A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge • VOLUME 7

THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG

['Herzog, J. J. (Johann Jakob), 1805-1882', 'Schaff, Philip, 1819-1893', 'Hauck, Albert, 1845-1918', 'Jackson, Samuel Macauley, 1851-1912', 'Sherman, Charles Colebrook, 1860-1927', 'Gilmore, George W. (George William), 1858-1933'] • Public-domain historical edition in the United States (published 1908); OCR from Internet Archive scan

THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG

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there under the influence of Methodism and reporting doctrinal and spiritual transition to their friends in the Fatherland. In 1906 the missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Japan and the missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the Methodist Church of Canada, with the consent and under the direction of their respective churches, united to form the Japan Methodist Church; and the first general conference of that church was convened in Tokyo on May 22, 1907. The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, founded in 1869, succeeded a number of other organizations of limited scope. As an adjunct to the " parent " society, and as an independent missionary force, it has been of incalculable value. Within thirty-eight years it has raised and expended in foreign lands $9,244,187, of which $984,975 was collected in the year 1908-9. The Woman's Home Missionary Society was organized in 1880. It has accumulated $1,250,000 in property, invested in industrial homes for girls; others for children, deaconesses, and training-schools for missionaries, deaconesses, and nurses for hospitals. Its annual income is about $200,000. In the general missionary work of the church, until 1907, domestic or home missions were dealt with by the Missionary Society and included under the general term of missions. This included mission conferences and missions to the English-speaking churches needing help in the annual conferences, and non-English-speaking citizens of the United States, such as Germans, Scandinavians, Chinese, Finns, and Italians. In conformity with action taken by the general conference of 1904, and consummated by a commission appointed for the purpose, all such domestic missions were transferred to the care of the Board of Church Extension ; and in conformity with the action in and by the states of New York and Pennsylvania, the title was changed to the Board of Home Missions and Church Extension. This board is located in Philadelphia. The name of the original society was changed to the Board of Foreign Missions, its headquarters remaining in New York.

The origin and organization of the Methodist Brotherhood is as follows: In 1877 Dr. A. B. Kendig organized a group of men in the church of which he was pastor, which he styled the Mizpah Brotherhood. He continued to organize such 10. Broth- societies until 1898. Bishop T. B.

erhoods. Neely, independently of this movement, organized in the churches of which he was successively pastor what was termed a Wesley Brotherhood. The first of these was organized in 1890. Meanwhile societies of men in local churches had been springing up. Some of these were called the International Brotherhood of St. Andrew and Philip (see Andrew and Philip, Brotherhood of). Besides these there were Oxford Clubs and Brotherhoods, Embury Brotherhoods, etc. In 1896 Dr. F. D. Leete organized in his church the Brotherhood of St. Paul. In the succeeding two years the Wesley Brotherhood and the Brotherhood of St. Paul began to spread. In 1898 Dr. Neely invited representatives of all local and general brotherhoods to a convention. There was a union of several, and those bodies that united

took the name, first, of the Brotherhood of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which later was changed to " The Wesley Brotherhood — the Brotherhood of the Methodist Episcopal Church." This was its legal title. As the Brotherhood of St. Paul had not affiliated with this body, there arose in the church two distinct movements, and this brought about the wide-spread organization of independent brotherhoods. In Nov., 1907, the first real convention of the Wesley organization was held at Louisville, Ky. At the convention of the Brotherhood of St. Paul, and at the instance of Bishop Berry, a resolution was adopted calling for union with the Wesley Brotherhood. Commissions were appointed by each body and the joint commission of unification met in Buffalo Mar. 11, 1908. The two brotherhoods then went out of existence and the Methodist Brotherhood was formed. The Methodist Brotherhood memorialized the general conference of 1908 for recognition and adoption, which was granted. In these later movements from the year 1905 Mr. William B. Patterson, corresponding secretary of the Wesley Brotherhood, was very influential, and he was elected general secretary and still holds that position.

In the Methodist Episcopal Church, almost from the beginning, education has been in the front rank of denominational enterprise. The official list shows that the church sustains 173 in- 11. Other stitutions of learning: 26 of these are Agencies, theological institutions; 54 universities and colleges; 27 classical seminaries; 8 institutions exclusively for women; 55 foreign-mission schools; and 4 missionary institutes and Bible training-schools. Wesleyan University was founded in 1831. It is the first institution of its grade established under distinctively Methodist auspices. The Northwestern, Syracuse, Boston, and Wesleyan universities have the largest endowments; and the first three the largest number of students.

The first theological institution established by American Methodists was located at Concord, N. H., in 1847. Its corporate name was the Methodist General Biblical Institute. After Boston University was established, the Institute was transferred from Concord, and became in 1871 The Boston University School of Theology. The Garrett Biblical Institute, incorporated by the legislature of Illinois in 1855, situated in Evanston, III, was endowed by the philanthropic woman whose name it bears. Drew Theological Seminary, formally opened in 1867, at Madison, N. J., was made possible, furnished with buildings, and endowed by Daniel Drew. The value of the property held for the church by the trustees of these institutions is twenty-six million dollars, and the sum total of the endowment twenty-four million dollars. In addition to the Missionary and Church Extension societies, the church supports a Board of Education, a Board of Sunday-schools, and a peculiarly interesting Board of Freedmen's Aid. It has, in the southern and neighboring states, 217,011 communicants of African descent. Vast sums have been expended in aiding them to maintain churches and schools. To an intelligent and sympathetic appreciation,

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