The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-10-16
George Was ashinGton and the MethO
tists.

at 8 o'clock, the Methodists convene
+ in John Street chapel, their only plac
Of meeting in New York, and thanke'
God for the birth of freedom and ma
, tionality, for His tender and shelterin,
/ favor shown the builders of the nev
commonwealth, for the brave leader o
f armies and the wise counselor, who's
lpatient, steadfast and victorious faitl
n had held his felloW-citizens by unani
nous choice to call him rs the first rul
er of the New Republic. The Rev
!, John Dickins, pastor, and the Rev
Thomas Morrell were the chief spirit.
of that gathering. They had seen tht
infant Church of their love and the in.
fant State Graded side by side amid the
storm of the Revolution.
| When the Stars and Stripes displac.
ed the imperial standard of Great Brit.
ain, John Wesley said: "As oul
American brethren are now totally dis.
entangled both from the State and
from the English hierarchy, we dare
not entangle them again either with
the one or with the other. They are
now at'full liberty simply to follow the
Scriptures and the primitive Church
and we judge it best that they should
slant fast in that liberty wherewith
God has so strangely made them free
In 1884 the founder of Methodism
equipped and set apart Thomas Coke,
Thomas Vasey and Richard Whatcoat
and sent them to the New World on
the great embassy of organizing the
Methodist Episcopal Church. While
washington was laying the founda-
tions of the Republic, the pioeer Bish-
op, Francis Asbury, was establishing
on firm basis the Church of his adop-
tion. Washington had great admira-
ton for Bishop Asbury, and wished
him many hearty godspeed in his
great work of spreading scriptural ho-
llnss in all the borders of the new
born Republic. Bishops Coke and AS
bury were Welcome guests at Mount
Vernon. a
In old John Street church, on May
%, 1883, few days after the inaugura-
ton of Washington, began a session of
the New York Conference. There
were but twenty men, all told, in that
remarkable body; but Bishops Asbury
and Coke, Richard Whatcoat, Jesse
Lee. John Dickins and Thomas Nor
rell were six of the twenty, and they
each in heart and brain weighed ton.
Bishop Asbury submitted to the Con-
ference the question, whether it
would not be proper for us as a Church
TO present congratulatory address to
General Washington, who has lately
been inaugurated President of these
United States, in which should be en-
bodied our appreciation of the Consti-
tuition and protesting allegiance to the
government" The proposition was
unanimously approved with great
heartiness. The two Bishops were ap-
pointed a committee on address.
Thomas Morrell and John Dickins
were requested to confer with Wash
ington and ask him to designate day
for the reception of the Bishops and
their address. Washington named the
following day, May 29th. At the hour
fixed the Bishops, attended by Morrell
and Dickins, were received at the Ex-
ecutive Mansion by the President,
Martha Washington and others.
Thomas Morrell, the old comrade, as
master Of ceremonies, presented Bish-
op Asbury, who, he says, with great
self-possession read the address in an
impressive manner" The address was
as follows:
"2o Tie President Of Tie Unilea
STATES:
"Sir:-We, the Bishops of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, humbly
beg leave, in the name of our Society,
collectively in these United States, to
express to you the warm feelings of
our hearts, and our sincere congratula-
tons on your appointment to the Pres
identship of these States. We are con-
scious from the signal proofs you have
already given that you are friend Of
mankind; and, under this established
idea, place as full confidence in your
wisdom and integrity for the preserva-
ton Of those civil and religious liber'
les which have been transmitted to US
by the providence of God and the glo-
rious Revolution, as we believe ought
to be reposed in man.
1--WE have received the most grateful
satisfaction from the humble and en-
tire dependence on the great Governor
of the Universe, which you have re-
peatedly expressed, acknowledging
Him the source of every blessing and
particularly of the most excellent Con-
stitution Of these States, which is at
present the admiration of the world,
and may in future become its great eX-
emplar for imitation; and hence we
enjoy holy expectation that you will
always prove a faithful and impartial
patron of genuine, vital religion, the