Call Number:

04

Repository:

Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church

Extent:

25.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1773-2012 (inclusive)

Creator:

United Methodist Church (U.S.). Eastern Pennsylvania Conference

Abstract:

The first conference of Methodist preachers in the colonies was held in Philadelphia in 1773. The Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, organized in 1796, was one of the six original regional annual conferences after the Methodist Episcopal Church in America was incorporated. As of 2014, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church covers 16 counties, ranging roughly from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. About half of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church records, 1773-2012, are printed proceedings. Other document types, including reports to the conference, correspondence, and audiovisual materials, are also included in the collection.

Methodism is a protestant Christian faith based in the teachings of John Wesley (1703-1791), who preached "practical divinity," emphasis on Christian living, and putting faith and love into action. The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1784 in Baltimore, Maryland with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as its first bishops and held its first general conference in 1792. In May of 1939, the Methodist Episcopal Church; the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; and the Methodist Protestant Church united to form the Methodist Church (U.S.). In 1946 the Church of the United Brethren in Christ (New constitution) and the Evangelical Church united to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church. In 1968 the Methodist Church (U.S.) and the Evangelical United Brethren Church united, forming the United Methodist Church (U.S.).

The first conference of Methodist preachers in the colonies was held in Philadelphia in 1773, over a decade before the "Christmas Conference" of 1784 when the Methodist Episcopal Church in America was officially incorporated. The Methodist Episcopal Church in America met every four years at a General Conference beginning in 1792. The Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, organized in 1796, was one of the Church's six original regional annual conferences. As of 2014, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church covers 16 counties, ranging roughly from Philadelphia to Harrisburg.

About half of this collection is printed proceedings of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church and predecessor organizations, 1773-2012. Also included are: letters received by the conference; conference papers including financial reports, committee reports, seminary reports, correspondence, and other documents pertaining to the business of the church; handwritten minute books; and membership rolls. Some audiovisual materials, such as photographs of conference officers, slides of churches within the conference district, vinyl records of conference recordings and Methodist Radio Hour (circa 1946), and audiocassette recordings of some proceedings, are also in the collection. A shelf inventory covering the materials in this collection is available on-site.