A Short History Of The Methodists... - Media Sabda Org

New Jersey 2351
Kentucky 1750
Pennsylvania 3011
Upper Canada 474
Delaware 2228
In all - 56,664
We lost in number this year 2627 members. We have been going back, and our numbers
decreasing for three years past, in which time we have lost 10979 members in number. The
declension was mostly in the middle states, and especially where the divisive spirit most prevailed.
As the general conference was to be held in Baltimore this year, the preachers belonging to the
annual conference which used to meet at Baltimore were called to attend the annual conference at
Philadelphia, and of course took their stations from that place, and were twice entered on the annual
minutes for that year: once as they were appointed from Baltimore conference, and then as they were
appointed from Philadelphia
Our general conference was held this year in Baltimore, which began on the 20th of October 1796,
at which we had 120 traveling preachers who were members of that conference. After we had
finished the business of the conference, we had the minutes published before the preachers left town,
that they might take them to their several circuits.
There were several alterations made at that time, in our form of discipline, and several new
regulations were formed.
It was agreed that the annual conferences which had been called district conferences, should in
future be called yearly conferences; and our whole connection was divided into six yearly
conferences.
The first was called the New England conference.
The second, the Philadelphia conference.
The third, the Baltimore conference.
The fourth, the Virginia conference.
The fifth, the South Carolina conference.
The sixth, the Western conference; and the bounds of each conference was fixed: But the bishop
was allowed, if he saw proper, to have another conference in the Province of Maine. Before this
regulation was established, the bishop had the power of appointing the number of conferences at his
own discretion.