Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-19
DISCUS. ING CHURCH PoLlIY
What Nsthodists Are Proposing for Them
selvs..
Debates ON Liber-
alixing the Methods and Forms.
of the Church.

OF the Chufehs
The Methodist Preachers Association
held an extremely Interesting session at
Foundry Church MoLday. Interest among
Methodists all over the country IS center
ed on series Of resolutions offered at
the last meeting Of the Baltimore annual
conference, and which will come up for
adoption at the coming conference to be
held in three weeks fro m now. The Baltt-
more conference is, of course. only one
among many, but then it is one OF the
largest and best known. and has numbered
more men who have since become bishops
OF the church than probably any other.
Again in the first part of this coming May
the general conference. which is the law
max ng body of American MethOdsln, Is
to meet in quadr4nniai session, and at Its
sessions, which Usually extend for a month.
these resolutions VIII be presented Tor an
corporation in the laws of the church In
one form or another Monday week the
discussion Of the Bacon resolutions was
cpeneu as far as the local pastors are c"
Cerned by Rev. DR.. Martin F. B. Rice
reading paper on tie subject, and he :.
followed yesterday by another paper and
will be by papers to be read at every Suo-
Sequent meeting of the association until
the conference meets. The interest, how
ever, IS not confined to preachers, for
a number of prominent local laymen
have had several informal conferences
on the resolutions, the laymen being
concerned very deeply in them, and the
results Of their discussions will be seen al
the conference.
General DiscussiOn.
This year there occurring the quadrennial
session cf the general conference, laymen
of all the conferences hold conferences de-
voted solely to themselves and for the pur-
pose Of electing delegates to the general
body. This lay electoral conference. as it
is officially termed, will meet one evening
during the week of the Baltimore confer
ence In that city and hold Their meeting.
At this ii IS the custom. usually, when the
regular conference is discussing some im
portant question, as VIII be the case this
year for the laynsen to take 1t up also.
and fer this reason t is expected that the
session Of this lay electoral conference will
be more Interesting than is usually the
case. The delegates are net selected nv
any regular geographical rule. but 1t gen.
orally happens that Washington S accord
cd recognition. -Four years ago Washington
was SO representa- at the general confer
ence by the late Gen. S. S. Henkle, and it
IS likely that she will be so represented
again. On this occasion, however, the Ba-
con resolutions come in, and it is possible
that the selection of delegates will be de-
terrltned with reference to their views on
this point.
The Bacon Resolutions.
At the meeting of the ministers yester-
day. Rev. DR.. Luther T. Townsend of Mt.
Vernon Place Church, Baltimore. widely
Known as one of the foremost advocates of
the Bacon resolutions and also one of the
test known and ablest Methodist preachers
in the United States presented the views of
those Ia favor Of adopting the resolutions
i'll an address which created such a pro-
found impression as has rot been made
tor long tine Before accepting the pas
torate OF Mt. Vernon Church the doctor
was professor of practical theology in Bos-
Twenty-Five years and i'll the course of
which he has assisted IN the educat on of
huadrsds of ministers scattered over all
paris OF the Chlted states, seN eral of whom
were p. eSent yesterday TO hear him.
Inc iiacon resolut Chs, as they are called,
were offered at the last an! ual cor ference
by Rev. Geo. G. Bacon of Hagerstown, and
We're referred to a co!n;n.ttee TO be reported
On IN ms coming March. Several PAM
phlets have appeared debating the resolu-
tons pro and con- and also, in instances
advocating radical char ges in the poi1y
of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
DIR. Townsend's Advice.
DR.. Townsend said that there was ex-
IRENE desirab.lity OF charge in the pres
ent poEty or government of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, looking toward a more
democratic form Of life and government in
harmony with the spirit of the age and the
gerius OF cur civil government. He advo-
Gated the Bacon resolutions because they
would bring about this desired result He
cited many needed reforms which are and
have been for years agitating the minds
Of both ministry and la.ty in the church,
and icstanced as an argument in favor of
something being done in the right direction
at the general conference OF MS having re-
ceived hundreds Of letters expressing dis
satisfaction with the present polity of the
church. These letters are, as u rule, from
among the better class of the clergy, for
the most part college graduates before re-
ceiving a theological training, and conse-
quently, The doctor said, he was not only
stating has own views but those of many
others in complete accord with him. The
authorities of the church, such as the
bishops, presiding elders and general con-
ference officers. secretaries of the various
benevolent organizations and editors of the
many church papers, cannot help but know
Of this dissatisfaction among those of the
ministry who are serving as pastors, but
the policy seems to be to prevent agitation
The pastors, on the contrary, are des rous
Of giving the widest publicity to these
views.