The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-04-25

BoyD'S THEATER.
building in which the conference will be held. !
interest among people of all religious de-
nominations, and particularly among
the Methodists of Omaha and the coun-
try round about.
The conference will be attended BY
about 500 delegates, representing every
country where Methodism is known and
expounded, and the visitors will proba-
bly, attend by the thousand. By the
rules of the Methodist church the quad
rennial conference must be convened on
the first day of May, but owing to the
fact that the LIST of May falls on Sunday
this year it is probable that the confer
ence will simply meet, call the roll, hold
devotional meeting and then adjourn
until the next day. The programme
for great Sunday afternoon meetings
during the month Of May has been
arranged. On the afternoon of May / a
great missionary meeting will be held in
Exposition hall. Some of the most elo.
quent speakers present will address the
meeting, and a chorus of 100 trained
voices will furnish the music. The sec
ond Sunday in May will be devoted to
the interests of the National university.
This meeting will of course be held in
the afternoon, as the special services
will not be permitted to come in conflict
with the regular church worship at the
usual hours both morning and evening
at the various churches of the city.
The third Sunday of the month will
be known as the s.American Sabbath
day. Colonel Elliott F. Shepard, Of
New York, will deliver the principal
address Of that occasion. On May 90,
the third Sunday in the month, the mass
meeting will discuss the interests of the
Epworth league, the vigorous organiza-
ton for young people connected with
the Methodist church. On the last Sun
day of the month the subject of national
patriotism will be the theme for the
mass meeting.
In addition to these great events there
will be other special occasions, when the
public will be given an opportunity to
see and hear the brightest and brainiest
men in the notable gathering. A grand
reception will be rendered the delegates
by the mayor and common council Of
Omaha on the evening of May 2. This
will be the first time in the history of
the Methodist church that the mayor
and common council Of city rendered
the delegates Of the conference a ban
quet, excepting that given by the lord
mayor of London in 1881. tbs probable
that series of excursions will be run
into. Omaha from towns and cities within
a radius of 100 miles, to accommodate
the people upon special occasions.
The Methodist people of Omaha have
been putting forth extraordinary effort
to get everything in readiness for the
great event. Methodism in Omaha is
not as powerful as it might have been
had the early pillars of the church been
possessed of that prophetic vision which
some Of the early settlers seemed to pos
sess. The first Methodist church built
in Omaha stood on lots that are now
worth 800, 900, and the church owned
property twenty-five years ago that is
today worth half million dollars. But
in the early struggles and internal dis
sessions of the church large part of
this valuable property slipped out of the
hands of the church, and while the de-