USA > Indiana > A history of the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, from its organization in 1844 to the present > Part 16
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Again in 1900 the conference instructed the com- mittee on General Qualifications to sit with closed doors, and not to communicate the names of any giving in- formation concerning candidates.
All this certainly indicates the rising standard the North Indiana Conference was holding before the can- didates for the ministry, and that these efforts have re-
7 Minutes, 1895, 10; 1896, 14; 1897, 14; 1898, 15.
8 Ibid, 1899, 35.
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sulted in greatly improving the personnel of the confer- ence, no one familiar with its history can doubt. The conference has never placed educational qualifications above vital religion, but they have insisted, and rightly so, upon efficiency and sufficient training, on the part of ministerial candidates.
Bishop S. M. Merrill presided at the session of the conference which convened at Kokomo, from March 24-30, 1897. The session was without especial incident, except the investigation of the characters and conduct of two of the members. A class of twelve were ad- mitted on trial, and five were admitted into full mem- bership. At the next session of the conference, which met at Hartford City (1898), at which Bishop C. H. Fowler presided, an unusual occurrence took place, when a series of resolutions were presented, expressing appreciation to Rev. H. N. Herrick, who that year was retiring as Presiding Elder of the Muncie district, be- cause he had refused to accept a gift from the preach- ers on his district, as a mark of their esteem and appre- ciation, on the ground that "many of the brethren were financially unable to contribute to such an ob- ject." The resolution further expresses appreciation for his "uniform loving kindness, and wise administra- tion." This was adopted by a rising, unanimous vote, though for some reason this wise precedent has not been followed, the failure to follow it being due, no doubt, far more to the preachers than to the District Superintendents.
A question that was vexing the conference consider- ably during these years, was the enforcement of the rule, against preachers using tobacco. At this session (1898) of the conference a special committee was ap- pointed to investigate the use of tobacco by members of the conference.ยบ The committee circulated a pledge against the use among the members and a number of
9 Ibid, 1898, 18, 31.
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them refused to sign, and these names, by the order of the conference were referred to the Presiding Elders. Naturally, a rule of this sort would meet considerable opposition, as the use of tobacco was a common prac- tice among ministers in the early days of the church in Indiana,10 but no one today doubts the wisdom of the rule. The committee on the Tobacco Pledge, at the ses- sion of 1897, had this to say: they recommended that the Presiding Elders continue the good work of get- ting the preachers to sign the tobacco pledge, "until the whole lump of the North Indiana Conference shall be fully leavened and purified from the tobacco evil, now and forever;" and the committee also invite the mem- bers of the churches, "to come up with their ministers to the same line of economy, purity and righteousness, on this very important question."
During these years also the Methodists in Indiana were standing at the forefront of the fight against the use and sale of liquor. The modern temperance move- ment, which has continued to our own day, with ever increasing volume, was just getting well under way, during the nineties. The conference in 1894, "renewed its annual purpose to fight this gigantic foe in every possible legitimate way," and they urge "all Christian voters to consistently harmonize their action at the ballot-box with their temperance principles and pray- ers." Again in 1895 the conference promises "to con- tinue our efforts to keep the record of our church clean before the world on this subject," and "at proper times to speak and work for the complete victory of pure temperance principles in State and home." They also approve the passage of the Nicholson bill by the Indiana State Legislature, and promise to "aid whenever they can in its execution." In 1896 the conference approve the action of the General Conference on temperance, and also take action on the "increasing and alarming
10 Sweet, Circuit Rider Days in Indiana, 69, 71, 320.
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cigarette habit," pledging themselves to raise their voices "against its pernicious use whenever and wher- ever opportunity affords." In 1897 the "Anti-Saloon League" was indorsed and their approval of the Nichol- son bill reaffirmed, while in 1900 the conference ex- pressed itself vigorously on the army canteen issue, as well as reaffirming its old position on the whole ques- tion of the liquor traffic.
