I forwarded the Methodist history to a friend who is a retired Methodist minister and very interested in church history. He sends along the comments below. Monya Fayette Co. AL list manager ASTON surname list manager MUSGROVE surname list manager THOMPSON surname list manager Researching: ANDERSON, ANDERSEN (Norway), ASTON, BISHOP, DODSON, FYLLINGSNES (Norway), GRANT, HARRIS, HOWELL, JORDAN, LESLIE, McDILL, McDONALD, MILLIGAN, MORTON, MUSGROVE, OWEN, PEDEN, SOUTH, STANFORD, THOMPSON, WEAVER and WEBSTER Begin forwarded message: > > Thanks! I enjoyed reading it. > > I have copied out a few sentences for additional comment. > From the article: > "In 1785, the first annual conference of the Methodist Episcopal > Church was > held in Franklin County, NC. This historical event took place 29-30 > April > 1785, at Green Hill Place, the home of Major Green Hill (1741-1826) in > central Franklin County, one mile east of Louisburg. >> At this conference, which established the founding of the Methodist > Episcopal Church, Joshua Hartley and Hope Hull were admitted on trial > and > appointed to the Salisbury circuit. The following year the first > Methodist > Annual Conference held in western North Carolina was held at > Salisbury, 1 > Feb 1786, with Thomas Williamson and Henry Bingham appointed to the > Salisbury circuit. In 1787, that year's first annual conference was > again > held at Salisbury, with Rev. Mark Moore appointed on May the 17th as > the > circuit's only minister." > > My comments.... if you care to read them. I didn't realize when I > started > that I would go on so long! > > The first Annual Conference may well have been held as mentioned, but > the > third sentence is not exactly accurate. The ME Church was founded at > Baltimore at Christmas, 1784, at what has been termed "The Christmas > Conference." It was tantamount to a General Conference. That was the > founding of the ME Church. North Carolina may have held the first > Annual > Conference in the new concept, but that conference did not "found the > denomination." The South Carolina Annual Conference was established in > 1785 > as well, but probably after the NC people organized. > > Sometime during the year 1784, John Wesley sent Thomas Coke from > England to > find Asbury to give him instruction concerning the administration of > the > work in the new United States (although we, the USA that is, were still > struggling with the Constitution). The Methodist Societies were > understood > as part of the Anglican Church (read Church of England), but after the > Revolution, there was no more Anglican Church in the US. Something new > would > have to be done. Asbury and Coke were to take charge and divide the > work, > north and south, and carry on. Asbury had other plans. He bought into > the > idea of democracy and decided to let the preachers share in the > decisions, > not simply do what Wesley said. When the preachers gathered at > Baltimore > for the "Christmas Conference," he asked for a vote on who would be > "superintendents" (Wesley's term). They elected him and Coke, as > Wesley had > intended, but then Asbury took the title "Bishop." Wesley was not > impressed. But there was nothing he could do about it. Other business > included what they thought necessary to establish the rules of the > denomination. I have forgotten what year laypeople started sharing the > decisions at General Conference, but it was not too many years down the > road. Now there is a fairly even balance between lay and clergy at all > levels of Conferences. > > The next sentence, concerning the first Annual Conference held in > western > North Carolina is purely a matter of geographical technicality. Some > confusion usually arises in discussions like that which follows, as > the term > "Annual Conference" refers both to an annual meeting and a > geographical/administrative sub-division of Methodism. There would > have > been only one Annual Conference in North Carolina at the time (other > than > the parts that were in the South Carolina Annual Conference). The > meetings > then, as now, are held at varying locations. Therefore the first AC in > western NC was simply a meeting, not another organization. The article > does > not say otherwise, but when I first read it, I thought it might mean > "the > first meeting of the Western NC Conference." NC has two Annual > Conferences > now, NC and Western NC, but back then there was only one. > > As far as I know, the rest of the article is accurate. I found it very > interesting! Thanks for thinking about me! > > > > > >