[source: Changing roles of women within the Christian church in Canada, p. 

METHODIST CHURCH SEGREGATED MEN AND WOMEN FROM THE BEGINNING
Wesley believed that segregation of the sexes had been the practice in the early 
Christian Church, and the Moravians, a denomination he greatly admired, used a 
similar small-group model. Classes were restricted to either men or women, 
especially at the beginning of the Methodist movement...
[source: Changing roles of women within the Christian church in Canada, p. 163]