The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-27
NEARLY 100000
MEYHODlSTS IN US.
With Union Of Branches, De-
nomination Will Have 81
1926 Ministers.
LOO FOREIGN WORKERS

The prospect OF Methodist union. pos
sibly rs early as 1918 and in any case
not later han 1920. has aroused wide
spread interest ainong the members of
Protestant churches as TO the size and
rank of the Methodist Church when re-
united.
The Methodist General Conference.
which IL Just concluding its session a,
saratoga Springs. UNANIMOUSLY Endorsed
the proposed union of American Metho-
dism. II the general conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church South In
l9lN also Endorses the plan the union can
probably be put INTO effect, to some ex-
tent. at once.
The union proposed Is OF these two
denominations and one other. the Metho-
dist Protestant Church. The numerical
results will be imposing. The new
Methodist Church. for that will prob
ably be the name. will have almost
exactly one-third Of the 17.742.509 COM
municants Of the thirty church bodies
which are now members of the Federal
Council OF the Churches OF Christ In
America. II will have more than a third
or their l39.091 churches and more thar
oie-fourth of their 1O3.113 ministers. The
next largest body will be the Southern
baptist Convention n after that will
come the negro Baptist, with the Presby-
terians following.
Here are the figures for 1915. the most
recent obtainable. as given In The
Churches of the Federal Council"
edited by Charles s. MacFarland and
issued only a few weeks ago by the Flem-
iug II. Revell Company:
Ministers.
Methodist Episcopal Church.. is.siS
Methodist Episcopal Church South. 1908
Methodist Protestant Church go. i,liO
Total ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ?7,a?e
Methodist Episcopal church ...,.. :s.t?S
Methodist Episcopal Church south. 1857
Methodist Protestant Church ...... 400
Total 47.si5
COMMITMENTS
Methodist Episcopal Church south 2.0TeO3;
Methodist Protestant Church 800. 2oi,iiO
Total ......................Seso.7 ss
When 1t IL added that neither the
southern Baptist Convention. with @.
592211 commandments, nor the Presby-
terrain church in the United States of
America. with I,495,l57 communi, ANTS.
approaches in size The Methodist r:pis-
copal Church She numerical greatness
of the united Methodist Church will be
readily appreciated.
slavery, which also divided the Bap-
list and PRESBYTERIAN churches. WAS the
- NV blNlsI'l OF lnt MelilbIlS'
Episcopal Church. Among Meihcdis,s
TN" schisin took place In is&i. arising
from he case % Bishop James Osgood
Andrew OF Georgia. whose wife vas a
STAKEHOLDER The Methodist Protestant
church was the outgrowth OF a still
earlier dispute over the mutual rights
of the ministry and laity. II was formed
about 1890. and was itself split in 1853
by ne slavery question. In 1865 the
northern half of the Methods. Pro,cs-
'tut Irurcn fused with the WESLEYAN
Methodist church. and in 1877 both
parts Of the Methodist Protestant Church
were again brought together.
The coming union OF Methodists Will
create "A denomination as preeminer, in
missionary work as In membership. The
three churches, when fused. will have
about Loo foreign missionaries as
against 1900 missionaries Of the Presby-
terrain Church in the United States OF
America and 3c5 foreign missionaries o.
the Presbyterian Church in the United
states South. The reunited Methoiists
will have about 6 900 home missionaries
Northern and Southern Preshyterians
together have not many more than 5000.