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Overview
Biographical Note
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Preferred Citation
Restrictions on Access
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Subject Terms
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| Record Creator: | Methodist Episcopal Church Centenary Committee |
| Title: | Centenary Committee Minutes |
| Title: | Centenary Minutes |
| Date Span: | 1865-1868 |
| Abstract: | The Centenary Committee was created by action of the 1860 General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to spearhead the upcoming 1866 Centennial of American Methodism celebration. The collection contains minutes from the Centenary Committee’s meetings from 1865 to 1868. Also, there is an undated pamphlet from a detractor entitled, “The State of Methodism” which discusses the spiritual decline of the denomination. |
| Extent: | 0.49 cubic feet |
| Resource ID: | drew.ms.4324 |
The Centenary Committee was created by action of the 1860 General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to spearhead the upcoming 1866 Centennial of American Methodism celebration. By 1864, General Conference appointed an additional committee on the centenary and adopted its recommendation that the official celebration should begin on the first Tuesday in October 1866. Fund-raising foci included raising monies for both connectional and local distribution needs. A part of this mandate included raising at least two million dollars for the Centenary Fund in order to retire various institutional and agencies’ debts. Not only did the drive reach this goal, it exceeded it by nearly seven million dollars. Many of the existing northern Methodist educational institutions were saved leaving enough monies left over to start new institutions including Drew Theological Seminary, Centenary College Institute and Centenary Biblical Institute for African-American pastors.
It would be remiss to think that finances were the only reason for the Centenary Committee to exist. The primary goal centered on the spiritual improvement of church members by reviewing God’s past actions throughout the denomination. Annual conferences were to give a memorial services to mark the anniversary starting in January 1866. Abel Stevens wrote a history to commemorate Methodism’s one hundred anniversary. All in all the Centenary Committee’s success is a testament to the general church’s response to their unique heritage in American church history.
The collection contains minutes from the Centenary Committee’s meetings from 1865 to 1868. Also, there is an undated pamphlet from a detractor entitled, “The State of Methodism” which discusses the spiritual decline of the denomination.
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Material is arranged by record type.
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Methodist Episcopal Church Centenary Committee Minutes, Drew University Methodist Collection, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the items call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
There are no restrictions regarding this collection. Copyright still owned by Drew. Permissions to publish must be directed to Drew.
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
Index Terms |
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| Subject Topics | ||
| Church anniversaries | ||
| Church history-19th century | ||
| Subject Geographic | ||
| United States | ||
| Genre | ||
| Minutes | ||
| Pamphlets | ||
| Subject - Corporate Names | ||
| Methodist Episcopal Church | ||
| Call Number | Folder Title | Date(s) |
| 2128-7-4: 1 | State of Methodism, The | Undated |
| 2128-7-4: 2 | Minutes of The Committee on The Centenary of Methodism - February 22-25 | 1865 |
| 2128-7-4: 3 | Methodist Episcopal Church Minutes of the Central Centenary Committee - April 14, 1865 - September 18, 1868 | 1865-1868 |