One of the questions prominently before the confer- ence during this period, was the improvement of the living facilities of the preachers, particularly in refer- ence to the parsonages. In 1894 there were 142 parson- ages in the conference, while in 1900 the number of parsonages was reported at 161. At the conference of 1898 a committee on parsonages and furniture was ap- pointed, which recommended that all charges not hav- ing parsonages, shall provide one, "located as near the center of the charge as possible." This committee dis- approved the buying of old buildings for parsonages, but earnestly recommended the building of new houses for the preachers, and they urge also that these houses be "convenient and roomy." They further recommend that all parsonages be furnished with the heavy pieces of furniture, though the pastor in charge is requested to see that everything be kept in good condition. At the conference of 1899 which met at Decatur, the par- sonages and furniture committee, make still further recommendations in reference to the parsonages. They urge that in building, a study and a bath room and "other well-known conveniences" be provided, and also that the grounds about the building be laid off in walks and lawn, and planted with shade trees.
At the beginning of this period there were but thirty-nine churches in the conference which paid a salary of $1,000 or more. The highest salary paid was $1,800; Mulberry Street, Kokomo, and Anderson be- ing the only churches paying that amount. Seven
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churches paid $1,500, namely, Bluffton, Wayne Street, Fort Wayne, Peru, High Street, Muncie, First Church, Richmond, Marion and Wabash. Eleven churches paid between $1,100 and $1,350, while nineteen churches paid $1,000. In 1900 only thirty-seven churches paid $1,000 or more, being two less than in 1894, though there had been a slight raise in the average salary in the conference as a whole. The total cash salary ac- count for the conference in 1900 was $140,817, while in 1894 it was $127,024.
During the seven years, from 1894 to 1900 thirty- one members of the conference died, the majority of whom were old men, and had served out their allotted years in the work of the ministry, and had retired. George W. Bowers, whose name for many years had stood first on the conference roll, died March 1, 1894, aged 82 years. He had been licensed to preach in 1837, was a member of the General Conference of 1856, and had retired in 1870. The death of Samuel J. McElwee was also recorded at the conference of 1894. The next year the minutes record the death of six members: Enoch Holdstock, Benjamin Smith, D. F. Stright, Will- iam S. Boston, J. A. R. Gahring and William S. Birch. Holdstock, Smith, Stright and Birch were all old men, and all of them had served the conference and the church for long years and with great honor. Again in 1896 the conference suffered the loss of a large num- ber of its members, this year the list containing seven names: Thomas Sells, William Anderson, Lewis Rob- erts, a nephew of Bishop Roberts, John Harrison, A. C. Gerard, H. N. Barnes and Milton Wyman. In 1897 three names were added to the roll of the dead: Enos Pollard Church, John S. McElwee and Adam H. Currie, and the next year four others were added to the num- ber: John E. Earp, C. E. Hollpeter, James Johnson and D. D. Smith. John E. Earp had served for a num- ber of years as professor of modern languages at De-
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Pauw University, though his relationship to the North Indiana Conference had only been since 1896, when he had transferred from the Southwest Kansas Confer- ence where he had been President of the Southwest Kansas College. In 1899 the death of four of the older members of the conference was recorded, John Moffitt, Alfred G. McCarter, R. A. Newton and M. A. Teague. The death of four of the older members of the confer- ence again occurred during 1899-1900; M. H. Mott, Charles Harvey, N. D. Shakelford and Reuben Tobey. There also occurred during this year a death which greatly shocked the conference, that of Edwin T. Gregg, the young pastor of Grace Church, Kokomo. He died in his thirty-eighth year, having been a mem- ber of the conference only since 1891.
The fifty-seventh session of the conference was held at Elkhart, April 4-9, 1900, Bishop Cyrus D. Foss pre- siding. This was the last session of the conference in the nineteenth century and it was also the conference for the election of General Conference delegates. On the first ballot for delegates the following received the highest number of votes: Cyrus U. Wade, 134; H. N. Herrick, 133; F. G. Browne, 111; William D. Parr, 107; M. S. Marble, 90; J. C. Murry, 51 ; L. J. Naftzger, 47; A. E. Mahin, 41 ; J. A. Lewellen, 40, and C. G. Hud- son, 24. The first four having received a majority of all the votes cast were declared elected. On the second ballot M. S. Marble received 142 votes, and was elected, and on the same ballot L. J. Naftzger received 93 votes and was declared elected as a reserve delegate, while on the third ballot James C. Murray was elected a second reserve delegate.
