Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 65:259 (Jul 1908)
Article: The Progress And Present Status Of Tri-Church Union
Author: Lucien C. Warner

BSac 65:259 (July 1908) p. 557

The Progress And Present Status Of Tri-Church Union

Lucien C. Warner

The meeting of the Congregational Council at Cleveland last October and the more recent meeting of the National Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church at Pittsburgh in May make the present a favorable opportunity to review the effort that has been made to effect a union of the Congregational, United Brethren, and Methodist Protestant denominations.

The first General Council of the three denominations was held at Dayton, Ohio, in February, 1906. At this Council a declaration of faith was adopted, the outline of a plan of union agreed upon, and committees appointed to work out this plan in more complete details. A second General Council was held in Chicago in March, 1907, attended by over two hundred delegates representing the three bodies. At this Council definite articles of agreement for the united churches were reported by the Committee of Sixty-three, and after three days’ discussion were adopted with great enthusiasm and without a dissenting vote, these articles covering all the points necessary for a working organization.

The Declaration of Faith as adopted at the meeting of the General Council at Dayton, Ohio, was reaffirmed and adopted without change. This has already been printed in this magazine for April, 1906. The Articles of Agreement as adopted at Chicago are as follows: —

BSac 65:259 (July 1908) p. 558

Article 1

“The name of this organization shall be The United Churches, comprising the Congregational Churches, the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, and the Methodist Protestant Church.

Article 2

“For the purpose of realizing the fellowship of the churches, and to provide for their cooperation, they shall be organized into District Associations, Annual Conferences, and a National Council.

Article 3

“District Associations shall have their boundaries, composition, duties, and prerogatives defined by the Annual Conferences, of which they shall be subdivisions.

Article 4

“1. State Associations of the Congregational Churches and Annual Conferences of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and of the Methodist Protestant Church shall be recognized and continued as Annual Conferences under this organization until such time as the National Council may, by the consent of the parties concerned, arrange new boundaries. They shall have the right to maintain intact their present modes of organization and operation in local affairs, but they shall be known and styled as Annual Conferences of the United Churches, comprising the Congregational Churches, the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, and the Methodist Pro...