Rockingham post-dispatch. [volume] (Rockingham, N.C.) 1917-1965, 1922-03-16
THE woMAN's MISSIONARY So
GETTY OF TIE METHODIST
EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH.
CELEBRATES IT'S 4aRD BIRTH
DAY.
BY request.

students meeting between lfSS anu
1885 for their spiritual benefit, was.
introduced into our country in two
places simultaneously by Phillip
Embury in New York and by Robert
Strawbridge in Maryland, extending
soon in every direction through New
York, New England, New Jersey,
and Pennsylvania, and through
Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas
and Georgia. Nevertheless, this
Methodism then, and until 1914,
when the Southern Methodists with
drew, was one Methodism, really an
ever increasing number of mission
ary societies, but cOalesing more
and more under the hands of AS
bury, Rankin, and others, taking or
ganic form in the conference OF l773
and those that followed, till in 1884
at the famous Christn as confer
ence held in Lovely Lane Chapel i'll
Baltimore, the organization of the
Methodist Episcopal church was eff
fected.
Methodism then, from the begin
mig was missionary enterprise,
and while the Wesleyans, in Eng
land even before 1893, which is con-
sidered the beginning of the modern
missionary movement in the great
adventure of William Careg, and
the years following, had sent out
their missionaries to the West In
dies and Africa, the Methodists in
the United States in the process of
building their church were carrying
on home missions among the farth-
est settlers in the wilderness of our
country, the negroes and the In
dams. One of the first acts of the
church after its organization in Bal,
timore in 1854, was to arrange to
send missionaries to Nova Scotia
In April, 1919 upon the insistence
of Gabriel Disosway, a well-to-do
merchant of New York, the mission
airy and Bible Society of the Meth
odist Episcopal church was organ.
lied, this society being designed to
be the general society of the church
to which the societies to be organ
lied in the Annual Conferences
should be attached as auXiliaries
The object of the Missionary anc
Bible Society as started in its con
stitution, was ito aid the annua
conferences in carrying on theil
missionary work throughout The
United States and elsewhere" A
one of it's early meetings the socie
ty resolved that the females at
tached to the Methodist congrega
tons be invited to form a SOCIETY
auxiliary to this The females
accepted the invitation, and in TIN
summer of 1919 organized societ.
which lived and prospered for fit.
years. This is supposed to hav'
been the first Woman's Missionar,
Society of any denomination il
America, though since the year 1870
there had been dotted along tn
path of history more than a doZel
individual womans missionary sc
cieties.
Following the division of tn
church in 1874, both branches KEEP
up their missionary work. Tn
women of the Northern church wer
allowed to organize in 1869, but
was not till 1878 that our Souther
women were permitted this priv
lege, though there had been ind
vidual societies organized in Bait
more in 1913 by Mrs. A. Brown De-
wilson, and in the Lebanon ,Circl,
Bethlehem, Tenn, in 1858, by. Mr.
M. L. Kelly, wife. of a Methods
preacher, and mother of Methods
preacher who later become a mil
sionary to China, both being organ
lied for definite missionary work |
1874 a timid memorial was sent |
General Conference asking for al
thority to organize Woman's d
partment Of missions, but it We
lost oil a crowded calendar In 1877
Bishop Marvin and DR.. Hendrix, F
turning from missionary tow
were urgent in their appeals K
woman's work for women. The W
men We're also carrying on a, vi
orous eompaign, previous to Gener
Conference, working anxiously fl