Leaders' Meetings. As an essential part of the Wcsleyan sj'stem of subpastoral superintendence by means of class - leaders [see Leaders], an organized meeting was appointed to be held Meekly under the above title. A leaders' meeting is composed of the itin- erant ministers of any circuit or station, and all persons regularly in office as leaders or stewards. See Stew- ards. In England, the powers of leaders' meetings have been considerably enlarged since such meetings were instituted by Mr. Wesley. " They have now a veto upon the admittance of members into the society, when appealed to in such cases by any parties concerned : they possess the power of a jury in the trial of accused members : without their consent, no leader or steward can be appointed to office, or removed from it, except- ing when the crime proved merits exclusion from mem- bership, in wliich case the superintendent can at once depose the offender from office, and expel him from the society. Without their consent, in conjunction with the trustees of the chapel in which their meeting is at- tached, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper cannot be administered in the said chapel ; and the fund for the relief of poor and afflicted members of the society is dis- tributed under their direction and management. Eeg- idar leaders' meetings have from the beginning been found essential to the pastoral care and spiritual pros- perity of our societies, as well as to the orderly trans- action of their financial concerns. The ministers are directetl attentively to examine, at each meeting, the en- tries made in the class-books in reference to the attend- ance of members, in order that prompt and timely meas- ures may be adopted in cases which, on inquiry, shall ajipear to demand the exercise of discipline, or the in- ter])osition of pastoral exhortation and admonition" ((Jrindrod's Compendium of Wedeijan ]\[etkodism). In the Methodist Episcopal Church leaders' meetings have no judicial or veto powers as described above. They are held monthly, or at the call of the pastor. Their usual business embraces the following items : o. That tlie leaders have an opportiniity " to inform the minister of any that are sick, or of any that walk disorderly and will not be reproved." h. That the pastor may examine the several class-books, and ascertain the Christian walk and character of each member of the Church, and learn what members of the flock especially need his watch- care and counsel, c. To inquire into the religious state of all persons on trial, and ascertain who can be recom- mended by the leader for admission into full connection, and who should be discontinued, d. To examine the several leaders respecting their '• method of leading their classes." e. To recommend to the quarterly conference suitable candidates for appointment as local preachers. The leaders' meeting also becomes to pastors a conven- ient and appropriate body of men with whom they can take coun.sel from time to time respecting many minor matters of Church interest in reference to which advice or co-operation may seem desirable. See CLASS-jiEEr- INGS. (D. P. K.)
V.-U
Leaf, a term occurring in the Bible, both in the sin- gular and pliural, in three senses.
1. Leaf of a tree (prop, nbr, aleh', so called from spruiging up ; Gr. (pvWov ; also "^S", opki', foliage [Psa. civ, 12], or in Chald. the top of a tree [Dan. iv, 9, 11, 18], and ~'^^, te'rei^h, a. fresh leaf [Ezek. xvii, 9] "plucked off" [Gen. viii, 11]). The olive -leaf is mentioned in Gen. viii, 11. Fig-leaves formed the first covering of our parents in Eden. The barren fig-tree (Matt, xxi, 19; Mark xi, 13) on the road between Bethany and Je- rusalem " had on it nothing but leaves." The "tig-leaf is alluded to by our Lord (Matt, xxiv, 32 ; Mark xiii, 28) : "When his branch is yet tender, and iiutteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh." The oak-leaf is mentioned in Isa. i, 30, and vi, 13. Leaves, the organs of perspiration and inhalation in plants, are used sym- bolically in the Scriptures in a variety of senses ; some- times they are taken as an evidence of grace (Psa. i, 3), while at others they represent the mere outward form of religion without the Spirit (Matt, xxi, 19). Their flourishing and their decay, their restoration and their fragility, furnish the subjects of numerous allusions of great force and beauty (Lev. xxvi, 36 ; Isa. i, 30 ; xxxiv, 4; Jer. viii, 13; Dan. iv, 12, 14, 21 ; Mark xi, 13; xiii, 28 ; Eev. xxii, 2). The bright, fresh color of the leaf of a tree or plant shows that it is richh' nourished bj' a good soil, hence it is the symbol of prosperity (Psa. i, 3 ; Jer. xvii, 8). A faded leaf, on the contrary, shows the lack of moisture and nourishment, and becomes a fit emblem of adversity and decay (Job xiii, 25 ; Isa. Ixiv, C). Similar figures have prevailed in all ages (see We- myss. Symbol. Dictionary, s. v.). In Ezekiel's vision of the holy waters, the blessings of the INIessiah's kingdom .are spoken of under the image of trees growing on a river's bank ; there " shall grow all trees for food, whose leaf shall not fade" (Ezek. xlvii, 12). In this passage it is said that " the fruit of these trees shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for medicine" (margin, yo?- bruises and sores'). With this compare John's vision of the heav- enly Jerusalem (Eev. xxii, 1, 2) : "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life .... and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." There is probably here an al- lusion to some tree whose leaves were used by the Jews as a medicine or ointment ; indeed, it is very likely that many plants and leaves were thus made use of by them, as by the old English herbalists. See Tree of Life.