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. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church South St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church South St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church South is a historic church building at 401 High Point Street in Randleman, North Carolina. It is the home of the North Randolph Historical Society, which uses it as its headquarters and refers to it as the St. Paul Museum. A single-story brick structure, it was the second church built for the community; the first, made of wood, had been built in 1755. It features a front-facing gable roof and a tower set back slightly from the front. The front facade is quite plain, with a central arched opening