The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1879-02-07
THE LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL:
| The Sect In New York that Believes
Its Members are Some OF Them.
rNew York SUM-

tian Israelies Sanctuary at lOe First
street are Intermittent, depending upon
the presence In tho city Of preacher.
Sometimes they are not oftener than
once a month, and then sometimes
there Is preaching for several consecu-
tive Sunday evenings. But the seal
of the members of this little known
religious sect seems unabated by this
irregularity of meeting. They call
vet they admit that there Is not, and
never has been, q Jew among them.
They go further, and insist that there
Is not a Jew now on earth, according
to Bible teaching that is, there is no
Israelite without guile. The society
that meets In tho little chapel In First
street Ia one of the two of this denOmt-
nation In the United States. Tho other
10 In Boston. Their creed seems to be
the acceptation of the Bible, from the
first word Of Genesis to the last of
Revelations, aud, except such parts of
1t that are, without doubt, afiegorfcai,
literal. Tho older members Of the
society are as familiar as the most
learned theologian with every chapter
and verse In the Bible, and they teach
1t day by day to their children, SO that
they grow up with the Scriptures in
delibly fixed in their minds. Tho
preacher of last evening, Catherine
Schertz, illustrated, as is always her
custom, every thought with q passage
from the Bible, giving book, chapter,
and verse; and this remarkable famtli-
arity is shown by others, who speak
impromptu at times. Their remarks
are frequently a mosaic of passages
from the Bible, illustrating a single
thought. They believe that they, and
others who arc prepared liko them, arc
the members of the lost tribes of Israel.
They are tho nucleus of the one hum
.lred and forty and four thousand OF
all the tribes of Israel who are scaled,
and who will witness the second COM
ing of Christ. The seventh chapter of
the Book Of Revelations is tho corner
stone of their religious faith. They
believe that being sealed and prepared
they will see the Savior when he comes
in " the twinkling of an eye," but that
only they will see it. The worldly and
tho wicked will not see this coming,
| and will know nothing of it.
The series of sermons that Catherine
Schertz has been preaching have all
been based upon the central thought
of the ingathering of Israel, for tho re-
demption of spirit, soul and body, to
enter into life eternal, and she loves to
dwell apon the seventh chapter OF Re-
velations.
Mrs. Schertz Is n woman we'll on in
years. Her face is pallid, but her eyes
arc bright and full of expression. She
speaks without note and with Il strong
German accent, but her English is
pure and grammatical. Tho pulpit is
desk raised upon a partition that eX-
tends from one side of the chapel to tho
other. It conceals all of tho speaker
below the gray Grape that just covers
the shoulders. Sho wears drab
Quaker bonnet that conceals all Of tho
head except the face. The chapel Is
the second story of First street tenc-
ment. Narrow stairs lead to It from
the street, and n green baize door keeps
out tho drafts. A dozen pews on tho
left hand side are occupied by tho
females, the children sitting on the first
rows, tho young women along In tho
middle, and tho matrons behind. Only
the children dress gaily. Tho matrons
wear the plainest of Quaker grab.
Across the narrow aisle sit the men, In
primitive Methodist style, and the
Young men and boys sit in the front
seats. There are few old men, and tho
whole congregation numbers less than
hundred. An organ, all OF which Is
concealed, excepting the pipes, behind
tho partition that also serves for u pull
pit, leads the congregation In the sing
ing. There arc no voluntaries, no
afterludes. The hymns are OF tho most
fervently pious kind, and the tunes tho
familiar songs OF the early Methodist
Church. Words and music seem fami-
liar to all, and the holding open Of the
hymn book is only formnIity. Sing
ing, with reading of the Scripture and
a sermon, make up the religious scr
vice. Last evening Mrs. Schertz re-
peated promise after promise to inc
congregation for the elect, and urged
them to be valiant, never yielding, and
always ready for the coming OF the
Savior. The chapel was fuller than IS
customary, but for a large church ana
congregation these Christian Israclitcs
do not long. Their faith seems to be
an abiding one, and to make them very
happy. The sect was founded. by an
Englishman In 1922, who always in
sisted that his spiritual vision was en-
Iarged by special providence, and
that he was thereby permitted to teach
tho doctrines as tho Divine will, which