EPWORTH LEAGUE. - So called after the small town of Epworth, where the two Wesley brothers, founders of the Methodist Church, were born, it is the association of Methodist youth, organized in 1889 on the model of the youth society “Christian Endeavor,” or “Christian activity,” that is, with spiritual, missionary, philanthropic, and social purposes.
This youth league is regarded as one of the most important institutions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and among the 45 questions for which the head of each district must account to the annual conference, the 47th is: “How many E. L. are there in the district, or how many members do they have?” Methodists claim to have approximately 2,000,000 young people enrolled in the E. L. In Italy, in 1932, it was established in 17 cities, with 371 members in the first section (adults) and 82 in the second section.