Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-04-20
GREAT GATHERING OF
METHODISTS IN MAY
Six Bishops May Be Chosen
at Conference.
Leaders of Church VIII
Be in Session For
Three Weeks.

ancleS now existing.
AS Methodist stronghold Americas
Will have its eyes, figuratively speak
ing, on the conference The election
of bishops will be of especial interest
here, as it is currently rumored that
the name of Rev. DR.. Ainsworth, now
president of Wesleyan College, and
of Rev. Ellis, now of Savannah, broth
er of G. R. Ellis, Esq, of Americas
may be presented. The delegates from
this South Georgia conference are:
Clerical, DR.. w n Ainsworth, Ma
con; DR.. T. D. Ellis, Savannah, DR.. w. |
c. Lovett, Atlanta; DR.. B. Anthony, |
Columbus; DR.. ]. H. Scruggs, Valdos-
ia and DR.. A. M. Williams, Thomas
vile. Lay delegates w. B. Stubs, |
Nashville, Tenn; R F. Burden and N. |
e. Harris, Macon; H. ]. Fulbright
Waynesboro; Rev. ]. B. Wright, Cairo,
and R. L. Greer, Oglethorpe. AS Drs. J. |
E. Dickey and w. N. Ainsworth led
the Georgia delegation in their respec-
tive conferences, they will each, ac-
cording to custom, be placed on the
Committee ON Episcopacy.
Six Bishops Died in Past Four Years
During the past quadrennium the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
has lost by death six bishops, Bishops
A. Coke Smith, ]. J Ttgert, j. C. i
Cranberry, w. w Duncan, B. Cal
loway and Seth Ward. There are only
eight bishops at present, as follows:
A. W. Wilson, E. R. Hendrix, j. S.
Key, 0. P. Fitzgerald, w. A. Gambler,
II. C Morrison, E. E Hoss and James
Atkins. Bishop Fitzgerald is on the
superannua-ed list, which leaves only
seven effective bishops.
a the general conference in Peters
brig, Va in 1916, there was one bisL-
oD to 113,S04 members; now there is
ore bishop to 226,5S9 members. There
have been a great many surmfses dur
ing the past several months as to how
many and who, the general confer
ence will elect as bishops at the next
session. That there will be at least
six bishops elected, this session, seems
to be generally conceded throughout
the church. That six bishops should
be elected for the home work and
two missionary bishops, one to have
charge of the work in the Orient and
the other in the Western Continent,
cannot be well gainsaid. In connec-
ton with Episcopal Office many names
have been suggested, prominently
among whom are: DR.. J. c. Kilgore of
Durham, N. c., DR.. w. F. AIcMurray of
Louisville, Ky, and DR.. Collins Denny
of Nashville, Tenn, and others, but
these suggestions are merely sur
misses. The names of some noted
Georgia diyines have also been men
toned in this connection
Some Past General Conferences.
This will be the sixteenth general
conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South. 1t will be the thirty
first general conference since the or
ganizat;on of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in America in 1884
The first session of the general con-
ference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, after the division of
the two great bodies of Episcopal
Methodism in the United States, IN
1914, was held at Petersburg, Va, May
1-23, 1916. Of the sixteen sessions of
the general conference Georgia has
had the honor of entertaining two. The
third general conference was held in
Columbus, May 1-31, 1854, at which
there were 119 delegates Thomas 0.
Summers was secretary and Bishops
George F Purse, John Early and H. H.
Kavanaugh were elected to the epis-
copacy at this session.
The fifth general conference was to
have convened IN New Orleans in April |
1852, but owing to the unsettled con-
dition of affairs in church, due to the
War Between the States, this session |
was not held until 1866. So twenty
four years after the Columbus confer
ence, the eighth general conference
was held in Atlanta, May, 1926, 1873,
with 149 clerical and twenty-one lay
delegates present. Dr. Thomas 0.
Summers was again secretary of the
body, in which capacity he served
from 1850 to 1882, a period of thirty
years. The Woman's Missionary So
ciety was established at the Atlanta
session.
Atlanta Wants 1t Next.
After a period of thirtv-six ,vea &c