Excerpt from Proceedings of the Third cumenical Methodist Conference: Held in City Road Chapel, London, September, 1901 In 1881 the first cumenical Methodist Conference was held in London, and the Report of its proceedings was introduced by a "Prefatory Statement." The Report of the second cumenical Methodist Conference, 1891, which was held in Washington, was prefaced by an "Introduction." Both were written by William Arthur. He died, eighty-two years old, a few months before the assembling of the third cumenical Methodist Conference, whose Report is here presented. That I should have been appointed to write an Introduction to this volume is a task at once more honourable and more difficult because I am following in the steps of such a man. For fully a generation William Arthur has been the most venerable and the most widely-known figure in our Churches of every land. Bishop Simpson alone of the men of modern Methodism could stand on the pedestal beside him, and the Bishop saw only the first of the cumenical Conferences. It is unnecessary here to sketch the life-history, or to define the personal characteristics, which gave to William Arthur his unique position. It is enough that I should here, in the name of the Conference of world-wide Methodism, pay to his memory this tribute of affectionate respect. Many honourable men, chiefs of the tribes of our Israel, have passed away from earth during the interval of ten years. It would be a grateful task to mention their names, to describe their excellencies, and to define their places in the ever-unfolding story of Methodism and of Christianity. But to attempt such a task would savour of presumption, and it would be difficult to avoid partiality for some and injustice towards others. Let it be enough that we reverence the memories of those who have "fought the good fight, and finished the course"; that we rejoice in the ever-increasing throng of the "great multitude which no man can number"; and that we draw from their example and triumph courage for the tasks which are still to be wrought on earth. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."