The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-05-13
WOMAN In THE PULPIT.
Mrs. Van Colt, the RcyiynIist NTptbodi
Preacher

In my vacation rambles, I recently arrived mt
CAIRO, little village ten miles west of Catsk
on the Hudson A friend whom ! fell i'm with
on the way informed me that revival meetings
were being held there by a woman, and that
much interest was excited. Having nothing
special to occupy my time, / resolved to tarry
and witness what was going on and if possible
benefit myself and others by Joining in this con
iict with the Power of Darkness.
Last year. the church being small, and i'm an
| out-oi-thc-way place. the society at Cairo bought
| and rctitted the Baptist church, which is cen
| trally located and sufficiently commOdious to
! meet present wants, and in which the meetings
| were now being held. repaired to the church
| at the time appointed, had been seated some
! time, when a lady dressed i'm black came in and
! advanced TO the foot of the pulpit stairs where
! she llnclt few moments in silent prayer, arose,
ascended the stairs, selected hymns and lesson,
! read them in clear strong voice, called upon
minister in the altar to pray, and followed
| herself with short, simple, earnest prayer,
| read another hymn, and then text, which she
| followed by an earnest, practical talk, which,
! though not so legitimatcly related to the text,
was intimately connected with heart and life
! religion.
While engaged in earnest eXhortaton, she de-
! sccndcd from the pulpit into the altar. made an
! appeal to seekers to come forward, which was
! responded to by quite a number. She directed
! the prayer meeting that followed, during which
! several prOlesscd conversion, changed the order
| from prayer to speaking gave appointments for
succeeding evenings, called for the singing of
| the DoXology, and gave the closing benedetOn
| All this in presence of the preacher in charge
| and two or three other ministers.
The meeting was continued until near / o'clock
| but the time well improved, and the into
| rest mt that late hour was unabatcd.
We left, saying eve have seen strange things
| to-day" and wondering whereunto this would
lead, resolved not to hinder but to help forward
| unless some better reason than the mere novelty
| of the thing should appear.
Wednesday evening was devoted to prayer and
eXhortation. Thursday evening she took the
|
| ment which evidently brought q larger number
than would have gathered but for that announce
ment. Friday evening was occupied as We'd
nesday had been. The Saturday evening was
! for men exclusively, but was led by the lady
| and had no other popularity, that | could dis
! cover, save the absence of the women. Sabbath
| morning she occupied the pulpit again, having
| a full house to speak to. class meeting fol,
| lowed, at which there were mt least a hundred
persons present, whereas was informed that five
| weeks before a class could scarcely be held for
| want of members to constitute it.
Sunday evening, the only time during my STAY,
| the pulpit was occupied by n minister The
! house was crowded to its utmost capacity, and
| many ! was told, went away, while others
occupied the yard, and heard as best they could
| from without.
At the close of the sermon, the lady called
| upon those who had experienced religion, and
| who wished to unite with the church on prOba-
| ton, to come forward to the altar, when thirty
| four promptly responded, the most of whom
had during the week professcd faith in Christ,
twelve having been received the Sunday evening
| previous.
Mrs. Van Cott is member of the Duane
| Methodist Episcopal Church in the city of New
| York. She commenced to labor first in connec-
! tion with the New York City Missionary Society
under the direction of the lamented Mr.. Bat
! tersby. During the month of February last,
while on visit to Mr.. Battersbys fathers, in
! the town of Durham, Greene county, she was
persuaded, against her own judgment, by her
host, to take charge of a prayer-meeting held at
hn Il etr rigt znIn In &hn TOTO
the close of the meeting, she was prevailed upon
| by those present to make another appointments
| that the interest mani ested was such that the
meetings were continued from evening to even
| ing; that the place became too small to hold the
people that came and the Baptist chapel the
only house for worship in the place, was
secured, and the meetings continued there until
| a large number were converted. She was then
invited by the Rev. \. G. Morehouse, the
stationed preacher at Windham Centre, to come
to that place for the purpose Of holding meet
ings.
This invitation was accepted and six weeks
were spent in earnest labor during which eighty
five persons prOfessed faith in Christ. From
there she went to Cairo, invited by some of the
members, the minister only asserting, and at
tending the meetings merely as an assistant.
Great apathy and some opposition were mani
tested at first, but gradually and steadily the in
teTest arose until at the close of the fifth week
the place was too small for the numbers that
came.
The meetings l attended were marked with
strict decorum, earnest attention, deep serious
ness, and much feeling. The seekers Mt the altar
manifested but little emotion but the converts
were generally prompt and explicit in bearing
testimony for Christ All moved with a steadi-
ness and regularity equal to our best conducted
| revival meetings.
Mrs. Van Colt believes herself called of God
to this work, and, firm in this faith, she acts
fearlessly and without hesitation, and imparts
the same spirit to those who come under her in
luence.
The converts are ardently attached to her, fol-
lowing her in crowds wherever she goes, will
ing, apparently, as were some of st. Pauls, to
pull out their eyes and give them to her.
| have thus given the favorable side of this
picture. There is doubtless another side. | cot
an occasional glimpse at it, but did not care to
look at it so long as only good appeared i'm the
to me eXceptonablc, trusting that good inten-
tiOn will be n sufficient excuse if | am mistaken.
In the first place. there was an absence of that
modesty that is so cOmmendable in female char
acter an air that seemed to say, | am the leader
here and have no regard for the opinions OF
! men, either decent or otherwise.
? Again, there was what seemed To me a disrc
gard for plain injunction of Scripture in re-
2 ference to the outward adOning and plating the
hair.
A person in the pulpit to proclaim the simple
! gospel of Jesus with puifs in the hair with q
l snowy pin and chain with bracelets on tho
l wrists and rings on the finger, is clearly out o
place. But this, said, may be simply an mad
yertcnce.
l The irregularity of habit which was bcins
encouraged by want of punctuality i'm com
. mencng and closing the meetings was anOthe
e unfaYOrable feature.
c These things, however, may be easily cor
| rected. and | doubt not will be- If the move
l ment be of God, it will go forward.
2 We are in great need of genuine widespread