Methodist Episcopal Church, South
The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MECS) was a Christian denomination formed in 1845 by Southerners who withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) because they supported slavery. It reunited with the MEC and the Methodist Protestant Church (MPC) in 1939 to form the Methodist Church. The Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1968 to form the United Methodist Church.
From 1870 Birmingham-area churches in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South belonged to the North Alabama Conference. Prior to that, from 1845 to 1863 they belonged to the Alabama Conference, and from 1863 to 1869 to the Montgomery Conference.
The last General Conference of the MECS was held in Birmingham in April and May 1938. It was here that delegates approved reunion with the MEC and MPC.
References
- Godhold, Albert and John H. Ness Jr. (2021) Table of United Methodist Annual Conferences, 1796-2021 Madison, NJ: General Conference on Archives and History The United Methodist Church