El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-07-24

Bishop Thomas 3. Medley, Of New
Orleans, who for years has given study
TO Methodist church polfty, has come
TO the defence Of that polity in reply
20 attacks now making by Methodist
laymen- Some laymen's associations. in
the conference held last spring. pro-
posed radical changes in Methodisn.
These propositions have been sent to
other associations. and throughout
Methodism North this fall it is expected
these changes will be heard and recon-
mended The fall conferences begin
about August Is, and the laymen's as
sociations meet at the same times and
places.
Methodist laymen charge failure to
Methodism in certain places. notably in
the large cities, owing to defects In
polity. The propositions put forth
contemplate laymen sitting as mem
bers of the annual conferences as they
now do in the quadrennial general con-
ferences; laymen as members Of the
cabinets of bishops which make APP
poiDtments of ministers; the districting
of bishops making each supreme in
diocese after the Episcopal or Catholic
plans; and the multiplication OF the
number of bishops so that each may be
familiar with his own field and stay
sufficiently long in + to be able to
lead Methodism in that field constant
1y and inteliigently. Under the pres
ent Methodist plan bishops. now only
II in number, hold annual conferences
in many parts Of the country. and per-
haps do not return within the year TO
ascertain the suitability of their ap-
pointments OF ministers or the wisdom
of other decisions made in unfamiliar
fields and under hurried conditions.
In his defence of the present Metho-
dist polity bishop Medley begins with
the Rev. John Wesley. of London in
the first half OF the eighteenth century,
and follows the early Methodist organ
ization as It came TO America and grew
into the Methodist church. He points
out to Methodist laymen that the
Methodist system has three determin-
ing parts: correctional, supervisional
and constitutional.
'sThe local church." argues the bish-
Cd. SIS part Of q great system and all
the churches are bound together by a
common government In this govern
ment there is system Of graded over
sight and authority. and all the parts
Of the church act under a written con-
stitution which guarantees the rights
of each and every individual.
AT the summit OF the supervisional |
system is the episcopate. which is not !
a local or diocesan episcopate restric- |
ed to a particular section. but one OF /
a general character, so that bishop |
might be assigned service in any part /
OF the churches. This Is an itinerant
episcopacy. but the system provides for
permanent and thorough local super !
vision through class of officers
who used to be called presiding elders, /
but now are known as district super
intendents. This is the local episcopate |
experimenting limited districts. while /
the bishops supervise the district OF 1
ficers. thus ensuring a very complete |
supervision both local and general
ITO this supervisiona1 system the |
overwhelming mass of laymen and |
ministers are thoroughly loyal and /
the system hes yindicated itself /
throughout many generations Indeed, |
the church has been most prosperous /
when and where 1T has been most COM /
pletely and consistently worked out /
and the greatest failures have been /
where the graded system of supervision |
has been allowed to fall into disuse in |
whole OF IN part.
with a vigorous episcopacy and
district superintendency, this system,
concludes bishop Neeley, "is as near
perfect as human institutions can be
perfect Certain needs now pleaded /
are the results OF the non-working Of
the system
Methodist Iayu1en declare that IL
Methodism keeps in the lead in num-
bers in Protestant bodies Il must re-
adjust its machinery. More than 25,-
600 churches and 200, 900 members are
vitality interested in actions taken
There are about so laymen's assocla-
lions with 240. 900 members. made up
of the working laymen who hold most
of the official positions in Methodist
CONGREGATIONS of the north