Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-09

To-day that handful has been proven to
be corn, and it waves like the cedar of
Lebanon. Then there was but one Metho-
dist denomination and only one annual con-
ference, only So travelling preachers and
1883 members. To-day there are 10 de-
nominations of Methodists, fact that is
thought to show that they have some brains
! and some independence. Perhaps with
more brains and more independence there
would be less denominations-perhaps only
two or one
THE CHURCH'S WONDERFUL GROWTH.
''The one conference has multiplied into
about 800, and the SO travelling preachers
have multiplied into 81, ,765, besides 10000
preachers and the Il, ,OSS members, actual
communicates, have multiplied into over
5000, 900, with 100000 Sunday school
children and a following of over 20, ,0OO, ,OOO
souls in the Republic
''Methodism crossed the brook into this
century leaning on solitary staff Sne
will cross over out of this century with
more than two bands, besides focks and
herds and camels and asses, for she has over
55, 600 churches and about 10, 900 parson-
ages, with church property worth more
than 5000, ,OOO,OOO
''The first act of American Methodism,
her first resolution, was to ordain a college.
Public opinion-that is, the power back OF
the bench and back of the pulpit, back OF
the ballots and back of the bullets. The
great problem of governing these millions
of America is the simple question of form
ing public opinion. Methodism having
nearly one-balf of the people of this coun-
try has only to be worthy of her Inherit
ance and true to her God to make this land
the land of pr mise for the ignorant and
oppressed, and this approaching century
the golden age for the race.
ENTERPRISES OF THE CHURCH.
"The Church Extension Societies are
building a new church every two hours of
each working day, and the Freedman's Aid
Society is doing a large work in view OF the
field it has to occupy. The Sunday School
Union, the Tract Societies, the Woman's
Foreign Missionary Society, the Woman's
Home Mission Society, the City Mission
Societies, the Deaconnesse's Homes and
Hospitals, all like so many hands, enabling
the church to lay hold upon dying world,
indicate the spirit with which the bride
seeks to carry forward the work Of her
Lord.
''In this statement of the status of Meth
odism We must glance at some of the prin-
cipal wants of the church. Her highest
want is a firm grip upon the supernatural.
Unless Methodism is supernatural she is
nothing. In the chilling fog of Higher
Criticism, which is higher only in name
and assumption, all the warmth and win
someness of Christianity is destroyed. One
type of Christianity is neutralized
'"The great center of Methodism, the rea-
son of her existence, is to bear testimony to
a knowablereligion to secure and repeat the
the witness of the Holy Spirit with our
spirit our present state of grace
WANTED MORE IDEAS.
''Our next need is ideas. We must reach
out in all directions with the appliances ]
necessary for varied success. We ought to
capture and utilize every secret that brings
success to any other church. Methodism
needs the courage to seize and utilize all
the ideas, from the cathedral to the rescue
mission, from the university TO the faulty,
from the organ to to the tombstone, from
the great preacher to the weeping tramp.
There must be no power too great for us to
master, and no instrument to handle for US
to utilize.
Again, we must fight for the centers of
population. The cities are the fonts Who
ever holds them holds the future. The
Church must thus settle the labor difficulty.
If we allow anv other agency to settle It |
we must give place to that agency and seri- |
ously reduce our usefulness among men.
Another want is consecrated money.
Already all the great questions of saving
this world are reduced to questions of
money. Unity is strength.
''This law holds with unabated power |
over every branch of the Christian Church"
Bishop Fowler's essay was greeted with
prolonged applause.
METHoDISM IN THE SOUTH.
The presiding officer of the afternoon
session, DR. A. Carman, General Superin- |
tendent of the Methodist Church OF Canada,
announced that Bishop C. B. Galloway, of |
jackson, Miss, representing the Methodist |
Episcopal Church South, would address the |
Council Bishop Galloway devoted his re-
marks largely to the status of Methodism in |
this country. Speaking for the South, he said |
that it had a rich Methodist heritage. The |
first Methodist society was there organized |
and the first chapel built. The first Metho- |
dist missionary society was also organized |
there. The first native itinerant Methodist |
preacher came from under the Southern |
skies, and Jesse Lee went forth from the |
South to evangelize New England
Every sixth soul in the South was a |
Methodist. There Methodism had passed |
the apologize period. There was little |
sympathy with those who believed in |
shirking responsibility for the men and i'm
posing a fancy franchise upon women. |
[Applause. There had consequently been |
a healthy growth in the Church South, a |
satisfying growth in the cities and a |
majestic growth in the rural district.
THE RECORD OF CANADA.
Rev DR.. William Briggs. of Toronto, |
as he said, the Methodist |
Church without prefix or suffix. He de- |
scribed the enormous boundaries of the |
Dominion, paid tribute to the energy of |
its people and predicted that when the
North Pole was discovered a Canadian |
would be found upon it waving the Union
Jack. He described the growth of the Church |
in Canada, saying it was the largest in
membership Of any Protestant Church, and |
included one-third of the Protestant COM
municants.
The third address was delivered by |
Bishop B. w. Arnett, of Wilberforce, O., |
the African Methodist Epis-
copal Church. He was greeted with ap-
plause when he came upon the platform.
The Bishop said that he spoke for the West
ern section, and of these he represents 49,
900, 600 people. There was dark side as
well as light side to every question. He
recalled that in Wesley's chronicles it was
shown that in 1853 Wesley baptized one
white man and two colored men; that with
Philip Embrey and Barbara Heck was
Betty, the colored servant
THE CoLoRED CLAIM OF EQUALITY.
'tWe are equal in origin, equal in re-
IL J i III