Los Angeles herald., 1891-10-14
Discussed by the Ecumenical
Methodist Council.
Her Status in the Church the
Subject of Controversy.
st. Paul's Words on the Subject Not
Accepted by All as Gospel.
Opinion Generally Favorable to Accord
ing Her Equal Rights with Man
in Religious Work-A
Statue of Wesley.
Associated Press Dispatches.

Associated Press Dispatches.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13.-Bishop Har-
greaves OF the Methodist Episcopal
church south, Nashville, Tenn, pre-
sided at today's session of the ecumeni-
cal Methodist council. Resolutions re-
ferred to the committee concerning the
Joint action of Methodist missionary
bodies working in the same fields, were
reported back favorably, and commit
tee appointed to consider the subject.
The council then proceeded to the order
of the day. The subject was the Church
and her Agencies, being the same as
that discussed yesterday.
Rev. ]. Travis, general missionary
secretary of the Primitive Methodist
church OF England, read paper on the
place and power of the lay agencies in
the church. He said the Methodist de-
nominations agreed that the laity have
place, but they are far from being
agreed as to the extent, and here is the
supreme difficulty to organic Method
lists union.
Bishop Ninde, of Kansas, delivered
an address on the Deaconess Move
ment. The movement had, he said,
surpassed the expectations of its most
sanguine friends. 1t had been urged by
some that the movement interfered with
the proper sphere of woman. Who was
to define woman's sphere? We find
her today behind the counter in the
shop and factory and in the office.
There was much talk of woman unsex-
ing herself and plunging society into
commissions. There were silly men aud
silly women. A representative woman
could be trusted.
Rev. DR.. Walters, of London, hoped
that at the next council woman would
be permitted to take her place upon the
platform and address the conference.
1t was fifteen years since the establish
ment of the Sisterhood in England in
connection with the Children's home,
and as member of the committee, he
could bear witness to the grand success
of the movement.
Rev. DIR. Appiegate, of New Jersey,
spoke of the agency of lay workers in
the church. He said the great question
OF cooperation rests with them.
Rev. Thomas Lawrence, of England,
feared the Methodist church was not
raising the number of local preachers it
should. There should be open air meet
ings, and the church should not lower
its flag to the Salvation army or other
agency.
Rev. DR.. A. B. Leonard, of New York,
said the need of honest work on the
part of the laiety was great indeed, and
he was thoroughly convinced the masses
of the people could never be reached ex-
cept through their efforts. Every MEM
Der of the church must come to con-
slider himself an evangelist to save souls.
Rev. DR.. Fry, editor of the Central
Christian Advocate, read an interesting
paper on the subject OF woman's work
in the church. In Christian lands there
were thousands of persons who had no
knowledge of Christ. A hundred should
enter the work where now one was en-
gagged, and woman must take promi-
pent part in it. The church could not
do the work before it without the aid
of woman. The way to determine the
proper sphere OF woman's work in the
church was by the same rule that APP
piled to men-individual fitness for the
duties.
Rev. William German, of the Irish
Methodist church, Belfast, made strong
plea for woman in connection with every
phase of church work.
Professor j. P. Laneis, of the United
Brethren in Christ of Dayton, O., and
Rev. Thomas Hunt, of England, spoke
in the same strain.
Rev. DIR. Lewis, of the M. E. church,
said it was fallacy to believe that be-
cause large majority of the people
were hammering after thing, it was a
manifestation OF the Divine wish. "God
created them, male and female" said
he, mot female and male. Woman was
expected under Divine Providence to
sustain the same relation to the mascu-
| line church that she did the family, not
one of subordination, but one of equality
in certain lines"
Rev. DIR. Buckley, of New York, said
women could not do the work of preach.
! ers without collision with the laws of
nature. They must be mothers, or they
must be preachers; not both. st. Paul
had said they should not take the place
of men.
Rev. DIR. Hass, of Tennessee, also
called attention to St. Paul's words and
asserted that if God had intended man
and woman to do the same work, he
would have made them alike.
At this juncture, Mr.. A .kinson, M. p,
of England, proceeded to characterize
DIR. Hass' argument as logical jugglery,
saying if men and women were created
alike, there would be no men nor wo-
men. He also remarked that DIR. Buck
ley had gotten an awful twist on this
question.
Rev. DIR. Reid, of the Japanese mis-
sion, paid high tribute to the work of
female missionaries under his own OBJ
servation, and Rev. F. w. Bourne re.
marked that he had no patience with
the narrow and bigoted version of St.
Paul's words on this subject.
Several other delegates spoke on the
subject during the afternoon.
Resolutions were adopted approving
the project to erect memorial to this
council, on some suitable site in Wash
ington, in the shape of a bronze statue
of John Wesley, and committee,
headed by Bishop Fowler, of San Fran
cisco was aDnointed to raise finds