The Penn's Grove record., 1921-03-18
New Jersey Methodist
Episcopal Conference
Many Changes Made by Bishops
Appointments. Growth in
Membership

The 85th annual Conference of the
Methodist ministers in New Jersey
south of the Raritan river, came to a
close in the NJ. Z. Church, Asbury
Park, last Monday, when Bishop
Joseph H. Berry, of Philadelphia, read
the appointments. While there were
119 changes, the largest ever made,
the two Churches in Penns Grove were
given their former pastors for the
third year. CarneyS Point gets The
same for the second year.
Rev. Ralph S. Carlisle is returned
to- Emmanuel Church and Rev. Harry
S. Fisher to st. Paul's Church. The
full list of appointments appear on
another page.
The same superintendent were re-
tanned. 1t was expected that another
might be selected for the Trenton dis
trict as Melville E. Snyder had been
there six years, but he was retained
because of his superior executive
ability.
Several able and instructive adj
dresses were given during the Con-
ference.
Pleas for Christian citizenship and
for greater interest in legislation on
the part of church people of New Jer-
sey were made at the closing meeting
of lay association by G. A. Hobart, Jr.,
of Newark, speaker of the State AS
sembly. He was followed by former
Governor w. N. Runyon, who COM
mended Mr.. Hobart as n who COM
bines religion ard politics in his &C
t~ivities, a combination the former
Governor declared was altogether too
rare.
Clarence Tru Wilson, Secretary of
the Methodist Board of Temperance,
Prohibition and Public Morals, was
the conference speaker Saturday night.
He declared that the German-Amercan
alliance has trampled the American
Sabbath in the mire. His topic was,
pagan Inroads on American Democ-
racy." He asserted there is hardly a
State where organized and well financ-
ed propaganda is not at work to adopt
every loose dance found abroad advo-
eating the return of beer, adjustment
of red-Iight restrictions and leave
gambling tolerated again.
Conference adopted a formal reso-
luton of protest against the Iruesdale
bill before the New Jersey Legisla-
ture to legalize a Jewish Sabbath. 1t
passed another in support OF n
Smith-Tower bill before Congress TO
establish a federal department OF
education. The attention of Method
lists was called to the Importance OF
supporting the Centenary movement
in another resolution. The quota for
this worldwide missionary effort was
not raised in New Jersey last year.,
Special attention was called to tins
"time of extreme peril" for the Chr1s-
tan Sabbath by the Sabbath COM
mittee whose support was included
with the list of routine committee
statements read by the Rev. E. A.
Wells, Secretary of the Conference.
The effect of the val was seen IN
efforts to secularize Sunday.
"The whole Protestant Church
should stand as a unit in cooperation
with the Lords Day Alliance in pro
tecting this day." read the statement
adopted by the Conference.
Blue Laws Misleading
"So-called blue laws are mis-
leading. Sabbath laws have always
been of a nature to commend them
selves to right-thinking people"
Reports were read from the Ep-
worth League, which included a plea
for young people as officers; from the
importance committee, which warned
that the fight for prohibition IS not
vet won: from the Women's Home
Missionary Society, which mentioned
the "foreign missionary work at
home" thru AUGMENTATION effort;
from the committee on education,
which told of the need for a revival
of religious education; from the COM
mittee on social service, which called
on the church to give spiritual leader
hin in the social and ~recreational
work: from the American Bible So
cietv. the publication committee and
the Sunday School and foreign ms
sionary committees.
Tho nastoral vote on three matters
handed down from the General Con-
ference was similar to hat OF the lay
Conference. By SO to 20 the ministers
voted to allow lay representation at the
annual Conference. BY % to oZ tneg
voted down an amendment OF the
Quarterly Conference to local. con,
f~erences. By IA to 81 they voteo
against reducing the ratio OF repre-
s~entation at the General conference.
The Rev. John Goorley, Statlstlcal
Secretary, reported increases IN u
baptized of 1873; of children, 30; OF
members on church rolls, 1O43 ano
Of Sunday School enrolment, 1921;
Dewitt C. Cobb, of Glassboro, Con
ference Treasurer, reported total cor
I~ections for ~benevolences of s257'Si4
Total b~enevolences in two years m
Guiding district superintendents, sal
aries, conference clal am eec ETA ia ,n .
check for centenary purposes of more
than s1O3, 900 and let the pastors sec
Alfred Wagg, Superintendent. stat.
ed that improvements costing Sl5o'G0l
had been made in the Brldgeton Gus,
trict during the year and that the
nurnber of conversions totaled l,3oo.
Ocean Grove, however, he said, nae
hoJ the most successful year in every
na :. ne history. A sum of S23 800