The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1906-05-10
METHODISTS MEET
General Conference Opens at
Birmingham, Alabama.
NINE BISHOPS PRESENT
Feature Of First Days Session Was
the Reading cf the Bishops Ad-
dress in Which Church Mat
ters Were Fully Reviewed.

When the venerable Bishop A. W.
Wilson Of Baltimore brought down his
gavel, calling the general conference
of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, to order, in Birmingham, Ala,
Thursday morning, there were but six
absentees. The feature Of the day was
the episcopal address, which was read
by Bishop C. B. Galloway.
Immediately upon the conclusion Of
the bishops address, telegram ex-
pressing love and greeting was sent
to ]. c. Bergman Of Caledonia, Mo-,
who Is In his 9th year, and who is
the sole survivor of the Methodist
conference of 1914.
DR.. J. W. Heidi Of Atlanta presented
to the conference, through Bisnoy
Wilson, a gavel made from the wood
Of the tree under which John Wes-
ley, the founder Of Methodis1n, deliv-
cred his first sermon in America, near
Savannah, Ga.
The formal addresses Of welcome
to the delegates were delivered at the
First Methodist church. Governor
Jelks of Alabama made the address
OF behalf Of the state. The Rev. J. R.
Mccoy Of Birmingham spoke as the
representative of the Methodists OF
the state, Alderman ]. R. Copeland
spoke for the city of Birmingham and
Rev. s. L. Dobbs Of Birmingham for
the Methodists of. the Birmingham dis
trict. A response in behalf Of the
bishops and delegates was made by
Bishop X. R. Hendrix Of Kansas City.
The roll call revealed the presence
of nine active bishops. Bishop Ftz-
gerald and Bishop Cranberry we're the
only absentees.
Among those responding to roll
call were the leading foreign mission
aries in the church, including DR..
Young ]. Allen of Shanghai, China
The Tennessee, South Georgia, North
Alabama and the Texas conferences
had practically complete delegations
present at the opening session.
DR.. J. J. Tigert of Nashville, secre-
tary of the general conference at it's
two last preceding sessions, was unal-
imously reelected secretary. After
the adoption of a resolution providing
for the appointment of the fourteen
regular committees, the bishops ad-
dress was read to the conference by
Bishop Charles B. Galloway Of Missis-
sippi It was quite lengthy, covering
the entire operation If the Southern
Methodist church, both at home and
abroad, since the last quadrennial
conference. The address, among 9TH
or things, contained the following:
"The statistical returns are alto
gether encouraging. The increase in
members during the past four years
was 109,547, as against only 3S,OS5
during the preceding quadrennium.
WE have now 1,164,64S members, l.
03s,7s5 Sunday school scholars and
l2O,4S7 Epworth League members.
The receipts Of our board for foreign
missions for this Quadrennium were
s1,659,941, an increase over the pre-
ceding four years of $645,673. The
collections for church extension were
,64s.3O, an increase of s12,SSS.6S
over the quadrennium ending In 1902.
During the past year the Wloman's
Foreign Missionary Society received
s155,s09, and the Woman's Home Mis-
sion Society sl0l,72S. If these
amounts be added to the receipts by
the general and annual conference
boards, we have a sum total for home
and foreign missions during the year