The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-11-30
Looking toward the Pulpit.

| Looking toward the Pulpi-.
Woman are very active nowadays ir
nearly all the affairs ia which men take the
leading part They are entering the pro-
lessons and are found in m my business
pu-susts. And they are having a fair
amount of success. There are n1s N re
failures among them in proportion to their
number than among mel.
The Nor bern Methodist church is now
profoundly agitated by the de nand whica
thu women OF that denomination are max
Ing to be admitted to me nbarshlp in tie
general conference. At the general con-
ference in 1888 five women appeared with
proper ere ientials aud asked ad-
mission. The ministers AMI laTmel who
composed the conference we're some what
startled b. the request. They wers opp >sei
to havi z women associated with them in
the government of the church. aud they
denied the five women admittance. The
w.men pleaded their cau,s so CLIQUE ltly
and effectively, however, that ths c1lfer-
ence decided to submit the question of
admitting women to the conference to the
whole church. 1t was ind er,tOoi that the
vote of the whole church should not be re-
garded as settlene 1t of it, but merely as
showing the sentiment OF thu church.
The voting was doIe during last month
ana this month, and ended last Thursday.
The result of it will be known in about two
weeks. 1t is expected that il will be largely
in favor of the women II it should be
then the question will be considered by the
Ill annual conferences. which met dur
ing the spring, summer and fall of next
year, and then the general conferences,
which meets in 1892, will take it up again,
and. it is expected, will finally dispose of it.
No such distu hing question as this has
been discussed in the church since it divided
in 1874 on the slavery question. For two
years and more all the church papers have
been full of il, and at all important caurch
gatherings it has been a leading topic of
conversation.
And tine women have a very good case. OF
the 2, 800, 000 members of the church, yo-
thirds are women. Tney are the real caurca
workers. They do far moro of the religious
work than men. Tney are foremost i / Sun
day school work, in all church societies. in
home and foreign missionary work, and in
the C. ass room. At revivals they are promi-
nent and effective agents, and their voices are
heard as exhorters and in payer meetings.
They are the soul of the cbur h, as it were.
Twenty-Five years ago only ministers
were admitted to the confer snce. Laymea
had to fight for representation there. The
minister's were as much opposed to the ad-
mission of laymeu as members as the min
ters and laymen are now opp Jsed to the
admissiol of women. But the women will
win They are bound to d so. Toe vote
of the church which has just been taken is
undoubtedly in their favor, and it is thought
that three-fourths of the annual conferences
will decide for them.
But will the admission Of women to the
general conference lead to any hing e'sel
Those who are opposing them believe
that it will The next dema I'd will be for
admission to the pulpit. and it is among the
probabilities that by the en- of this century
women will be ordai ed as ministers in the
Methodist church, and will become regular
occupants of the pull it. And will they
not make good ministers! Those who
had the pleasure of hearing the
addresses at the recent Woman's
Christian Temperance Union convention
at Atlanta will perhaps admit that
women. If given the opportunity, will
do as good work i'll the pulpit as men.
Those who have noted carefully the cha ges
that have taken place within the last few
years in the position occuDied by women
in the social fabric will not bs surprised to
see still greater changes in their position in
the near future.