The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1924-06-24

California and many other states, How
such preposterous arrangement
could ever be assented to by Southern
Methodism | cannot see.
The plan does provide for the
transfer of members preachers,
churches, pastoral charges, districts,
annual conferences, mission CONFER
ences and missions in the United
! States from one jurisdiction to the
other" but mo transfer shall be made
/ without the consent Of those that
| it is proposed to transfer. 1t IS clam
ed by the advocates OF the plan that
there will be a VOLUNTARY merg-
/ er OF competing churches and con-
1 ferences after the two churches are
limited under one name and declared
TO be one church. Let us examine this
What inspired the original organiza-
tion of northern churches in Dallas
and Houston and New Orleans and
Louisville and Nashville and Atlanta
and Jacksonville and Miami and Tam
pa. 1t was the desire for northern
fellowship and northern views in ad-
ninistration and northern money to
aid their enterprises and the very
same things that controlled in the
original organization will induce these
CONGREGATIONS to maintain the same
relation in the new church. Similar
reasons will control many Southern
Methodists in border territory and
where outside pressure to unite be-
comes insistent many Methodists will
quietly withdraw and unite with other
churches.
2. The plan will perpetuate the
northern church in the south and le-
galize their occupancy OF territory
where they are now trespassers, Some
body saws at once, don't bring up
ancient history; let the dead past bury
its dead" People who ignore their
history, if it be honorable (and ours
isl. will be unworthy of future. The
northern church has penetrated the
heart of the south with its work in d1-
rect violation of The Plan of Separa-
ton" That plan, adopted by all but
unanimous vote, declared All the So
cieties, stations and conferences adj
herring to the church in the south by
vote of a majority of the members
of said societies, stations and confer
ences shall remain under the unmo-
Tested pastoral care of the southern
church and the ministers of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church (North) shall
in no wise attempt to organize
churches or societies in the limits OF
the Church South nor shall they at
tempt to exercise any pastoral over
sight therein; 4 interior charges
shall in all cases be left to the care of
that church within whose territory
they are situated" The conferences
south Of the Ohio and Potomac rivers
adhered to the Southern church under
this division and few other churches
along the border line and it needs no
argument after this explicit statement
from the record to prove that every
conference and church that has been
set up by Northern Methodism in
the south is here in violation OF a
plain compact, They are here and are
still being organized-a new one or
ganized in Tampa last month, where
we already have twelve-and they
may be here forever, but | cannot
consent to any action that will change
their status from that OF illegal intru-
ders and validate their occupancy or
OF what is our rghtful ground.
1t has never been clear to me why
the northern church is willing to di-
vide territory with us in the mission
fields of the world, allocating work
and responsibility, but is unwilling to