The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-23
A NEW "REVIVALu FEATURE,

A want long felt seems to have been filled
| by Sister Woodwork, the evangelist of
northern Indiana, or, more properly speaking,
by Brother Woodworth her husband and CO
laborer in the cause. The Woodworths have
evidently become convinced of the great truth
which has often impressed other workers in
the spiritual vineyard before them, that
harvest of souls can best be gathered when
the stomach that earthly and sometimes in
convenient appendage to each and every soul,
is comfortably filed. The most penitent and
willing soul in existence is hampered in its
search forpeace and piety when attacked by the
bonds of the flesh to yawning and empty
stomach The confession is humiliating to
the aspiring and spiritually minded, but facts
are facts. The Woodworths recognized them,
and resolved to act. Sister Woodwork had
labored long in the path trodden by other
evangelists, but with varying success. In
the winter, when her hearers came directly to
the house of--that is to say, the school house
from their supper-tables, her success in
snatching unsuspecting sinners from the
downward path and laying them out cold,
so to speak, in the road to glory, was
phenomenal. Later in the season. when the
''done' in the rural districts by o'clock or
earlier, Mrs. Woodworth's efforts, though
equally vigorous, produced no visible effects.
Crowds hocked to hear her, but their atten-
ton wandered they seemed alike Indifferent
| to the lurid pictures of hell or the golden
| harps of the New Jerusalem, held before them
by the revivalist. They would not 90 to the
mourners BENCH they would not 60 into
| frances. There was a cause for this and
Sister Woodwork, aided and abetted
in her researches by Brother Wood
worth or vice versa, discovered it. The
listen to her were a-hungered Remotely
and unconsciously they craved spiritual susie
| nance, of course; but primarily and positively
they yearned for more substantial food. Piety
was in less active demand than pie. Lest it
be thought that any reflection is intended to
| be cast upon the evening meal of Hoosierdom
let the statement be recorded at once that the
supper table of rural Indiana groans with fat
ness Tho attendants at the Woodwork
meetings suffered from no lack of food
| but the summer days were long,
and hours enough had stretched
between supper and religious services
to thoroughly enliven the seldom quiescent
Hoosier appetite. Camp meeting days came
on, and sinners still continued reluctant
Something must be done. There is tradi-
ton that in the early history Of the camp
meeting the culinary accomplishments of the
mothers in Israel were displayed to their best
advantage The oldest inhabitants tell
mouth watering stories of the fried chicken.
| the doughnuts, the preserves" and other del
icacies which graced those OCCASIONS and in
variably add that no wicked man
was allowed to escape Conversions were
a matter of course. The camp meet
ing, as it is now constituted, has
few Of the old time practical attractions. The
''tenters' live, as it were, from hand to mouth.
They bring a supply of provisions already
cooked, and live on this picnic fare until it is
stale, when they secure a fresh supply of
bakers wares and canned goods Brother
and Sister Woodwork considered these facts.
and resolved to start refreshment stand in
connection with their revival work. If souls
would not revive until stomachs were filled,
then the multitude must be fed with bread
and meat before invisible nutriment was dealt
out to them. Brother Woodwork, whose
services had hitherto not seemed valuable in
the evangelistic work. here came out strong.
He would be caterer to the crowd; he would
feed the hungry-at so much a head-and
Mrs, Woodwork, encouraged and aided by
him, would go conquering Satan and his
allies with her aforetime assurance. The ex-
pertinent is only a recent one, but its success
is already apparent in the daily reports from
the neighborhood of Kokomo. frances are
of nightly occurrence, and the mourners'
bench is not vacant as for
some time past Gradually as the
hollow seekers for righteousness become we'll
filled with beef and bacon at Brother Wood
worth's table, the number of sheep to flock
The complaint is made that if the gospel is