New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-03-21
NETWORK NJ. f. CONFERENCE.
OPENING sEssIoNs-METIODIsM PAST AND PRESENT
COMPARED BY BISHOP FOSTER

OPENING sIoNs-METIIODIsM PAST AND PRESENT
COMPARED BY BISHOP FOSTER.
The scmi-annual Methodist Episcopal District
Conference Of the NewYork District held Its first session
Yesterday afternoon In the Twentyfourthst. VI. H.
Church in this city, with NJ Dec. Crawford Presiding
Elder and Mr. f. Washburn as Secretary About 100
members the Conference present The principal
business of the afternoon the renewal OF the licenses
OF the local preachers IN the New-iork District ana
"pasEg the character Of local elders and local dcacons
During the afternoon debate took place upon the point
whether or not local preachers license cOuid oe re-
newed in the absence OF the applicant BY reference TO
the records Of the last Conference the Presiding Elder
decided that the presence of the applicant was necessary
to such renewal unless written excuse had been prev
ousIy sent TO the Conference. The examination OF can
didaes for office OF deacon postponed until this
morning at o o'clock.
At the evening session, Bishop r. s. Foster delivered
an address upon The Present OF Mcthodi9 conrnstel
with It's Past" lie said that the enthusiasm which FOR
mcry resulted in great revyas due In largo part 10
the moral and social Of that class OF people o
which the Methodist Church formerly addressed it's eff
forts The Church in Its beginning largely com
posed OF poor and uncducated men and women ana IT.
work lay almost exclusively among the ignorant and de-
graded whom religious experience brought as great
change as Il is possible locomotive change which
reyoutNlized their entire being There WAS no such
thing In those day as deepening OF moral and re-
,ous convictions which resulted In acknowledged con-
version "Gcfting religion" a. II was called. meant
sudden and complete change OF feeling aud action 10
such extent t- the case that McihodlHts came
feel that without such experience there could be no
vital religion. As result. parents became lax IN W."
bringing M u their children In the hope of more radl-
cal change from sin to holiness. The old SAYING was
the Church wants stiii-bon children Ell as inc
Church grew, itR relations 10 It's members ana 10 mo
out side world changed. The SIbbltl-cuOUl wrought ns
great work children carefully instructed az
home unet and gradual conversions becaln" more
numerous and, consequence OF all great TtN|dls,
bringing whole communities into aat1tc on abnormal ana
uuwholcsOme excitement less frequent The church
has conservative, exists more Tor itS own
and less for the outside world The cdssnrrt-
ing is dcfunc institution, and love fed-ts are last be
coming things Of the past. for they lack what formerly
constituted their on interest w, tTIIIhS l"IsohaI
experiences The danger Ia that the church made
ont into the highways and hedges gathering Ia ihu-" 10
whom II formerly almost exclusively addressed ltscI
The Church is aggressive institution, ana dcichus lOT
Iis usefulness largely upJn it, aggrc-siY Cness.
TIE Methodist Church seemed al nTst IN nave ohy one
end IN view knock down sinner within ITS reach
To-day it's aims should be throefod To build It's II IN
t,raly into sin greater CHRIS ian pcriccon Ia bTlng
lis own children In Ia go out into the world doing the
work upon that outside, unreecnerate element, winch
will otherwise remain uuduDc. The question j. how to do
this work God seems De- solving this question, other
wise than through the organized ministers OF the 'fc
by the fundamentally OF such mn a. Moody
and Saukcy, an exceptional and probably temporary
method Ihc speaker concluded 10y saying 'I"t
within churches less Carlng anu uugcutluus
criticism and more honest and earnest work"
Ihc Tciscs for to-day are a. ioiloWS: ~ y n m,
devotional crciScs Eat 10 business meeting 81 the
COME cnce at IL cssIy 10y the Rev NJ. :. Terry,
few children found in our church congregations aud
why 50 fcw adults found la SabbGtL-srAous' At
. y. III. an essay by the Hon. T. L. Fdncher upon the
" Law OF Religious Corporation"