Near-Insurmountable Challenges and Persistent Hope: A History of the (United) Methodist Annual Conference in Southern California and Arizona from World War Ii to the Present

Methodism did not function in a void. It was carrying out its mission in an environment charged with dynamic change. To fully understand the history of Methodism in Southern California, one has to find a way to allow one’s mind to alter as far as possible into the conditions and events of the period. As we are so keenly aware today, these circumstances determine the success or failure of the church to carry out its mission. While Methodism was an early arrival in California, within fifty ye...