The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-02
METHODIST CONFERENCE
PRELIMINARIES rom BUSINESS
Am ARRANGED.

Impor ant Questions Likely t. be Discuss
ed-Among Them the Women Delegate
Question, the Extension of The Five-Yra,
Limit of Pastors and Other socialistic
Problems, Also tn Receive Atiention-An-
nlversaries of W. ii, VI. S. aud Church
Exten ion Societles-Addresses by Pr, M
inent Persons - Program of To-Day's
Session.
The New York East conference will
claim prominent place In th2 atte ation
of the religious circles of this city for
the next week, its forty-seventh session
having been formally declared open and
ready FOR business by Bishop Stephen
M. Merrill Of Cincinnati, yesterday
morning in Trinity church at the cor
ner of Dwight and George streets.
During the session there will be many
prominent visitors who have been con-
nected with the great work Of spread
ing the teachings of Methodism This
will be an important session of the
conference, for it will not only elect del
egates to the general conference, but
various questions WILL it is expected, be
considered that may call for decided
action.
The matter of admitting women to
the highest church councils will prob
ably be one of the absorbing topics of
the session, and it has been of the re-
Gently held conferences of other sec
tions of the country. There are widely
diversified opinions on the subject
among members of the conference now
in session, ranging from the very con-
servative to the broadest yet taken by
the women's champion.
There are many of the members who
are in favor of granting the women of
the church the privilege of having an
equal voice with the lords of creation in
the highest legislative work of the de-
nomination.
During the present conference an inn
portant change will be. made to the
present method of conducting examina-
tions of candidates for the conference.
The examinations at present are con-
Quoted by committees which include
thirtyeight examiners, and the ex-
aminations are taken annually. The
idea of the proposed change is to check
the crowding of the work of the eandi-
dates and to give the charge of the ex-
aminations to a central committee,
numbering sixteen. There is consider
able opposition to the adoption of the
amendment, and. even if presented, it
is thought that it may not pass. The
matter came UP Informally yesterday,
and it was voted to make 1t the business
of the hour at 10 o'clock this morning
For many years the matter of treat
ing socialistic ideas has engaged the
attention Of the clergy, and the mem
bers of the New York East conference
have not been exempted from consider
ing this form of alleged heresy.
At the last session of the conference
a committee was appointed with Prof.
Rice of Middletown at it's head, to draft
a series of resolutions voicing the sem
tinent of the organization on the sub
ject. The committee will probably
make its report to-day, and ask that
the date of discussion be set.
Among the prominent men who will
Mason North, superintendent of Church
Extension, New York; Rev. John Ray
Thompson, Brooklyn; Vice Chancellor
Beeler of American university; Rev.
Joseph Pullman of Bridgeport, Rev
Herbert Welch of Summerfield church
of Brooklyn, Rev. B. f. Kidder of
Sheffield, Conn.
Another matter of much personal in
terest to the ministers is the long pas
torate term matter. Now and then,
and more frequently than formerly,
cases come up where a congregation de-
sires to keep its pastor longer than five
years-the present term limit. The ad
visibility of changing the church law
so as to allow of longer pastorates in
exceptional cases will, it is very likely,
be discussed.
Bishop Stephen NJ. Merrill who oc-
cupies the chair of the New York East
conference at it's forty session,
is native of Mt. Pleasant. Ohio. He
was born September 16, 1925. He join
ed the Ohio conference in 1916, where
he 1abored as pastor and presiding ell
der until chosen editor of the Western
Christian Advocate. He was elected
bishop in 1872 This is his third Off
cial visit to the conference, he having
presided in 1873 at Harlem, N. Y, and
at Hartford, Conn, in 1885. Bishop
Merrill meets the Maine conference at
Auburn, Me-, April and East Maine
conference at Oldtown, Ne, April Is.
He is a resident of Chicago.
The afternoon session began at 2:30
and was devoted to review of the
work done in the past year by the Wo-
mans Home Missionary society, with
Rev. Saul o. Curtice of Bridgeport pre-
siding.
Mrs. S. D. Campton of Brooklyn, the
corresponding secretary, read her re-
port for the past year. Among the facts
presented by the report was the organ
ization of the society in 1885. The off,
GERS of the society recently elected are:
President, Mrs John A. Secor; vice
president, Mrs. J. z. Maynard; corre-
spending secretary, Mrs. c. H. Carhart;
recording secretary, Mrs. c. A. Green;
treasurer, Mrs. 7. a. Santry. These
officers will take their places at the
close of the present conference The
representation of the w. H. NJ S. in
this conference is as follows: Brooklyn
South district, seven auXiliaries and
four young ladies. circles; Brooklyn
North district, four auxiliarieS and one
circle: New York district, five auxilia-
ries, and New Haven district, two aux
iliaries and one circle. The total mem
II, for Sc. It