The Penn's Grove record., 1904-05-06
M. e. GENERAL CONFERENCE.
Serious Religious Questions To Be
Considered at Los Angeles.

~ - ONS ~ 0N
Considered at Los Angeles.
The great law making body of represen.
tatives elected by the ministers and
members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, met in conference at Los Angeles,
Cal. on Wednesday. The quadrennial
session will be noted for several things.
Laymen will have equal representation
for the first time.
Women will sit as lay delegates for the
first time.
REPRESENTS OVER THREE MILLIONS
This is the most important gathering
of Methodists in the world, for though
there are seventeen Methodist denomi-
nations in America two of these include
nearly three-fourths of the entire family,
and the Methodist Episcopal alone more
than one-half of the entire number of six
millions. This church in round numbers
now contains about II, 500 ministers 27, 00C
churches and a little more than three
million members, Its growth during the
four years past has been steady, but not
rapid.
Of the 372 ministers who will assemble
at Los Angeles, 1856 are presiding elders,
Sc are pastors, "a are officers of general
church movements; and about 40 are col
lege presidents and professors. Of the
327 lay delegates, 43 are lawyers, about Is
are officials of State or National Govern
ments' and there is a large sprinkling OF
teachers, physicians and business men.
There are twenty-four women among
the lay delegates, this being the first gen.
eral conference actually to have women
among its membeas.
The conference will cost 500, 900. To
meet the extra cost to going to a far side
of this continent the Chamber OF Com
merce of Los Angeles raised $751; 900 and
the Methodist Churches of that city rails
ed $4,000.
AUTHORITY OF II CONFERENCE
The General Conference is usually call
ed the highest law making body of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. 1t is that,
but it is also more. 1t is a house of legis-
lation of only n body, like the Presby-
terrain General Assembly. Though there
are bishops in the Methodist Church they
do not form a separate house, as do the
bishops of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, but in the General Conference
the bishops are simply the presiding Off
GERS, taking turns each for aday in the
order of seniority in presiding. They have
no vote.
The work of the Conference is done
largely in its great committees, which are
large bodies in each case, There are
about a score of these committees, such
as that on ~Episcopacy, which reviews the
four years administration of each bishop
and passes upon the question of his con-
tinuance or retirement by recommended
ticn to the conference; the committee on
the itineracy, which discusses questions
about the ministry; that on boundaries
which fixes finally the limits of each an
nual conference; on the State of the
Church, on missions, church extension,
free dmen's education, Sunday schools
and so on. In these committee the leg
islation is prepared, matured and fire.
quently passes the General Conference it.
self with little further discussion. Mem
bership in these committees is by choice
of the delegates from each conference,
not by appointment of the bishops.
The General Conference is also the Su-
preme Court of the church. All cases OF
trial of ministers may be finally appealed
to it and finally disposed of here. The
decisions of law questions by the bishops
are reviewed and passed npon finally.
The General Conference, is also the Su-
preme executive of the church. 1t is
above the bishops, and, as DIR. Nicely
showed by his great argument in the last
General Conference, in reply to Secretary
of the treasury Shaw, then a member, it
a retire a bishop at will. 1t also fixes
the residences Of the bishops.
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