The Lay Electoral conference also convened at the seat of the conference, and elected A. A. Small of An- derson and A. B. Cline of Bluffton as their delegates, with George T. Herrick of Wabash and L. H. Bunyon of Richmond as reserves. The Lay conference had also
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adopted a long series of resolutions, in which they particularly emphasized the twentieth century thank offering and DePauw University. They endorsed the keeping of the time limit, and instructed their dele- gates to vote against its removal; they also approved of the Anti-Saloon League and its methods, and pledged their support. The most striking and revolutionary action of the Lay conference, however, was in refer- ence to the Presiding Elders. In a series of resolutions they pointed out the fact that the conference was pay- ing $10,000 a year for the support of six Presiding Elders, and they stated as their conviction that equally effective work could be done with three Presiding Eld- ers, and they resolve "That it is the expressed desire of this Lay Electoral conference to have the Presiding Elders' Districts reduced to three by a fair and judi- cious adjustment of the boundaries of the District."
In reply to this action of the Lay conference, a reso- lution was introduced into the conference, in which grave doubts as to the wisdom of the laymen's request is expressed, and providing for the appointment of a committee to carefully consider this question of the re- duction of the number of districts, and this committee was instructed to bring in a plan for five districts and also one for four districts, and they were instructed to report at the next session of the conference.
One of the activities of the church, which must not be overlooked in this period, was that of the Woman's Foreign and Home Missionary Societies. In 1894 the Woman's Foreign Missionary in the North Indiana Conference contributed $3,828, while by 1900 the con- tributions had more than doubled the sum contributed in the later year being $7,496. Even a greater rate of increase was recorded by the Woman's Home Mission- ary Society, which in 1894 contributed $1,811 to their work, and in 1900 $3,932, and in 1899 the amount had been $4,548.
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As stated in the beginning of this chapter, the period of the nineties was not one of conspicuous mate- rial growth for the North Indiana Conference, though there was advancement along almost every line of church activity. In many respects the period was one of transition, a period in which a number of new move- ments were just beginning to get under way. During these years DePauw University had gone through a period of financial stress; Fort Wayne College, as a North Indiana Conference institution, had come to an end; the Epworth League and the Deaconess work were just in their beginnings. As a whole, the con- ference was conservative in its attitude toward most changes. It opposed the removal of the time limit; it stood for the old type of emotional religion ; it opposed any change in the discipline in regard to the amuse- ment clause. The conference, however, stood firmly and loyally by the cause of education, and did its ut- most to lift DePauw University out of its dangerous financial condition. During these years the conference lifted its standard of ministerial qualifications, and many other wise and far-sighted plans were laid, which were to result in greater things for Methodism, within the bounds of the North Indiana Conference during the opening years of the twentieth century.
RECENT PROGRESS, 1901-1917.
The opening years of the twentieth century will ever be conspicuous in the history of the North Indiana Conference, because of the outstanding progress of the church, along all lines of activity during that period. As has already been stated in the previous chapter, the closing years of the nineteenth century were not pros- perous ones for the church, but as we look back, we see that they were years of preparation. In that pe- riod new movements were begun, which were to come
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to fruition in the next decade. It is the purpose of this chapter to pass in rapid review the work that has been accomplished, and the progress that has been made during the last half generation. We are to deal almost entirely with men who are still living, and for that reason, there will be no attempt to pass judgment, or to estimate the work of any.
In viewing this period as a whole a number of things stand out with prominence;1 the great advance in giving, which is manifested in the increase of benev- olences, pastoral support, and the building of churches and parsonages. In 1901 the missionary offering, for both foreign and home missions amounted to $25,153, while in 1916 the amount reported was $67,335, an increase of $42,182; in 1901 the total of all salaries paid by the churches in the conference was $163,644, and we have pointed out in a former chapter that there had been little or no increase during the ten years previous, but in 1916 this item amounted to $288,532, which means that the average salary in 1916 was almost double what it was in 1901, for there were but five more churches in 1916 than in 1901. The total of the Presiding Elder's salaries at the beginning of this period was $10,542, in 1916 it was $18,505. The most marked advance, however, was in the value of churches, the value of the churches in 1916 being more than double their value in 1901; the value in 1901 was $1,729,647, while in 1916, the 485 churches were valued at $3,882,670. The value of parsonages had also nearly doubled. Conference claimants in 1901 received $5,115, in 1916, $26,687; the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society gave $8,937 in 1901, and $17,194 in 1916; the Woman's Home Missionary Society, $4,584 in 1901, and $12,727 in 1916.2
