Morning journal and courier., 1883-08-27
Peculiar Worship.

How the Tyler Hall TheOlOgians Spent
 the Day Yesterday-Their Form of ser-
 vice.
 Of the various religious services that were held in this city yesterday, the one that prob ably attracted least attention was that held in
 TyIer's Hall. The services were in many re-
 speots as peculiar as those of the Salvation Army and as quiet and sincere as those of
 any orthodox church, yet inc audience that
 was in attendance was neither large nor fash ionable it was composed neither of curiosity
 seekers nor those who may be called habitaal
 worshippers. The service was regularly ad- vertised but perhaps, as the leading spirit of the meeting remarked, the subject was
 distasteful to people. It was rather for1afd- able, considering the weather, running aR | follows ''The kingdom of God and | its relation to the first day | of creation '' The services were peculiar in
 that they lasted all day. and the pastor or chairman, or whatever name be given to the | person who seemed to direct the worship, | was one among the congregation. indeed he | constituted one-fifth of it. There were two
 women and three men, all past the meridian l of life, and all having singularly similar ex- | pression of countenance, look of mingled 1 unrest and disdain. In opening the services, | which were merely conversational, the leader 1 explained why he had chosen the subject, It l being one of singular interest to him, as | twenty nine years ago he had very peculiar experience in entering the kingdom and his l life since then had been continual witness
 to the strange things which God could do and l had done on the first day. He said he had
 once been for four months m 3 very | weak bodily condition, owing to sickness
 from which he had then no hope of
 recovering, and during that period l he had lived upon the word of God, had eat l en and drank it and had been healed to life l and health by it. His experience as he re-
 lated it was singularly thrilling almost gro tesuue in it's strangeness and complete separ- ation from the common experience or hfe | Yet it had not sufficient power to keep one 1 old man from dropping of to sleep ana con ltinuing in slumber for some minutes until ne l was awakened by the dropping of his glasses l from his hand to the floor. The leader i'm ! ally stopped and another man whose nead l had been bowed upon the bench before him l awoke from his trance and told his experl- l ences his beliefs, his hopes, hls fears. Many | of his remarks were criticisms olrecteo
 against the prevailing habits of Christians
 and many keen thrust was maoe aS 1ne
 morals of the age. Then followed 8 sort of
 running dialogue between the only two who spoke at all, in which thev drifted from doctrine to doctrine, foundered about, although keeping thelE | heads we'll above water, in the vast sea or theological dlsputatlon ana relaseu eApoIAoAAoee 2 after experience which showed the power or their religion over them and the vast capa' 1 biIities of faith well directed and controlled 1 There was no limit as to the points ot dls- cussion. they were as wide as the kingdom; there was rio lack of silent prayer, no show
 of anything like form. The leader said he had never joined any church and 1t was hard l to tell what creed his most resembled- The
 discussion was perfectly frank and free: The l reporter was asked whether he was frleno or foe. and he was welcomed into the discus
 sion, but after hearing enough to satisfy him
 that there was good deal of real, solid re-
 Iigion there he quietly withdrew and left the
 dialogue to continue until the participants l Rearied or fell asleep.