Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-03-28
To be continued
DUNKAPDS AT WORSHIP.
STRANGE AND SIMPLE RITES OF THIS
MEEK AND DEVOTED SECT.

The Follower Of Mack Establish y Society
In Chicago-The Washing of Feet and
Other Peculiar Obsery ances-A Demurs
Choir Leader.
In the plain, one story meeting house on
Oakley avenue, just of jackson street, there
met a small congregation Of that peculiar re-
igious sect known as the Dunkards A soci-
ETY. Of item was formed Sunday. and meet
ings to knit the membership more closely to
gether are being held. The congregation
numbered twenty-five or thirty persons,
all apparently from the common walks Of
life An exceeding piainness of dress and
speech prevailed among them The women
wore dresses of dark stuffs and black sun
bonnets, and the elderly women, in some
cases. white caps Their dress was unrelieted
by ornament or jewelry Of any kind, though
two or three wore bonnets Of more conven-
tionnl fashion
The men had no distinctive dress A few
wore broad trimmed hats On front bench
demurely sat a fresh checked girl clad in a
garment of sotber brown, her sunny curls
peeping out from the shadows Of a black
satin sun bonnet She now and then STOLE
CHiuettisH Rlance III tue uTectiOu Ol LUG
amen" corner, where sat robust young
man with his wide brimmed hat outspread
upon his knees There were several young
women and two or three young men in the
audience, The pretty girl on the front bench
led the singing i'll good old fashioned tunes in
a shrill treble voice
SIMPLE But IMPRESSIVE SERVICES.
The services were simple in character.
They were initiated by the singing Of Jesus,
Lover of My Soul" The leader then prayed,
while every one in the room knelt in sup
pliance. After another hymn, the Rev. d.
l.. Miller, of Mount Morris colony, preached
from the text Now abideth faith, hope and
charity, but the greatest Of these is charity"
No references were made to the peculiar
practices of the church The sermon was
such an exposition of the doctrine Of Christian
love as might fall from the lips of any orthodox
Protestant clergyman 1t was delivered di
dactically and without any of the pious fer
vor and ecstasy common to the extreme
sects of dissenters Another hymn and prayer
after the sermon closed the services. The
preacher came down from the pulpit and
mingled with the members of his little flock.
He saluted the brethren with kiss and a
hand shake. The men also kissed each other,
and so did the sisters among themselves
You see we are not so very different from
other people" said the Rev Mr. Miller.
There is great deal of ridicule INDUCED in
on our account The reporters who come to
our meetings treat us pretty roughly some
times and there are many wrong notions
about us current among those who ought to
know better George Alfred Townsend has
written a novel in which the scene of the
inX.t
was very inaccurate in what he said of us.
Most people think We are sect of commun-
lists.
in Pennsylvania
DIFFERENT KIND OF puNKARD.
NOT at all You are confusing us with
the Seven Day Dunkers, organized by Conrad
Beissel in Lancaster county, Pa, in i72a
They believe in observing Saturday as the
Sabbath. We haven't anything to do With
them. Our people emigrated from Holland
in l1l9 and settled in Pennsylvania We
have in the United States a membership Of
10000, chiefly in Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, We
have colleges at Mount NORRIS His, Bridge.
water, Va, Huntington, Pa. and MePher-
con, Kan We have large society at Mount
Morrn l suppose there arc about fifty
Dunkards in Chicago, and nearly all Of them
have moved here from Mount Norris We
live Of course jukt like other people Some
members Of our society hays gone away,
from time to time, to get work There wers
enough here, We thought, to warrant Us ia
establishing society, and 30 Professor Young
and myself came up Saturday and on Sun
day organized our church with twenty four
members We are holding meetings and IL
ID intended to have services every SUNDAY
after this Some one from Mount Morris
Will do the preaching"
The organization Of the society on Sunday
was attended by the observance Of the
strange rites Of the church. which include
the kiss Of chariIy the right hand Of fell
lowship. love feast and the washing Of
feet In the performance Of the last rite men
and women were separated The women
gathered at one end of the church and tho
men at the other. Large tin basins of water
we're used lhs brethren and sisters washing
and drying each others naked feet and sing
ing songs over their work OF humility
lit was ali done with extreme propriety, 2
said the Rev Mr. Miller Our obsery ancs
Of this ceremony Is based upon the custom Of
the apostles and the primitive church
FOLLOWING THE MASTERS EXAMPLE
" lou know Christ washed the feet Of his
disciples as an act Of humility Are We
greater than our Iordi You NAV not know
That "a pO,O0o OF Christians practice this
rite as part Of their religious ceremonies
All the members of the Greek church do and
u y done In tho Roman Catholic church
fne Catholic iayuiea do not do Il, but the
higher dignitaries wash the feet Of twelve Of
their interiors on each Good Friday 1t Is As
proper ceremony as baptism or the other
sacramento
Tbs incorporated name Of the Dunkard
church Is the German Baptist Brethren
1t was founded in l70s by Alexander Mack
and seven others in the village of Sch warzs-
nou, In Germany. They believed that i'm
mersion was the proper form of baptism, and
not sprinkling, a observed BIZ the Catholic
church
Inc name Of tunkers or dunkers, vas do
nved from the German word tunkeu. mean
ing to dip The Dunkards baptize by dipping
forward Besides the present society. two
other societies was formed in Germany.
rerseoutioaz drove them into Holland, and,
between the year, i7ls and l72o, the entire
denomination ernigrated to the United StAteA
Besides the religious practices already men
toned, their creed forbids the taking of oaths,
bringing suirs In the courts, and fighting.
Until recent years they did not take Interest
for money loaned The sick are anointed
With oil and their recovery prayed for with
the laying on Of handA The church govern
msnt Is vested in bishops, elected at populA,
meetings of the church, which are usually
heid each Nay rhe bishops are prepared for
their holy Offices by anointmens with oil
Chicago NsvA