Resolution regarding relief of sufferers of fire in Hague Street

Digital image

The United Methodist Church at 40: What Can We Hope For?

The necessity we face for the future of Methodism is the re-invention of traditions. To re-invent traditions is to re-visit the past with all of its richness; to discern what in our tradition is most central to Christian faith; to analyze those parts of our past that continue to give life; to discern and build upon what is of value in the newly emerging tradition; and to reflect on those aspects of the neglected and rejected past that challenge our present perspectives and practices. To re-invent traditions is to develop new perspectives and practices from the building blocks of the past and from the fresh movements of the Spirit in the present. To do so is to recognize that Christianity in general, and Methodism in particular, is marked by traditions that have continually been passed on, critiqued, eliminated, created, and re-invented for the sake of a living Christian witness. What we can hope for is that God is there in the future already, pulling us toward God’s own New Creation.

Homosexuality and the United Methodist Church: An Ecclesiological Dilemma

Since 1968 The United Methodist Church has publicly debated the status and roles of homosexual persons in the life of the Church, creating considerable conflict within the Denomination. Academic research on the question of homosexuality and the Church has often focused on theological understandings of homosexuality and on the ways the conflict reflects broader "culture wars" in society. Yet little attention has been given to how the Church's concrete practices and polity toward homosexual persons reflect underlying tensions within the ecclesiological identity of the Denomination. This dissertation proposes that the issue of homosexuality is a critically important case study for exploring the practical ecclesiology of The United Methodist Church. In an effort to identify tensions within contemporary United Methodism's practical ecclesiology, it traces in detail the history of the denominational debate over homosexuality since 1968 and articulates the diverse and often conflicting ecclesiological commitments embedded within that debate. Focusing on the debate itself as a practice of the Church, this dissertation illustrates the ways in which the controversy over sexuality reflects the Denomination's conflicted practical ecclesiology. By examining the rhetoric of the sexuality debates in The United Methodist Church from 1968 to 2008, and by articulating the ecclesiological commitments embedded in those debates, the dissertation reveals a fundamental conflict over interpretations of ecclesial unity. Moreover, the dissertation explores the extent to which the conflict over unity reflects ecclesiological tensions present in John Wesley's own practical ecclesiology; and it asks whether or not contemporary interpretations of United Methodist ecclesiology might provide a normative framework for assessing and resolving the underlying ecclesial conflict at work in sexuality debates. The dissertation concludes by exploring the practice of public narrative as a concrete strategy that might be employed by the Denomination to reconcile the diverging ecclesiological visions within the contemporary church so that a clear and consensual ecclesiology might emerge.

New York City: 12 December, 1980

This article compares two documentary treatments of the Central Park vigil for John Lennon in 1980: Happy Birthday to John (Jonas Mekas, 1995, 16mm, 18 min.), and Dix minutes de silence pour John Lennon/Ten Minutes Silence for John Lennon (Raymond Depardon, 1980, 16mm, 10 min.). Mekas and Depardon might seem an improbable combination but as the article demonstrates there are affinities, if not direct points of convergence, in outlook and documentary method: both sensibilities have been shaped by migrant experiences, and much of their work, for all its formal and structural differences, is preoccupied with experiences of exile and displacement, rootedness and the meaning of home, the country and the city (and in Mekas’s case, the country in the city). Mekas and Depardon are also Europeans who have developed an intimate social and artistic relationship with New York City; both are concerned with the place of autobiography in their work, using captions, inter-titles, diary entries, photographs, and 1st person commentary to complicate relations between the imaginary and the documentary. In addition to discussing the significance of these preoccupations, and differences in the manner in which both filmmakers witness the apotheosis of Lennon as cultural martyr (and natural New Yorker), the article also examines the phenomenon of public mourning, and how it often displaces its ostensible subject: associatively, in the case of Mekas; incidentally, in the case of Depardon; and intentionally, in the case of the mass media, and popular culture.

Education building, First Methodist Church, Cheraw, SC

This is a mounted photo of the education building of First Methodist Church, Cheraw S.C. The building was designed by Graves & Toy in Charlotte, contractor was Haynsworth Construction Co in Florence, and the building was completed September 1953.

