Episcopal ConnectionIn the early days of Methodism in America, there were only lay preachers and these preachers agreed at their first Conference in Philadelphia in 1773 that they would give their allegiance to Wesley's leadership and spread the gospel but not administer the sacraments because they were laypersons. Their people were to receive their sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper at the local Anglican parish church. One of the ten lay preachers at the Conference was Joseph Pilmore who was the first recorded Methodist preacher to preach a sermon in North Carolina and this occurred at Currituck, NC. The Anglican Church or Church of England was supported by tax placed on the colonists and this coupled with other differences of opinion made the continuing dependence on the local Anglican parish church for the sacraments untenable. Some lay preachers took actions contrary to their promised allegiance to Wesley's leadership and at a Conference held at Broken Back Church in Baltimore, MD, in 1779. Thanks to Mr. Francis Asbury and some others a compromise was reached wherein the dissenting preachers agreed to seek and await Wesley's opinion on the matter.On September 10, 1784, Mr. Wesley sent Mr.Coke with a letter to Mr. Asbury outlining his assessment of the situation, and a Prayer Book prepared by Wesley and entitled "The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America incorporating Wesley's revision of the Church of England's Thirty-nine Articles of Religion. Thomas Coke was charged with superintending the work in America along with Asbury and he was accompanied by two other ministers that Wesley had ordained. At the Christmas Conference at Lovely Lane Chapel in December 1784, in Baltimore, agreement was reached as to the future and several leaders including Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke were named Superintendents. Also the birth of the church occurred, as the former societies became by vote the Methodist Episcopal Church.
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