Salt Lake Telegram | 1939-04-26 | Page 7 | Methodist Churches Seek to Heal Schism

I Unification Move Leaders ssiex h THEY HOPE TO UNITE MOt.Ovt PEOTESTANTS Dr. Jaw. oa H, Straagaav Baltimara, presuUnt, general confer,-ence, confer,-ence, Methodist Protestant church, left, and Bishop John M. Moore, Dallas, Methodist Episcopal, South Methodist Churches Seek to Heal Schism KANSAS CITY, Mo, April X (UP) Formation of tho largest Protestant denomination in America Amer-ica wss begun today by delegates Of tho Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Metho-dist Episcopal South and Methodist Protestant churches, which represent repre-sent 8,000,000 members. Such controversial questions as autonomy for women's organizations, organiza-tions, freedom of youth groups, administration ad-ministration of negro churches and disposition of present conflicting church publications will be debated during the three weeks long uniting session. More than MO official delegates, including laymen, bishops and other clergymen, were participating, t&a Will Attend . Bees use of the Importance of the sessions church leaders of several denominations have called It the most important ecclesiastical meeting meet-ing in a century more than 25.000 Methodist lay visitors were expected before adjournment. Members of the three branches last year decided by a majority vote in general conferences to unite. The conference which opened here today bad the full power of determining deter-mining the governmental structure and administration of the new church. Delegates came from the 4 states and nine foreign countries. Foreign missionary fields of five countries were represented by bishops or other administrative leaders. The organisation plan was drafted by the Joint commission on Interdenominational Inter-denominational relations and church union, advised by Bishop Edwin Holt Hughes, Methodist Episcopal church; Bishop John M. Moore, Methodist Episcopal Church South, and Dr. James H. Straughn, Methodist Metho-dist Protestant church. The plan Is for the convention to resolve itself into eight standing committees which will debate the problems of union and submit their completed proposals to the general sessions. The committee titles would be: Education. publishing interests, uperannuats support (of retired clergymen), ritual, missions, conferences, confer-ences, the ministry and temporal economy. Women's organization problems would go to (he missions committee, youths' problems to the education committee, negro question probably to conferences. Schlani Began la ISM Union of the major Methodist churches will end a schism which began in 182s when a faction, disturbed dis-turbed by what tt termed the autocracy autoc-racy of bishops and the lack of an administrative voice by laymen, split from the principal body and called itself the Methodist Protestant Prot-estant church. The split In the remaining church came in 1S44 when northern and southern members couldn't agree on the slavery question. Several other smaller Methodist churches have developed meanwhile, mean-while, but they are not included In tho present unification plana.