The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-08-26
IMPORTANT
MEETING Will
BE HELD HERE
AnNuAL CONFERENCE OF THE
M. CHURCH, SOUTH, MEETS
N THE WILLIAMS MEMO
RlAL#cHURcH, SOUTH,
THIS CITY, SEPT.7.

city have thought that some eS-
p1anatory remarks might meet with
favor from the public. It is with this
fnview that herewith hand you the
foIIowings
The West Virginia Conference is
known as one OF the border confer
encessSaof our branch Of Method!sna.
because Il is one OF the conferences
occupying territory on the border l:as
between tie North and the South. i
occupies that part Of the territory,
granted 10 it by the plan of Separa-
ticn agreed TO by the representa-
hives Of both the Northern \ South
ern divisions in the memorable cor
Terence of 1914, when the church di-
svided. 1t comprises all that part Ct
s5Ho1stonnor5the Baltimore conferences.
This is b central western portion %
the State. In addition this it also
takes in that portion of Kentucky
lying between the West Virginia State
line and the Big Sandy river. his
five counties in that State.
Inthis territory the church numbers
#twenty-fve thousand communicates,
divided into one hundred and ten pas
1Storal#eharges, six presiding elders
sSdistrictsa and five hundred societies.
There are about our hundred and fifty
houses of worship, and the church
8pWnszproperty valued at eight hundred
thousand dollars. Besides schools OF
lower grade, the conference has a col
Iege situated at B~arboursville. w. Va.
thai ~is4rapidly taking rank as one of
the leading educational Institutions OF
b State. Within the last two years
sstheasproperty has been materially inn
proved 8DormitorieS for boys and
girls have been erected, and the main
college building is now being enlarged
and remode1ed at a cost of fifteen
thousand dollars, an electric plant ami
aprfvate water system are being in
stalled, thereby making the property
6 the equal of&any in its equipment and
facilities for h convenience of its
pupils. The faculty is of men and
women who rank high in their respec-
tive 1ines-normal, classical, scientific
and homiletic. Diplomas are given
those completing the required courses.
Comparing the status of the West
Virginia Conference to-day with that
Mof fifty years ago, when it was organ
lied at Parkersburg, our people should
feel just cause for gratitude to God
forshis signal blessings upon their eff
5forts.nThen only a few preachers with
a@clientele of but a few thousand, few
church houses n ~parsonages, &
church that, while occupying her
rightful place, was looked upon by a
large number of people as an intru-
has by ~steadfast faithfulness to
her u mission-the spread of the
GospeI-forged her way ahead until
Enow b takes rank as one of the lead
ing forces in the work of character de-
SVe1opment and formation of morals
in the State. Then her people in this
~StateGwere few, poo and scattered;
o they are found in every avenue OF
trade, commerce or industry, taking
their place in the material as we'll as
spiritual and educational progress of
the-State.
h personnel of the conference has
changed also with the times. Fifty
years ago the conference was compos-
ed mostly of old men of sturdy pioneer
stock. whose education was chief:
gained in the saddle as they ode from
point to point on their large circuits.
To-day younger men. fresh from col
lege, trained by the best preparation,
for the work of the ministry and the
pastorate, a peculiar product of the
times We live in have taken their
places. Whether this last is a signal
for more effective service the results
alone can tell. The hardy old heroes
of that period did a work their de-
scendants could hardly do. and it may
be that these younger men will ac-
complish in their day what the ia
Tiers" would find difficult. So Gol
suits the men to the times and the
work goes IN while the workmen pass
off h stage of life and resign their
places to other workers.
But what of the conference sessions?
bishop A Coke Smith, of Virginia, will
preside. The body is composed of all
the preachers in full connection and
four lay members from each presiding
elders district. The business of the
conference is to examine into the work
done on each pastoral charge, TO pass
the character of each preacher,
to examine candidates for the ministry.
and also to examine those who are var