United Evangelical Church

The United Evangelical Church is a splinter group from the Evangelical Association.

History

It was formed in 1891 when some members of the Evangelical Association left to form the new church.^[1]

The schism was caused by the autocratic administration of Bishop John Jacob Esher in Chicago, Illinois. His faction was known as the Esherites and he was challenged by The Dubsites that followed Bishop Bowman.^[2]

Thirty-one years later the two groups reunited in Detroit and renamed themselves "The Evangelical Church." (Those congregations who chose not to re-unite formed a body called the Evangelical Congregational Church.)

In 1946, the Evangelical Church merged with the United Brethren in Christ at a meeting in Johnstown, Pennsylvania to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church. This body, in turn, united with the American Methodist Church in 1968 to form the United Methodist Church.

References

^ "Evangelical Congregational Church history". Retrieved 2014-07-19. Pastors and laity either identified with the majority, commonly called "The Esherites," or the minority, commonly called "The Dubsites" ... "The Esherites" met in Indianapolis while "The Dubsites" met in Philadelphia. The authority of the majority party prevailed and the ministers and congregations that supported the minority party were excluded from the denomination. These congregations lost their church buildings since the buildings were owned by the denomination. Efforts to reconcile the parties failed and, by 1894, the minority party had reorganized into a new denomination, the United Evangelical Church.
^ "The Esher-Dubbs Fight. Big Evangelical Row In Court At Des Moines" (PDF). New York Times. December 8, 1892. Retrieved 2014-07-19. The controversy between the Esher and Dubbs factions of the Evangelical Church has got into the Iowa courts and is occupying the attention of Judge Conrad of this district. The case was brought in the form of a petition for an injunction restraining the Esher faction from gaining possession of the church property in Des Moines, and involves the three churches of the Evangelical Association of this city. ... For many years there has been growing dissatisfaction with the despotic character of Bishop Esher's administration. ...