232rd Anniversary of the Christmas Conference

 The Ordination of Bishop Francis Asbury and Organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church, December 27, 1784, at the Christmas Conference at Lovely Lane Chapel, Baltimore. Engraving by A. Gilchrist Campbell, 1882.

Each time The United Methodist Church elects bishops, the church adds a new chapter to its history.

Let's start with 1784 and the Christmas Conference in Baltimore. What happened there set a precedent for election that continues today.

John Wesley had granted to Dr. Thomas Coke ordaining power as a general superintendent in September of that year and authorized him to go to America to ordain Francis Asbury as a deacon, elder and bishop on successive days.

Asbury refused the office of general superintendent unless the conference elected him. Appointment by Wesley seemed contrary, Asbury thought, to the democratic impulses of a newly independent country.

Read the rest of the story at this link.