The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-08-28
ANDERSON, THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST rs, 1890

Leave strict orders with the sexton to
seat no one in your pew, as you may
bring friends to church with you. He
knows you haven't friend in the world
you would share anything with, but never
miud.)
eff you find stranger in your pew,
stare at him until he walks out. If he
won't walk out, sit down and make it
pleasant for him. Crowd him into the
corner. Push all the Bibles and hymn
books into the other end of the pew.
Turn your back on him when you rise to
sing, and sing loud out Of your own book,
holding it so that he can't see. If he is
one of these prayer meeting Christians
who knows the hymn.book by heart,
when he begins to sing, do you stop sing.
| ing and look at him, very much ss a cat
might look at robin.
"If the stranger should come in late,
and ask you for the number of the hymn,
or for the text, look out of the window.
Or, if you desire to be elaborately but
chillipgly polite. say I dunno If, after
service, he ventures to say that he enjoy
| ed the sermon, say "Huh ?' and hurry
away. He may want to borrow money
of you you,
the strangers in your pew, say you don't
know and you don't care, but you hope
they'll sit somewhere else if ever they
come again. Say this so the strangers
will hear it. Then they will wonder how
on earth you can get such fine clothes
on over your bristles without tearing
them all to pieces.
"If woman with child gets into
your pew, glare at the child every time
the little one moves. When you speak
of it to your neighbor, man whom you
really love-has night-lstch on his
pew .door-call the child brat. Smile
| pleasantly when you hear the sexton try.
ing to coax your dog out of the church.
That dog is too cute for anything. Might
let him stay in; be wouldn't bother
anybody"
Again, it may be that by some mis-
take you stumble into the Church of the
Samaritaps. You have no dealings with
these fellows, and you would back out as
soon as you see where you are going
but the samaritans are wide awake, with
some very informal notions about church
etiquette. The sexton, standing on the
porch, sees you are stranger, and the
minute you pause hesitatingl ly in front
of the church you are his. He hypno.
tizes you with cheerful nod and q
beckoniDg hand, and passes you on
through the open door almost before you
know it. An old deacon in the Vestibule
has you by the hand at once, and intro
duces you to "our church clerk" adding,
as he reaches your part of the introduc.
ton, "I don't exactly know your name"
-as though be used to know it like a
book, and has pretty good inkling OF
it now. but can't quite place you. An
usher at each door is ready for you
there is perfect picket.line of sexton
and deacons and ushers along the front
of the Church of the Samaritans not
to keep people out, butto bring them in ;
| it isn't fort, it's hospital; it's man.
trap, baited with Christian courtesy, and
the man who is caught there never tries
to get away. The older you are, the
better seat you get; if you just hint to
the young fellow who is leading you for
ward that your hearing is little "near.
sighted" he'll get you the best seat in the
house, if he has to ask resident Samarl'
tan to give 1t to you. You get comfortably
seated, and somebody pushes hassock
toward YOU; child from the next pew
hands you hymn.book; al old lady
puts Bible into your hands. The min
lister looks at you as though he had seen
you before and was glad to see you again.
Before you get fairly out of the pew,
after service, somebody has you by the
hand, telling you be is glad to see you
there, the pastor is asking you to come
again, the usher is telling you the hour
Of evening service, the superintendent is
giving you an invitation to- stay to
Sunday. school, and when, a little asham-
ed of the way you felt when you tried 70
back oat, you say, rather meekly, that
you are member rfthe Church of Jeru'
salem yourself, they cay, reassuringly,
sob, that's all right there isn't much
difference between the Samarltans and
the Church of Jerusalem now; lots OF
your people drop in and see US on their
way to Jericho"; the deacon tells you
'he got the best wife in the world out of
the Church of Jerusalem; and so you
have good time, and go away with such
a glow at your heart that if it wasn't
Sunday, and in town, you'd take off your
coat.
You see, it is just here; the samaEi-
tans feel at home in their church, and
consequently they know just how to
make strangers feel at home there, 1t
is their Fathers house, and they conduct
themselves there as easily, cordially.
naturally, as children at home. A
church of that sort has home like
atmosphere the visitor recognizes and
enjoys. Any guest can tell the family
liying.room from the square ROOM
with bis eyes shut. The trouble with
some of our churches is that the members
frequent them so seldom they have q
cat in. q strange garetty feeling them
selves when they do 60, and are conse
ouently awkward and constrained in
their efforts to make the stranger feel
welcome-yery much as l should proba,
bly, act if, being chance visitor at the
palace, T should attempt to receive Queen
Victoria's guests in the drawing. room,
while she finished her luncheon of bread
aud honey in the kitchen.
Get acquainted in your own church
feel at home there yourself; get into the
habit of frequenling the house during
the week; and on Sunday attend both
services and the Sunday School-see
how easily the workers" of the hive and
the little people receive and entertain
guests-and you will soon 6nd yourself
as cordial and warm-hearted as those
fellows over in the church of the Samari
tans, and won't ask for letter of intro
duction and countersigned credentials
before passing q hymn book to stran
ger. And remember alwoys the injunc-
ton of Peter, IAN apostle of Jesus
Christ" writing "to the strangers scat
tered throughout Pontus, GalatiA, Cap
padocia, Asia and Bithynia" a"-"Finally
be ye all of one mind, having compas
sion one of another, love as brethren, b