(2) The second thing which stands out during this
1 In 1901 there were 480 churches in the conference.
2 Statistics obtained from Conference Minutes, 1901-1916.
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period is the increased efficiency of the membership of the conference. Particularly has this been manifested in the district superintendents. During the past six- teen years the following men have served as Presiding, Elders or District Superintendents : On the Fort Wayne district, W. H. Daniel, C. U. Wade, J. A. Beatty and W. W. Martin; on the Goshen district, B. A. King, W. H. Bennett, Somerville Light and R. J. Wade; Ko- komo-Logansport district, M. S. Marble, W. D. Parr, H. N. Herrick, C. C. Cissel, M. S. Marble and B. S. Hol- lopeter; on the Muncie district, C. U. Wade, L. J. Naftzger, C. E. Line and J. A. Beatty; on the Rich- mond district, George H. Hall, T. M. Guild, W. B. Free- land, and Somerville Light; on the Wabash district, E. L. Seamans, B. S. Hollopeter and M. S. Marble. Within these years several of the districts have stood at or near the head of all the districts in Methodism, and this outstanding success has been due largely to the type of leadership which these District Superin- tendents have given, and also to the enlightened co- operation of the ministers and laymen. Indeed in no conference in Methodism will there be found a higher type of lay leadership than in the North Indiana Con- ference. (3) A third characteristic of this period has been the renewed emphasis which has been placed on evangelism, which has resulted in a rapid growth in church membership. In 1901 the church membership throughout the North Indiana Conference numbered 52,826; in 1916 the numbers had increased to 81,693, which is an average increase of 1,800 members a year, or nearly twice the average yearly increase of the ten years previous.
The first Conference session of this period con- vened at Elwood, April 10-15, 1901, presided over by Bishop Merrill. The session was without incident, and passed pleasantly, with the usual reports and routine business. The Conference minutes this year contain
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the constitution and by-laws of the Preacher's Aid Society, entirely recast, for the preachers to examine during the year, a vote to be taken upon the changed constitution the year following. At the next session of the Conference (1902) which met at Marion, with Bishop Joyce presiding, the secretary of the Preacher's Aid Society reported the funds of the society to be $40,314.77, with $1,200 to be distributed to the Con- ference claimants. The Preachers' Aid Society contin- ued to occupy the attention of the Conference during all of this period, the society keeping a general secre- tary in the field for the purpose of increasing the endowment. The funds of this society have increased as follows :
1902
$ 40,314
Distributed to Conference Claimants 1,200
1903
45,684
Distributed to Conference Claimants
1,350
1904
54,320
Distributed to Conference Claimants
1,450
1905
63,229
Distributed to Conference Claimants
1,750
1906
58,777
Distributed to Conference Claimants
1,761
1907
69,366
Distributed to Conference Claimants 1,854
1908
76,966
Distributed to Conference Claimants
1,835
1909
78,466
Distributed to Conference Claimants 2,205
1910
80,053
No report.
80,830
1911
Distributed to Conference Claimants
2,050
84,623
1912
Distributed to Conference Claimants.
2,492
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1913
86,544
Distributed to Conference Claimants 2,507
1914
111,236
Distributed to Conference Claimants 2,661
1915 119,350
Distributed to Conference Claimants 3,373
1916
133,239
Distributed to Conference Claimants 3,477
During all of these years C. U. Wade has been the secretary-treasurer of the society.
During the early years of this period there began to be manifested a general interest throughout the church, in the better care of the worn-out preachers. At the Conference of 1903, at Noblesville, a memorial to the General Conference was adopted by the North Indiana Conference, asking that the discipline be so changed as to require that Conference Claimants shall share pro rata with Bishops, Presiding Elders and Pastors, in the distribution of funds raised for ministerial sup- port. The reason given for this request was the ten- dency to make the claims of pastors, Presiding Elders and Bishops a sort of preferred claim, and in many instances their claims were fully met, while the claims of the Conference Claimants have not been half paid. At the session of 1904, at Muncie, another memorial from the West Nebraska Conference, asking that the next General Conference provide some connectional plan "which will make better provisions for our super- annuated preachers, their widows and orphans," was adopted. This agitation was general throughout the church, and has resulted in a great effort to raise an adequate connectional fund, for the support of retired ministers, throughout the church.
