangely warmed".

[11] Previously Heritage Sunday was held on 23 April (the date in 1968 of the church union which created the United Methodist Church) or the Sunday following that date,[12] but in 2004 the United Methodist General Conference moved Heritage Day to coincide with Aldersgate Day.

In that church's Common Worship service book, published in 2000, Aldersgate Day was included in the calendar as a commemoration of both John Wesley and his brother, Charles.