THE WESLEYAN CONFERENCE.
[To ras ED/TOR or ras "EPECTATOR."] SIB., —Now and again the Spectator has been good enough to give a little space to some account of Methodism. This writer, turning over his modest store of journalistic treasures pre- paratory to the triennial removal of a Wesleyan minister, has read once again two of your articles on the subject with delight and deep appreciation. In view of the recent meetings of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference, held in Liverpool, will one or two comments from a ministerial pen be acceptable ? Let the worst, for once, stand first. The Conference will have to bear its share of the general anxiety which just now oppresses the supporters of nearly all forms of organized Christianity in this country. A diminished membership, the sixth in annual succession, will be reported. A discouraging financial fact will awaken sym- pathy beyond merely denominational borders. The current missionary income is £8,000 short of the amount needed to maintain existing enterprises in foreign lands. In a mere comparison of figures these items may not appear very serious. There is nothing disastrous in a reduction of 2,686 on a roll of Church members numbering 485,535. But a progressive Church like that which bears Wesley's name is not content unless she registers advance at every point. Happily there is no sign of depression in the moral and spiritual as distinct from the numerical values of the Church. Her spirit is buoyant and valiant. Three months ago when the Synods, which are really committees of the Conference, met in thirty- six different centres in Great Britain, notes of thankfulness and hope and cheerfulness resounded everywhere. It was recognized that in these changeful, incalculable days it is peculiarly difficult to persuade even earnest Christians to identify themselves so intimately with the Church of their choice as is involved in the responsibilities of definite mem- bership. A recent "extension of the franchise," by which, for the first time, Wesleyan Church members became entitled to vote for members of the Leaders' Meetings, the local church courts, has produced no effect upon the roll of names. It was not, indeed, intended to produce any such effect, though it should presumably have set up a contributory inducement under normal conditions.
Wesleyan Methodism loses, as well as gains, from her middle position in relation to the Church of England on the one hand and the older Nonconformist Churches on the other hand. She is a daughter of the Established Church—a daughter who has long enjoyed a home of her own, and shows no disposition to return to the ancestral roof-tree. It is a rather profitless speculation whether she ought to have come out of the Church which Wesley, honourable and chivalrous saint that he was, loved to the day of his death. The question of "Orders," if nothing else, bars the way back. The Episcopal Church cannot admit the validity of Wesleyan ordination. The Wesleyan Methodist Church cannot submit to reordination. If that and certain other difficulties could be overcome—an improbable and per- haps, from some practical points of view, an undesirable contingency—a reunion would be accomplished such as would constitute a community second to no other probable combina- tion in Protestant Christianity. Distinct from the Church of England, Wesleyan Methodism is distinct also from the Non- conformist or " Free " Churches. Its origin and history are not as theirs. But mutual fellowship is easy and frequent. That infallible proof of equality and unity of spirit—an occasional interchange of pulpits—prevails in many places. It is a matter of local voluntary arrangement, usually negotiated by the Free Church Council. Sometimes a united Communion service is held. This brings out an interesting little "in- equality" here and there. Wesleyans follow in the main the Church of England form of service, but when they visit a Baptist, Congregational, or Presbyterian church to celebrate the Lord's Supper they accept the custom of the sister Church, claiming no merit of catholicity. When, however, the sister Churches share the sacred feast at the Wesleyan Church the Wesleyans generally find it desirable to concede their own custom again ! Free Church unity is a growing force. Between the various Nonconformist Churches there is no "invidious," insuperable bar. At the same time it should occasion no surprise that in certain matters, not least upon a subject like Disestablishment, the sons of Wesley are not always as their Free Church brethren. "To thine own self be true " is as good a motto for the Wesleyan as for the Baptist or the Anglican. One feature of present-day Wesleyan Methodism must strike the outsider : the traditional three years' ministerial term seems to be breaking down. The Liverpool Conference will be asked to sanction a considerable number of extensions —to a fourth year or beyond that. The divergence began many years ago in the interests of great city missions where continuity of personal influence seemed essential. It now obtains in ordinary circuits. The Wesleyan Church has her problems. but she is alive. Her interpretation of Christian truth and her powers of adaptability to changing conditions
fit her still for a conspicuous and beneficent place in the religious life of England and over the wider fields of Christen- dom.—I am, Sir, &c., Madeley, Gravesend, July 16th. J. EDWARD HARLOW.
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