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
St. James Episcopal Church (Amesbury, Massachusetts) St. James Episcopal Church (Amesbury, Massachusetts) St. James Episcopal Church is an historic parish in Amesbury, Massachusetts. St. James parish, in Amesbury, Massachusetts, has its roots in 18th century Anglican worship, and takes its present form from the Episcopal Church of the 19th century. Episcopalians were worshipping in Amesbury as early as 1711. The first Episcopal church was built around 1745, in what is now known as Union Cemetery (originally called Sandy Hill Cemetery). Around 1760, King George III's Chapel, part of the Church of England, was built in the Pond Hill section of town, which was, at that time,