East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-05-05

Baltimore, May 5.-From all parts
of America and from foreign lands,
clergymen and laymen of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church are throngine
into Baltimore today, and during the
remainder of the month Methodist
eyes in all sections of the world will
be turned toward this city. The
quadrennial general conference, which
will be opened tomorrow, is one of
the most important religious instltu
tions in existence. 1t holds the keys
to all the important offices of the
church, including the bishoprics, and
editorships and the secretaryships, and
is the supreme and only law-making
body of the denomination.
One of the most important subjects
to come before the conference will be
that OF restoring a time limit to pas
torates. Several of the largest con-
ferences, including New York and
Baltimore, have declared in favor Of
the restoration of time limit, and
there is strong sentiment in other
parts of the country in favor of
such action. The present plan has not
Injured to the permanence of the pas
toral relation, or to the stability OF
the ministry; indeed in some cases
congregations have been more restive
than they were under the three-year
or the five-year limit. Then, II there
were dissatisfaction with the minis
ter they had only to wait definite
time before a change would come au-
tomatcally. Now they have to give
expression to their desire for a change
at the quarterly conference, when the
question of continuing the various
pastoral relations comes up. More
over, the very agitation of the possi-
bility of a change as a part Of the
routine program of the quarterly con-
ferences sometimes helps to beget dis
satisfaction and so the local minister
in some cases comes to dread the
meeting at which he knows the ques-
tion is TO be raised.
The practical outcome often Is that
men stay less than five years and
often less than three years, and so
the general restlessness of the church
es and the uncertainty of the minis
try are not to any extent allayed by
the absence Of all time limitations. OF
course where relations between pas
tor and people are mutually satisfy
ing-and there are many such In
stances in Methodist as. well as in
other churches any time limitation
whatever imposed by the general con-
ference Is resented and heretofore the
strong city churches, thus situated,
usually found way of retaining their
ministers from period to period.
May Remove Amusement Ban.
| Another important question Is the
proposed repeal of the discipline stat
ute which forbids dancing, card-play-
| ing and theater-gong. on penalty Of
accommodation Such action has
been demanded by the New York con-
ference.
Doubtless the sentiment in the east
generally would. favor such action;
while in the west and even in rural
districts of New England, 1t would
be viewed with considerable alarm,
as being a concession to worldliness
quite foreign to the spirit of the
Methodist church. In the large cit
les the rule is already practically dis
regarded and the New York confer
ence delegates simply want to make
the rules tally with accepted usage,
thinking that in this day of ethical
awakening, the church ought to
square its professions to its actual be-
havior by its profession.
1t is cheering showing which the
official statistics for the last four
years make. The increase in mem
bers Is 374,33S. or an average of
nearly ninty thousand a year while
492 new churches have been added to
the list this year. This quite sustains
the reputation of the church acquired
through the famous remark of the
late Chaplain McCabe to the effect
that the Methodist church built a new