(7.) From each Class-leader as to the condition of the classes of the charge he represents. (8.) From each Committee. 4. To inquire concerning Local Preachers- (4.) Who shall be recommended for ordination? (5.) Who shall be recommended for recognition of orders? (6.) Who shall be recommended for admission into the Traveling Connection? (7.) Where are Local Preachers stationed? 5. To inquire concerning Exhorters (1.) Who shall have their licenses renewed? 6. Where shall the next District Conference be held? 7. Is there any other business? The order of business may be varied and the business interspersed with such literary and religious exercises as the Conference may direct. 127. The provisions of this section shall be of force and binding only in those districts in which the Quarterly Conferences of a majority of the Circuits and Stations shall have approved it by asking the Presiding Elder to convene the District Conference, as herein provided. A District Conference may be discontinued by a vote of two thirds of the members present, at any regular session, notice thereof having been given at a previous session, and with the concurrence of three fourths of the Quarterly Conferences in the district. In those districts in which District Conferences shall be held, the powers by this section given to the District Conferences shall not be exercised by the Quarterly Conferences. In all other cases their powers shall remain as heretofore provided. Vigorous efforts were soon after employed by some administrators to effect the early dissolution of District Conferences at important localities, and also to so spread their adverse action before the Church as to intimidate and influence other sections that were inclined to abandon them. This action is the more unseemly, as the institution is popular in our Southern territory, and, indeed, necessary to accomplish results similar to those in the Church South. In the North-west it is an important factor in promoting connectional interests, and, as a general thing, is prospering in the West. The wise utterances of Dr. Crary, a veteran editor and Presiding Elder in far-off Colorado, have a ring of logic that cannot be resisted. He writes that to repeal the law now would be a stupendous error, and a gross injustice to the mission fields, the frontier, and to the South, where District Conferences are most prized. The fatal blunder in the law is that miserable section which leaves it optional with the district to carry it out or not. In the Middle tier of States no uniform action prevails, and much depends upon the character of the Presiding Elder in popularizing the exercises and routine questions so as to invest the sessions with attraction. There are points on the southern and eastern coasts that have resisted, with studied indifference, the mandate of the Church to give the institution a fair experiment, preferring to hide themselves behind a mere technicality and privilege, and thus depreciate an organization they know nothing about practically. Among the hopeful signs that assure the friends of the measure, and indicate a vigorous defense against its entire abolition at the next General Conference, is the wise concession made by the District Conferences which include that healthy spot in Methodism, Philadelphia-that, while there are objectionable features in the present section, which led to steps toward dissolution at first, the feeling steadily grows that some organization is necessary to complete the unity of the wheels within the wheel, and the duty now is to solve that problem and avoid hasty action. This is the view of Bishop Simpson, namely, that there is needed some kind of an organization to aid in promoting our connectional interests, and other work which the Quarterly Conference is unable to perform because of its local and limited powers, while the Annual Conference has not time at command for such business as the District Conference, or some body of a similar character, could do. A purely ministerial body cannot act for the laity, and hence the greater necessity for a mixed ecclesiastical court such as has been in force over a century in England, and which we must come to sooner or later. Bishop Simpson expresses the idea in his valuable work, the "Cyclopædia of Methodism," (see page 301:) "Where they (District Conferences) have been used and properly conducted, they have been found valuable in developing a deeper interest in the af fairs of the Church, and in strengthening the connectional bonds of the district." Bishop Peck, and other Bishops, have given utterance to similar views, the former in much stronger language than the words quoted. Dr. Fry, of the "Central," in an able editorial, advocates the reconstruction of the District Conference as the best means of restoring the ancient acquaintance of the Bishops with the Churches, lost since Asbury's time by the wide extension of our work, and outlines what should be its character. We quote: It should absorb to such an extent the functions of the Quarterly Conference, that the largest Annual Conference would not require more than three or four districts. The District Conference should meet twice a year, and a Bishop should always be present and preside, as at the Annual Conference. These District Conferences would afford him an insight into the condition of the charges that could not be obtained in any other way. It would greatly extend his personal intercourse with both the preachers and the people, and restore to some extent the pastoral relation of the Bishops of the Church, which has nearly been lost under the present system. Coming so near the eighteenth delegated quadrennial session of the General Conference, there is naturally some solicitude on the part of the friends of District Conferences. In this institution the National Local Preachers' Association have a vital interest; and they have taken action on the subject, and appointed a strong deputation to present and urge their memorial. Chief