of the Church, when he may be admitted in accordance with the form prescribed in ¶ 463. § 4. A member in good standing in any Orthodox Evangelical Church who desires to unite with us may, on giving satisfactory answers to the usual inquiries, be received into membership. § 5. Let the Pastor and the Committee on Church Records be careful to see that the names of all persons received into the Church are duly recorded; and the Pastor shall report at each Quarterly Conference all changes that have occurred in the membership during the quarter. ¶ 173, § 30. II. Baptized Children and the Church ¶ 49. We hold that all children, by virtue of the unconditional benefits of the atonement, are members of the kingdom of God, and therefore graciously entitled to Baptism; but, as infant Baptism contemplates a course of religious instruction and discipline, it is expected of all parents or guardians who present their children for Baptism that they will use all diligence in bringing them up in conformity to the Word of God; and they should be solemnly admonished of this obligation, and earnestly exhorted to faithfulness therein. ¶ 50. We regard all children who have been bap'tized as placed in visible covenant relation to God, and under the special care and supervision of the Church. 51. The Pastor shall make an accurate register of the names of all the baptized children within his pastoral care; giving the dates of their birth and baptism, the names of their parents, and the places of their residence. He shall give a certificate of such registration to the parents of all such children removing from his Charge, which certificate shall transfer the relation of said children to the Charge to which they are removed. ¶ 52. The Pastor shall organize the baptized children of the Church, when they shall have reached the age of ten years, or at an earlier age when it is deemed advisable, into Classes, and appoint suitable Leaders (male or female), whose duty it shall be to meet them in Class once a week, and instruct them in the nature, design, and obligations of Baptism, and in the truths of religion necessary to make them "wise unto salvation"; to urge them to give regular attendance upon the means of grace; to advise, exhort, and encourage them to an immediate consecration of their hearts and lives to God, and to inquire into the state of their religious experience; provided, that unbaptized children shall not be excluded from these Classes. ¶ 53. Whenever baptized children shall understand the obligations of religion, and shall give evidence of piety, they may be admitted into membership of the Church, on the recommendation of the Official Board or the Leaders and Stewards' Meeting, with the approval of the Pastor, after publicly assenting before the Church to the Baptismal Covenant, and also to the usual questions on Doctrines and Discipline. ¶ 463. ¶ 54. Whenever a baptized child shall, by orphanage or otherwise, become deprived of Christian guardianship, the Pastor shall ascertain and report the facts in the case to the Official Board or to the Leaders and Stewards' Meeting; and such provision shall be made for the Christian training of the child as the circumstances of the case admit and require. III. Transfer of Membership by Certificate ¶ 55, § 1. An acceptable member of the Church desiring to remove his membership from one pastoral Charge to another is entitled to be transferred as follows: The Pastor, or, if there be no Pastor, the District Superintendent, shall send to the Pastor of the Charge to which the member is to be transferred a Certificate in the following form: and "This is to certify that A. B., who holds a notice of this letter, is an acceptable Member of the........ Methodist Episcopal Church in having requested that his membership be transferred to the Methodist Episcopal Church in .... is affectionately commended to the fellowship of said Church. When the Church to which this Certificate of Transfer is issued acknowledges the receipt of same and his enrollment, his membership in this Church shall cease." § 2. Notice of this transfer shall be given to the member in accordance with the following form: "At your request I have this day sent a Certificate of Transfer of your membership to the Methodist Episcopal Church in When said Certificate is acknowledged and your name is recorded in the records of said Church, your membership in this Church will cease." ......... 3. The original Certificate shall be accompanied by a blank for the acknowledgment of the same in accordance with the following form: "The Certificate of Transfer of the membership of Methodist Episcopal Methodist Epis A. B. from the copal Church in to the ........ is hereby acknowledged. has been duly received as a Member of this Church and thereby ceases to be a Member of the Church which issued the Certificate. § 4. A complete record of each transfer shall be kept on the stub in the Certificate book in the following form: Name of member requesting transfer..... Charge to which Certificate is issued.. Date on which Certificate is issued. Date of acknowledgment of Certificate and actual transfer of membership.... Name of Pastor or District Superintendent issuing Certificate Name of Pastor or District Superintendent acknowledging Certificate.... § 5. When a Pastor shall have received a member on said Certificate, he shall notify the Pastor of the Church from which it was issued in the blank form which accompanies Certificate, as provided in § 3. § 6. If the residence of a member who has removed cannot be ascertained for one year, the words, "Removed without Certificate," shall be written against his name in the Record of Church Membership; and such name shall not be counted in the returns of statistics. But membership in the Church can be terminated only by the withdrawal, expulsion, or death of the member. Any member of our Church having united with another Denomination, without a Note of Recommendation, shall be recorded as "Withdrawn." 56, § 1. A Certificate of Membership may not be refused, if demanded by a member removing his residence, except for reasons that justify and require judicial proceedings against such member. § 2. A Certificate of Membership shall not be given unless a change of the place of holding membership is actually intended. § 3. A Pastor may give a Note of Recommendation to any member who wishes to unite with any other Evangelical Denomination. § 4. Whenever a Pastor is appointed to another Charge he may complete the record of his Pastorate by entering in the Church Record opposite the names of the members of his family who are Church members: "Member of Pastor's family transferred to "; and enter the names on the Record of his new Charge with the note: "Member of Pastor's family transferred from 57. When any member in good standing proposes to withdraw from the Methodist Episcopal Church he shall communicate his purpose in writing to the Pastor of the Church. On receiving such notice of withdrawal, the Pastor shall enter the fact of withdrawal upon the Record of Church Membership; and such withdrawal cannot be retracted except by consent of the Pastor and the Quarterly Conference. IV. Classes and Class Meetings 58. The design of the organization of Classes and the appointment of Leaders is: |