The copy of the minutes of 1904 contain on the front page the pictures of the secretaries of the Con- ference since 1860, as follows: A. Greenman, secre-
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tary 1860; M. Mahin, 1862-1869; M. H. Mendenhall, secretary from 1870-1876; E. F. Hasty, secretary from 1877-1878; C. G. Hudson, 1879-1894 ; and L. J. Naftz- ger, secretary 1895-1904. All of these secretaries have full beards except the last, which was evidently the Methodist preacher style for thirty years after the Civil War. In 1905, D. V. Williams was elected secre- tary, and he has continued to serve in that capacity until the present.
The session of the Conference of 1904, meeting at Muncie, was presided over by Bishop McCabe, and was the session at which General Conference delegates were to be selected. A rather unusual occurrence in the election of delegates this year, was the fact that all six delegates were elected on the first ballot as follows : Cyrus U. Wade, William D. Parr, Horace N. Herrick, George H. Hill, Leslie J. Naftzger and Frank G. Browne. Also the three reserve delegates were elected on this same ballot, as follows: E. L. Semans, H. W. Bennett and William H. Daniel.
Two interesting resolutions were adopted by this conference. The first one requested each pastor to pay one dollar into the Conference Treasury for the pur- chase of an adding machine for the use of the "Con- ference slaves," which is certainly an indication that the North Indiana Conference was facing the twenti- eth century with its eyes open. The other resolution was from the Muncie District Conference, asking that the next General Conference to meet at Los Angeles restore the time limit, which had been removed at the General Conference four years previous. These two resolutions well illustrate the temper of the Confer- ence; entirely "up to date" and yet moderately con- servative.
Again in 1904 the Northwest Indiana Conference made another attempt to change the boundaries be- tween the two conferences. In the Northwest Confer-
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ence memorial they state that Logansport is ten or twelve miles west of a line dividing the state north and south, and that it is a great railroad center, and is much needed by their conference as an administrative center, but it is so located as not to be easily used for that purpose by the North Indiana Conference. An- other argument brought forward in this memorial was the fact that the North Indiana Conference contained the richest territory in the state, with no waste lands, while almost one-third of the Northwest Indiana Con- ference was marsh land, not capable of being brought under cultivation. This attempt was not kindly re- ceived by the North Indiana Conference. An attempt was made to appoint a conference commission of five to meet a like commission from the other conference to consider the change of boundary, which was finally done, but the Conference went unanimously on record as opposed "to any action that could possibly be inter- preted, directly or indirectly, as favoring such a change."
As has already been stated, a building wave swept over the Conference at the beginning of the century, and many congregations began to plan and build new churches and parsonages. In 1903 and 1904 the con- gregation at Portland built a great church at a cost of $50,000. In 1901 the Greenfield church began the con- struction of a large stone building, which was to cost, when completed, something over $30,000.3 These two churches are very similar in architecture, with a cen- tral dome, and giving particular attention to Sunday School accommodations, which mark the beginning of a new departure in church construction. The older church buildings had emphasized the church audito- rium, while the accommodations for the Sunday School and church societies, was a matter of secondary im- portance, but within recent years the greatest empha-
3 Rev. C. H. Smith (county historian).
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sis has been laid upon Sunday School equipment and accommodation. In 1901 and 1902 a new church was completed at Fortville, at a cost of some $12,000, which was dedicated by Dr. J. W. Bashford, then president of Ohio Wesleyan University.4
The minutes for 1905 contain the Presiding Elders' Reports for the first time, with the pictures of the Presiding Elders. If this had been done from the beginning, the task of the Conference historian would have been a much simpler one than it has been. This year these reports record a new church at Mt. Pleasant on the Hoagland charge, the beginning of Trinity Church, Fort Wayne, a new parsonage constructed at Monroeville and also at Hunterstown, each costing $2,000. This year the Kemp Memorial Church at Tip- ton was erected at a cost of $42,000, and Market Street Church, Logansport, at a cost of $40,000, and also a beautiful church at Newcastle, costing a similar amount. Smaller buildings were erected at Pendle- ton, Eden, Fisher's, Lewisville, Upland, Van Burne, Swayzee and Roanoke.
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