The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1915-08-05
THE AMERICAN METHODIST CHURCH.
Proposed Union of all the Great Methodist
Organizations, North and South.


Organizations, North and South.
That Maine Methodists are in accord
with the movement to create the Ameri-
can Methodist church is the opinion of
Rev. F. K. Gamble, pastor of the Grace
M. E. church of Bangor. If the union
of the great Methodist organizations is
placed on an equal basis so that the
rights of all the conferences shall be
protected he believes that the eight dele
gates who will go to the Methodist Cen
eral conference in Saratoga, N. Y, next
spring will favor the creation of the new
body,
Such movement would be the organ
ization of great religious body in Amer
lea of 100000 actually enrolled mem
bers. If the Methodist protestants and
one or more of the large coored bodies
join in the movement there will be nearer
5000, 900 members.
There has been for several years
commission appointed which has had I'M
der Amusement such union, and it is
now expected that when the general
conference of the Methodist Episco-
pal church is held next year that definite
and favorable action will be taken.
The union will join several large Meth
odist organizations, says Mr.. Gamble,
the principal ones being the Methodist
Episcopal church, being the northern
body, and the Methodist Episcopal
church, south, the latter being the white
Methodists of the south.
Mr.. Gamble believes that majority
of the Methodists favor the Union as it
is arranged on the right basis, but there
IS a fear, perhaps, among the northern
Methodists, who have large interests in
an educational way in the south that if
provisions are not made it is possible
that the colored brethren may not be as
well off as they are at present. The
status of the colored brethren in the
south is one of the questions which does
not seem to be wholly determined.
If the general conference in Nav de-
cides to favor the creation of the great
religious body it will have to be referred
to the various conferences and find favor
with tWo-thiris of them before it be-
comes effective.
Speaking of the proposed union a New
Y ork paper says:
The plan contemplates that no sooner
are Methodist issues to be pooled than
there are to be separations. The Ameri-
can Methodist church is to have, for its
administration, four general conferences,
similar to the one now to meet at Sara
toga with four distinct boards of bishops.
Whether there shall be many publishing
houses or one, many missionary societies
or one for each line of work, as home,
foreign, education. etc., has not been de-
termlned. 1t is over these matters that
opposition is expected to develop. AL
ready the American Methodist is the
largest foreign missionary society in the
world in point of financial receipts.
The four new Methodist bodies to make
up the American Methodist are to be the
South, The Colored, the Eastern and the
Western. Possibly other names will be
selected for the last two, but they will
consist OF the present Northern body
divided into two parts for the transac-
ton OF its business. The two parts are
already so large that they are attempt
Ing to enroll this year 500, 900 individual
workers from among the laity and to add
TO their membership net gain of $50, 900.
Last year the net gain was 167, 900.
In spite Of some opposition the belief
seems to be general that the plan will 90
through. 1t is also believed that the
Methodists Protestant will join, and that
the Colored Methodist church will bring
TO 1t vast numbers of colored people now
separately enrolled. The change would
mean the extinction of few churches
in cities IN the south and extreme west
where both north and south are now
represented.