EOF04A The Eye of Faith, A History of Ohio Yearly Meeting Conservative. Chapter 4 Part, The Second Schism

The painful second great schism of Ohio Yearly Meeting Conservative unfolds through a historical account of dividing tensions between Gurneyite and Wilburite Quakers from 1845-1874. This detailed historical narrative chronicles how theological differences surrounding Joseph John Gurney's theological interpretations of Quakerism fractured a once-united religious community.• Conflict began in 1845 when Ohio received competing epistles from two separate New England yearly meetings• Benjamin Hoyle, Ohio's clerk, openly favored the smaller Wilburite body, creating tensions• Representatives repeatedly failed to agree on new clerks, effectively freezing leadership• Traveling ministers increasingly identified as either Gurneyite or Wilburite, intensifying divisions• Local problems like rejected certificates, withheld ministry minutes, and unrecognized ministers worsened tensions• In 1853, the yearly meeting couldn't conduct business for four days due to objections over visiting Wilburites• The formal separation occurred in 1854, though groups didn't officially disown each other until 1864• Final division came in 1874 when courts granted the Gurneyite branch possession of the Mount Pleasant Boarding SchoolA complete list of our podcasts,  organized into topics, is available on our website.We will be publishing video interviews with Conservative Friends on YouTube.  See our YouTube channel.  The first interview is with Susan Smith. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit  ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups.  Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website.   Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline.We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes.   Contact us through our website.