above every personal consideration is the desire now and always expressed by that body, to ask for such an organization as will elevate the standard of ministerial usefulness and acceptability, and render this class of uncompensated preachers more useful and effective. They ask to be authorized to see that all who are admitted into the relation are worthy of it, to judge of their qualifications and continuance, to weed out the incompetent and useless, and to keep the ermine of ministerial purity under close surveillance, as cannot be done by the narrowed circle of a small Quarterly Conference. This, it is believed, can be accomplished best through the District Conference, or a body with similar powers. The same liberal spirit that was shown in their memorial, which led to the action of the General Conference in 1872, in associating the Traveling with the Local Preachers, is felt now in the action sought to be accomplished in May, 1880, and which was tacitly desired in the revision of 1876, either to be joined with the itinerants in an organization, or a provision inserted to hold a separate session at the same meeting for Local Preachers. In whatever form the General Conference may recast the District Conference, they ask that its meetings shall be mandatory and not optional, and this requisition to be applicable to all concerned. Let this be done, and the declaration that Local Preachers do not attend because they feel ignored will no longer be true, as they are noted for being as obedient sons in the Gospel as any other class of ministers. The National Local Preachers' Association at their late session in Troy, N. Y., adopted the following: Resolved, That we memorialize the General Conference: 1. To organize the Local Preachers, either by districts or Conferences, under the presidency of a Bishop or Presiding Elder. 2. That such organization be given authority to license Local Preachers, persons recommended by the Quarterly Conference, and to try and expel Local Preachers, and also to recommend Local Preachers to be received on trial in the Annual Confer ence. With some slight modifications in the section and provisions made for the just demands of Local Preachers, either by having a better recognition of their position and rights, or by their having a sub-District Conference for their benefit exclusively, the present section may be made acceptable, and can be easily carried out if it has an administrator who does not desire defeat. The routine disciplinary part may drag in the hands of a Bishop at an Annual Conference; or a Presiding Elder may make a Quarterly Conference dull and prosy; and so a District Conference may be duller than either, if the chairman allows long, rambling, verbal reports, with nothing in them, to occupy the principal time. Reports should be brief and pertinent. Considerable time should be given to popular exercises to interest the people. Part of the day exercises should be of a biblical and literary character, and the evenings should be largely devoted to religious exercises, and the social element be blended and infused in every part. Careful preparation for these meetings, the occasion well announced, and the introduction of popular features, will insure a grand success. It is proper to note, that while the National Local Preachers' Association seeks to elevate the standard of ministerial ability, and to have more systematic methods to increase their efficiency and accomplish greater successes, yet they think that the present interpretation of the law, requiring a course of study for unordained Local Preachers and candidates for license, is hardly warranted by the Discipline, or by the action of the General Conference, so as to be applied strictly to aged Local Preachers who have spent scores of years in the ministry and are yet not ordained, so that they should be refused a renewal of their license and humiliated because they are unable to study by the course of the District Conference. Let the law be applied to those who enter the ministry, and young Local Preachers, without making the rule retrospective upon the class of aged veterans. It is difficult to picture the ideal District Conference that will meet the requirements of the administrators and members of these bodies, but an outline sketch might be ventured. A body of this character should, in order to save time and expense, combine the elements of a Ministerial Association, District Sunday-school Institute, and a District Stewards' Meeting, and thus make one organization, and render it more effective and useful to every charge and to the connectional interests of the district. The essays should be broader and more practical than usually read at ministerial meetings, embracing questions of polity and the benevolent institutions, and thereby reaching ministers and members. The Sunday-school cause might be greatly stimulated under associated efforts, both by reports and special exercises. District Stewards have an opportunity to learn the condition of each charge in the district, and to act intelligently in their work. The holding of separate meetings for the above-named various objects is a wastage that should be avoided, as all the interests could be easily blended into one meeting. That portion of the disciplinary questions relegated from the Quarterly Conference to the District Conference may be rendered more effective in a larger body. Work may be done by a mixed one that could not be accomplished through a strictly ministerial membership, and the more the ministry and laity are blended together in considering the educational, benevolent, and financial interests of the Church, the better. Connectional objects and the social element may be stimulated, intensified, and revolutionized through this channel. The present chapter may be made to meet the highest ideal by grafting the part desired by Local Preachers, making the holding of its sessions absolute, and leaving the power of dissolution to the General |
