Methodist Episcopal Church, South and South and was criticized for holding slaves. The 1844 General Conference voted to suspend Bishop Andrew from exercising his episcopal office until he gave up the slaves. Southern delegates to the conference disputed the authority of a General Conference to discipline bishops. The cultural differences that had divided the nation during the mid-19th century were also dividing the Methodist Episcopal Church. The 1844 dispute led Methodists in the South to break off and form a separate denomination, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC,S). The statistics for 1859 showed the MEC,S had as enrolled members some 511,601 whites and 197,000
Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church is an historic church in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee. The church's history dates back to the mid-19th century and the current structure—located in Memphis' Central Gardens Historic Preservation District at 1720 Peabody Avenue—was constructed in 1912. Today the parish is active and is known both for its progressive hunger ministries and its formal worship and music. The church is part of the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee. The history of Grace-St. Lukes dates back to the mid-19th century with the establishment of Grace Church in a rented room in what was then on