The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-07-17
GROWTH OF MeTHODisM.
This Denomination Has Made a Re-
markabIe Showing in Few Years.
From Friday's Daily.

FROM fridays DAILY.
The record of the Methodist church in
the United States is certainly credit
tc that organization, and one of which
it may well be proud. The spread of
Methodism has been parallel with the
growth of the country, the report of the.
last UNCONVENTIONAL year showing that
the Methodist Episcopal church consists
of 2,6S4,S57 members and 2S4,644 proba-
TONERS that is, candidates under in
strtsction for full membership total
of 2,969,50l. At the present time the
Methodist Episcopal church has % theo
logical institutions, 81 colleges and uni
Versities, 81 classical seminaries, and 8
institutions exclusively for women, not
including foreign mission schools. In
these institutions during the past year
there were 5l,606 students. The value
OF property devoted to education, to-
gether with the endowments, is about
$40, 00G,OO0.
In the arrangements for general
church work the Missionary society
stands first in order of development ami
! Importance It's inst foreign mission
was established IN Africa in 1888. 1t
entered South America three years later,
China in l847, Germany in lS49, Norway
in 1858; Sweden the next year, and
Switzerland in 1856. The missions in
lndia were bgun in 1856; in Denmark
and Bulgaria the next year. american
Methodism followed the armies of Carl
BALD into Italy, and has remained there
ever since The Church Extension soci-
ETY. was organized in 1856. Since it was
established, 1886 church buildings have
been erected, i'm considerable part by do
nations and loans from the society. The
board of education was created in 1866,
and aids at present about 1855 students,
to whom it loans money. Since its orr
gin, ll,709 have been aided. The Sun
day school union was organized in 1927.
The Womgn's Foreign Missionary socie-
ty was organized in 1869, and during the
thirty three years has raised and dis
tributed above S6,25O,0O0. The Woman's
Home Missionary society is twenty
years old, and collects and expends about
$3.50, 900 a year.
One of the most important organiza
tions In the church is the Freedmen's
Aid and Southern Educational society.
1t maintains more than forty education
al institutions in the South, about equal
ly divided between the races. The church
sustains large numbers of ohildren's in
stitutions, such as Five Points mission
in New York, orphanages and orphan
!asyluns. Among the finest of these are
ST. Chadstopher's home at Dobb's Ferry,
N Y, and the Methodist Episcopal or
phanage at Philadelphia. Prior to 1881
there was not a Methodist Episcopal
general hospital in the country. At that
time The Methodist Episcopal hospital of
Brooklyn was Incorporated, and was
opened to receive patients three years
later Hospitals have been established
in Minneapolis, Cincinnati. st. Joseph,
Mo-, ard Louisville, KY. Wesley hospit-
al in Chicago, Incorporated in 1888, has
just completed new structure at a cost
of $225,OOO.
The Methodist church has certainly
been wonderfully successful and has
done an infinite amount of good work,
and, best of all, is still making steady
gains lin its various departments of
church work-Duluth Herald.