The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-03-30
"a
CONFERENCE MEETS.
preliminary Chats Among
the Methodist Brethren
at East Orange.
MANY LOCAL CHANGES
Presiding Faulks Goes-Story of
a Church-Bishop Good
sell presides.
MANY LOCAL CHANGES

Especial to 1.-THE Jersey City News.'l
EAST ORANGE. March 80, 1ssS.-The
usually sleepy neighborhood surrounding
Calvary Church, in this section OF Essex
county, was very much alive, excited ana
interested this morning on this the open
ing day of the forty-frst session OF the
| Newark Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Around the church
doors at a very early hour was a group of
people connected with Calvary Church.,
welcoming the pastors who came on from
Hudson, Morris. Bergen, Union, Passaic,
| Hunterdon. Essex, Warren, Somerset and
Middlesex counties, in this State; Pix
and Monroe counties, in Pennsylvania,
and the Boroughs of Manhatta and Rich
| mond, in New York City. More than two
| hundred gentlemen. in sober garb and
| white ties, were present when the presid-
| ing bishop. Rev. Daniel A. GoodseA, ID: D.,
IL. D.. arrived, accompanied by the four
| presiding elders, Rev. S.. p. Hammond of
| Newark district, Rev. J. E. Faulks OF Jer-
| sey City, Rev. George w. Smith of Eliza
beth and Rev. John Krantz of Paterson
district. Among the first to reach the
church were these from Jersey City
| Rev. C. f. Hull Of Linden avenue, Rev.
G. C. Wilding of Hedding, Rev. W. l..
Hoagland of Emory, Rev. C. Z. Little OF
| West Side. Rev. F. Goodman of Centen-
airy, Rev. D.. b. f. Randolph of Trinity,
Rev. r. C. Mayhem of St. Paul, Rev. d.
MCGOWAN of Grace. Rev. r. NJ. Ayles-
worth of Simpson, Rev. c. r. Barnes of
Lafayette and Nj. Samuel Stirling of
Hedding ard Rev. Nathaniel Brook of
PaIisade.
t.,u 1900 A4~-s,oaaI nv the
brethren in chatting in the ante-rooms,
temporarily fixed up as a postoffice. book
store, reception room, committee room, all
jumbled into one. No sooner were the
greetings over than church politics were
discussed. Those who expected to be
| transferred buttonholed presiding elders,
| arranged little combinations swaps, dick
| ers and deals quite like politicians, but,
of course, with the olor Of sanctity about
them, as to future charges, and generally
| enjoyed themselves in the good old fash
Toned Methodist Conference way.
The changes in Jersey City are many,
and chief among them is the presiding ell
dership. because Rev. j. B. Faulks' term
is up, and the absorbing question among
the Jersey City pastors is. Who will get
that ministerial plum?
AS to the charges in Jersey City, there
ma be some changes, but as yet nothing
certain is known. No changes are ex-
pected, but some pastor may be removed,
and that would result in a move all
around.
While the gossip and clash of tongues
was at its height, the 1s-feet pipes Of the
organ in the church adjoining set out the
first chords Of the Methodist hymn,
"Blest be the tie which binds" and a
| stampede took place among the pastors,
I who scurried off into the auditorium,
where Bishop Goodsell vas observed
kleeling at the communion table with the
four presiding elders surrounding him.
The ministers occupied the pews for near
Iy a dozen row back from the communion
rail. Behind them were several ladies
and young people.
Calvary Church, where the sessions are
to be held, Is one of the handsomest edi-
fees in the conference territory. On the
present site stood the old church which
was dedicated on June u, 1870, by the dis
tinguished Bishop Edmund /. James, and
assisting at the ceremonies was the late
Theodore Runyon, general, ambassador
and chancellor. Many ministers in Jersey
City today lave served for several years
as pastors of Calvary and among these
were Rev. j. B. Faulks, Presiding Elder;
Rev. c. E. Little of West Side and Rev.
Morris d. Church, formerly of West Side.
The foundation stone of the new build
ing was laid on Thanksgiving Day, No
vember 26, 1855, by Bishop Harris, and the
| building was dedicated in 1887 by Bishop
R. S. Foster, D. D.. The whole property
cost $77. 965, and the pledges for its cost
amounted to SIS, 046.6 leaving a balance
exceeding the amount of SS1.G9; a rare
fact in Methodist Church history.
They tell a story in the church about
one of it's founders, Mrs. Eliza Taylor.
which was circulated his morning by
Mr.. Jeffreys of the official board. : For
years she had been a faithful Methodist,
but her husband, Nazareth b. Taylor, had
persistently opposed her attendance at
the services in the little frame building,
which formerly stood on the site of the
present structure. Preparing one Sunday
morning to sgo to meetin'," she was
about to put on a new spring bonnet of
extravaganza design and price when her
husband seized it and threw it into the
fire. Nothing Haunted, so says the story,
the good wife marched to church with an
old hat on. Her husband was so struck
with this remarkable piece of feminine
heroism, particularly or a spring Sun
day, when ladies go to church either to
eye their clothes or close their eyes, that
he generously contributed to the fund for
a new church and bought his wife a
brand new hat to dazzle the eyes OF the
congregation the following Sunday.
Praise the Lordt, piously concluded
one of the brethren. who learned the
story, and retold it to THE News repre-
sentative.
When the communion service had fin
ished the formal business of organization
began, but was preceded by a few kindly
words from the Bishop, instructing the