Special report of New York State Survey on the preservation of the scenery of Niagara Falls ; and fourth annual report on the triangulation of State. For the Year 1879 /

Notes by F. L. Olmsted.

Proceedings of a court of inquiry, convened on board the United States frigate the President, in the harbour of New York, on the thirteenth day of August, 1811, pursuant to the following warrant : To Stephen Decatur, esquire, a captain in the Navy of the United States. --

Caption title.

Proceedings of the Convention of the State of New York ; held at the Capitol in the City of Albany, on the seventeenth and eighteenth days of September, 1812

Signed by Jacob Morris, President, and William Henderson, Secretary.

Orderly book, Second Regiment of U.S. Dragoons, New York, 1812-1813

The Second U.S. Regiment of Light Dragoons was formed in January 1812. In March of 1814, it merged with the First U.S. Regiment of Light Dragoons to form the Regiment of Light Dragoons.

Broadside advertising a Real Estate Auction in the Village of Niagara Falls [New York], July, 1836.

Benjamin Rathburn (1790-1873) was a builder, banker and hotel-keeper who was well-known for his work in the development and expansion of Buffalo in the 1830s. He also conducted business in the Village of Niagara Falls. He purchased large tracts of land (largely on credit) with the intent to sell the land at a profit. However, the sales did not meet his expectations and Rathburn found himself over-extended on credit, ultimately leading to his financial ruin.Jesse P. Haines (1793-1877) was an American cartographer who is credited with mapping the Villages of Lockport and Niagara Falls, New York.

Orderly book, Second Regiment of U.S. Dragoons, New York, 1812-1813

An orderly book of the Second Regiment of U.S. Dragoons, New York, dated August 14, 1812-July 29, 1813. The book contains orders pertaining to day-to-day military matters, such as punishments for disobedience, court-martial proceedings, camp rules and regulations, and guidelines for interacting with civilians in the vicinity of the camp. The Regiment was stationed at various locations in upstate New York and Canada, including Greenbush, Albany, Sackets Harbor, Utica, Geneva, Fort Niagara and Fort George. General Henry Dearborn originally commanded the Regiment at Greenbush. Names noted in this book include:E. Beebe, Deputy Adjt. General; William King, Capt. 15th; John Chandler, General ;W. Gamewood, Major ;James Burns, Colonel;John Woodford, Major; Andrew McDowell, Capt.; Abm. Gustis, Major; C.W. Hunter, Brigade Major; Selden, Captain; Holland, Captain; Harris, Captain; Clarkson, Lieutenant; Johnson, Lieutenant; Robert Craig, Adjt.; R.G. Hith, A.A. General. Also included with the orderly book are a monthly return form, a contract for medical services, and a bonus pay voucher for Thomas Blunt. The monthly return form is partially completed and dated January 1813 at Greenbush, New York. It is signed by Captain Jonas Holland. The contract is dated May 20, 1812, between John Dodge, physician and surgeon, and Jonas Holland. The contract describes the services required of the physician and the salary to be paid. The bonus pay voucher is dated April 25, 1813, for $8.00 paid to Thomas Blunt by Captain Jonas Holland for 'enlisting into the army of the United States for five years'.

Broadside advertising a Real Estate Auction in the Village of Niagara Falls [New York], July, 1836.

Benjamin Rathburn (1790-1873) was a builder, banker and hotel-keeper who was well-known for his work in the development and expansion of Buffalo in the 1830s. He also conducted business in the Village of Niagara Falls. He purchased large tracts of land (largely on credit) with the intent to sell the land at a profit. However, the sales did not meet his expectations and Rathburn found himself over-extended on credit, ultimately leading to his financial ruin. Jesse P. Haines (1793-1877) was an American cartographer who is credited with mapping the Villages of Lockport and Niagara Falls, New York.

A roll of non-commissioned Officers, Drummers, & Private men enlisted for the first Battalion of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York, 1781 [photocopy]

The King’s Royal Regiment of New York was a Loyalist regiment that served on the Canadian frontier during the American Revolutionary War. The regiment was commanded by Sir John Johnson, who recruited members from the settlers on his estates in the Mohawk Valley. After the War, the two battalions of the regiment were disbanded. The First Battalion settled on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, while the Second Battalion settled by the Bay of Quinte.