Methodist New Connexion
Encyclopedia
Methodist New Connexion was a Protestant nonconformist church, also known as the Kilhamite Methodists. It was formed in 1797 by secession from the Wesleyan
Methodists, and merged in 1907 with the Bible Christian Church
and the United Methodist Free Churches
to form the United Methodist Church
.
, and resulted from a dispute regarding the position and rights of the laity. In 1791, Kilham denounced the Methodist conference for giving too much power to the ministers of the church, at the expense of the laity
. The Plan of Pacification adopted by the conference in 1795 further entrenched his position, and Kilham was expelled from the conference in 1797.
Kilham formed the New Connexion, based around his church in Sheffield
. It thrived, and soon spread across Britain. At its conferences, ministers and laymen were of equal number, the laymen being chosen by the circuits and in some cases by guardian representatives elected for life by conference. Otherwise the doctrines and order of the Connexion were the same as those of the Wesleyans, although some Wesleyans accused Kilham of revolutionary sympathies and links with Tom Paine.
At the time of the union in 1907, the Methodist New Connexion had some 250 ministers and 45,000 members.
, and after the signing of the Treaty of Tianjin, which virtually opened all China to the Christian missionary. The pioneers of the movement were Revs. John Innocent and W. N. Hall, who established themselves in Tianjin, which was then a pioneer mission field. Mr. Hall died of fever in 1878, but Mr. Innocent survived, and was the Nestor of the Mission. There were three preaching rooms in the city of Tianjin, one being in the main thoroughfare, and in these daily preaching was kept up. On the English concession there was a large mission establishment, consisting of a training college for native students for the ministry, missionaries houses, and a boarding school for the training of native women and girls in Christian life and work. Rev. J. Robinson-Brown was the principal of the college, and Miss Waller was in charge of the girls school.
The largest mission of this Society was in the north-east portion of the province of Shandong
, where about fifty native churches were maintained in an agricultural district extending over about three hundred miles. The headquarters of this circuit were in Chu Chia, Lao-ling district, where were situated the mission houses, and a medical dispensary and hospital. Mr. Innocent was the head of this circuit, and the hospital was in charge of Drs. W. W. Shrubshall and F. W. Marshall. In this place also is located Rev. J. K. Robson, who had devoted himself to the work of the Mission at his own charges.
Another mission was opened at the Tang-san Collieries, near Kai Ping, in the north of the province of Chih-li. This is under the charge of Rev. F. B. Turner, and rapidly extended, having a church in the ancient city of Yung-ping-fu, near the old wall, and also several rural chapels in the district round Kai Ping.
The work of this Society was chiefly carried on by native agency; a large number of efficient men had been trained and qualified by means of the training college. Several native women were also set apart as Biblewomen to their own sex ; one of these, Mrs. Hu, had labored in this capacity for nearly twenty-five years, and was the first such agent ever employed in China. This Mission in 1890 numbered seven missionaries, two medical agents, one lady agent, forty-six native helpers, and six female native helpers. It had over thirteen hundred communicants, and about two hundred and fifty scholars in its day and boarding schools.
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
Methodists, and merged in 1907 with the Bible Christian Church
Bible Christian Church
The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist denomination founded by William O’Bryan, a Wesleyan Methodist local preacher, on 18 October 1815 in North Cornwall, with the first society, just 22 members, meeting at Lake Farm in Shebbear, Devon.-Early history:...
and the United Methodist Free Churches
United Methodist Free Churches
United Methodist Free Churches was an English nonconformist community which merged into the United Methodist Church in 1907. The organisation was itself formed in 1857 by the amalgamation of the Wesleyan Association and the Wesleyan Reformers United Methodist Free Churches was an English...
to form the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church (Great Britain)
There are other bodies that have been called the United Methodist Church----The United Methodist Church in Great Britain was a Protestant denomination that existed in the early twentieth century...
.
History
The secession was led by Alexander KilhamAlexander Kilham
Alexander Kilham , English Methodist, was born at Epworth, Lincolnshire.He was admitted by John Wesley in 1785 into the regular itinerant ministry and became minister of a circuit in Sheffield...
, and resulted from a dispute regarding the position and rights of the laity. In 1791, Kilham denounced the Methodist conference for giving too much power to the ministers of the church, at the expense of the laity
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
. The Plan of Pacification adopted by the conference in 1795 further entrenched his position, and Kilham was expelled from the conference in 1797.
Kilham formed the New Connexion, based around his church in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. It thrived, and soon spread across Britain. At its conferences, ministers and laymen were of equal number, the laymen being chosen by the circuits and in some cases by guardian representatives elected for life by conference. Otherwise the doctrines and order of the Connexion were the same as those of the Wesleyans, although some Wesleyans accused Kilham of revolutionary sympathies and links with Tom Paine.
At the time of the union in 1907, the Methodist New Connexion had some 250 ministers and 45,000 members.
The Methodist New Connexion missionary work in China
The Methodist New Connexion entered China in 1860, immediately after the close of the second opium warSecond Opium War
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
, and after the signing of the Treaty of Tianjin, which virtually opened all China to the Christian missionary. The pioneers of the movement were Revs. John Innocent and W. N. Hall, who established themselves in Tianjin, which was then a pioneer mission field. Mr. Hall died of fever in 1878, but Mr. Innocent survived, and was the Nestor of the Mission. There were three preaching rooms in the city of Tianjin, one being in the main thoroughfare, and in these daily preaching was kept up. On the English concession there was a large mission establishment, consisting of a training college for native students for the ministry, missionaries houses, and a boarding school for the training of native women and girls in Christian life and work. Rev. J. Robinson-Brown was the principal of the college, and Miss Waller was in charge of the girls school.
The largest mission of this Society was in the north-east portion of the province of Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
, where about fifty native churches were maintained in an agricultural district extending over about three hundred miles. The headquarters of this circuit were in Chu Chia, Lao-ling district, where were situated the mission houses, and a medical dispensary and hospital. Mr. Innocent was the head of this circuit, and the hospital was in charge of Drs. W. W. Shrubshall and F. W. Marshall. In this place also is located Rev. J. K. Robson, who had devoted himself to the work of the Mission at his own charges.
Another mission was opened at the Tang-san Collieries, near Kai Ping, in the north of the province of Chih-li. This is under the charge of Rev. F. B. Turner, and rapidly extended, having a church in the ancient city of Yung-ping-fu, near the old wall, and also several rural chapels in the district round Kai Ping.
The work of this Society was chiefly carried on by native agency; a large number of efficient men had been trained and qualified by means of the training college. Several native women were also set apart as Biblewomen to their own sex ; one of these, Mrs. Hu, had labored in this capacity for nearly twenty-five years, and was the first such agent ever employed in China. This Mission in 1890 numbered seven missionaries, two medical agents, one lady agent, forty-six native helpers, and six female native helpers. It had over thirteen hundred communicants, and about two hundred and fifty scholars in its day and boarding schools.