Christianity • Protestantism Elijah Hedding (June 7, 1780 – April 9, 1852) was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1824.

[1] When Abbott began preaching in the neighborhood, his ministry resulted in the conversion not only of Hedding's mother, but his grandmother and other relatives as well, all of whom joined the Methodist Episcopal Church.

There was singing and praying, and Hedding, being a good reader, was appointed to read one of John Wesley's sermons or a portion of Baxter's Call.

The woman of the house, reportedly a Mrs. Bushnell, used to frequently talk with young Hedding privately on the subject of the Christian religion.

He is reported to have said about those conversations (quoted by Bishop Simpson): About six weeks after this, Hedding remained in class-meeting after preaching, when the preacher and brethren, seeing his distress, kneeled in interceded for him.

During the meeting he received spiritual comfort and gave his name as a probationer in the Methodist Episcopal Church on December 27, 1798.

He says of this, quoted by Bishop Simpson: Though only licensed as an exhorter, in 1799 Hedding supplied the place of Lorenzo Dow who had left his circuit.