The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-28
PLAN FUR UNION OF METHODIST BODIES. FORMALLY STATED
Two JurisdictionaI Confer ences Will Be Subordinate
 To General Church

CLEVELAND. Ohio, July 27-(By Associated Press s.)--Details of the plans for merging the separate gen. eral conferences of the Methodist Episcopal church and the Methodist Episcopal church, south, adopted by the joint commission on unification conference this week, were learned tonight.
 The report of the committee of sixteen, which was approved by the joint commission, holds that these two churches are essentially one church in origin, belief, spirit, pur- pose and in policy, and, desiring that this essential unity may be made ac- tual in organization and administra- ton throughout the world, proposes q plan of unification and recom- m.ends it's adoption by the two
 Article 1 is a declaration of union as follows:
 "rhe Methodist Episcopal church and the Methodist Episcopal church. south. shall be united in one church with two jurisdictions under con- sttuticn, with general conference and two ju~sdictional conferences" Will Name New Body.
 Article ? provides that the name or the Cnufcn small De He1erreu 10 the first general conference of the united church.
 Article says the Jurisdiction No shall comprise all the churches, an- nual conferences, mission confer ences ard missions now constituting the Methodist Episcopal church, and any other such conferences and mis- sions as may hereafter be organized by it's jurisdctional conference with the approval of the general confer ence.
 The general conference and the jurisdictional conferences shall be composed of the same delegates, elected by and from the annual con ferences, provided said general and jurisdictional conferences shall have not more than one ministerial dele gate for every 45 members of each annual conference and not less than one ministerial delegate for every 120 members of each annual confer ence and an equal number of lay delegates. chosen according to the regulations of each Jurisdiction. Vote By Jurisdiction.
 Every vote in the general confer ence shall be by Jurisdiction and shall require the accepted majority vote of each jurisdiction to be ef- fectiVe.
 Subject to the limitations and re-
  general conference shall have full | legislative power over all matters distinctly connectional.
 Bishops of the two churches as at present constituted shall be bishops | of the united church without further action.
 Each Jurisdiction shall have a ju- rsdictonal conference, possessing | the full powers of the general con ference of the church now consti- tuting said Jurisdiction except such | powers as are herein vested in the general conference or which may hereafter from time to time be le- gally delegated to the general con- ference by the jurisdictional confer ence.
 o Q O Meet Quadrennially.
 Each conference shall meet quad | rennially where the general confer ence is to assemble and immediately l prior to it's assembling and when de- sirable may meet during the sessions of the general conference.
 The plan recommends that finan- cial support of the colored Methodist | Episcopal church be continued by the jurisdiction with which it is histor- | ically related and to such extent that | jurisdiction may deem wise.