Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-20


Edward Boaden vas made first president
Of the new church. and l.ev George
lacker the first secretary. Both are uota-
bie in religious circles.
History of Contracting Parties.
OF the three uniting congregations tbs
Methodist New Connection is the eldest
Of the three contracting parties. and has
been in existence for 10 years. II repre-
sents the first division that took place
In Mcthodism after the death % John
Wesley. The question at issue, as I'm al
most all the subsequent divisions of Meth
odism. was practically the right of the
people to place tn the government Of
he church The leader Of the agitation
was Alexander kllham. who contendad
Tor the right OF the Methodist people 20
order their own form and fix their own
time for religious worship. the right Of
MetEodlst preachers as apart from clergy
men OF the established church to admin
lister the sacraments. and the right OF
the people to make and administer tie
laws of MethUdism The first two re-
forms Were granted by the con -erenCs
under what is known IN Methodist history
as the plan of paCltlCation, passed in
1913, but the third reform was refused,
and for advocating this reform I'm
pamphlet Mr.. killam was expelled from
the conference in 1896. and IN the follow
ing year, after a dcputatiOn to the con-
ference had failed to obtain redress Tie
Methodist New Connexion was formed.
The second Of the uniting churches is
the Bible Christian denomination, which
mas behind 1t an unhroken and success
tul history of eightynine years of ferveut
evangelism. 1t originated through the
remarkably successful lay min stry II
William Bryan, who refused to confins
his laoors within the narrow bounds of II
circuit Though he was acting in the
spirit Of john Wesley. who said The
world is my parish and though he In
variably chose as the sphere o. his la
bors those parts Of Devonshire and Corn
wall where Methodism was unrepresented,
he was deemed by the WESLEYAN courts
to be acting irregularly Because he
would not limit his laborS to the circuit
preachers plan he was expelled in the
chapel at Gunwen in 1910, "a chapel
says Rev. @. kayrs, in his excellent little
handbook. THE erection Of which he had
superintendent. of which he had given half
the cost. and for which he had given the
freehold. with more land for a burial
ground
Some Early Controversies.
The third church. the United Methodist
Free Church, is itself union of de-
nominations. each of which had unsuc-
cessfu!ly striven for certain reforms in
the Wesleyan Church. and. in consequence
of their failure. had formed themselves
into separate denominations The Prot
estant Methodsts. formed in 1897. stood
for simplicity of worship and impartial
observance Of COnnexonal regulations
The Wesleyan Association arose in 1873
out of controversies respecting ministerial
education, and the claim of the local
churches for self government. The Wes-
leyan reformers. in the controversy that
ended so disastrously for the Wesleyan
Church. and which cost that denomina-
ton 100000 members, was protest
against the arbitrary rule of the confer
ence and demand for the cooperation Of
laymen with the ministers and adminis-
tration in Wesleyan Methodsm The ex-
pulsion of Messrs EVeritt, Dunn and Grif-
fths and the formation of the Reform
Church were the outcome of this contro-
versy. ultimately these three denomina-
tons united in 1857 under the name of the
United Methodist Free Churches. and for
fifty years this denomination has been re-
garded as the most democratic of the
Methodist churches.
These controversies have now passed
into history. and many of the principles
for which the separate denominations
stand have been conceded by the Wes-
leyan Church, and the fact that the his
toric uniting conference took place in
John Wesley's chapel is a proof that all
the old bitterness has passed away.
If another proof is needed it is found
in the fact that the three new memorial
windows of Wesleys chapel are the gift
Of the three denominations now united