Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-26
CHRISTMAS SERVICES.
Floral Decorations and Sweet Har-
monies Draw Crowds to Hear
THE STORY OF CHRIST'S BIRTH.
Special arrangements Made tO,Attract the
Younger Members. .
CHURCH CHOIRs LARGELY~AUGMENTED

The church bells rang out merrily on the
wintry air yesterday morning and welcomed
the people to the Christmas services. Their
pealing was little louder and their Chin
ing little livelier, than was their wont.
It was a day for special thanksgiving and
most fittingly did the various churches of
the two cities observe the most sacred day
in the Christian calendar.
Most of the congregations had made
ample preparations for the morning serv-
ices, both in the way of artistic decorations
and enticing exercises. The pastors had
chosen fitting themes for their Yule-tide
sermons, and we're to again narrate the in
cidents of Bethlehem and tell the old story
of the birth of the Savior. The people
never seem to tire of the narrative, and
the attendance at all the churches was un-
usually large.
A Great Day for Children.
The children were in their glory, and
with their brightest smiles turned out
in large numbers The Christmas season is
the harvest time for the Sunday schools, as
it is a rare thing that they are not
crowded at this time of the year. The
annual treat is a great temptation to
youngsters heart, and the usual bag
of candy is too great temptation
to be resisted. Special programmes had
been provided and all the schools were
crowded yesterday. Christmas falling on
Sunday made it all the more appropriate
and induced many more extra preparations
in the interests of the children than would
have been otherwise possible. AS q rule
the annual treats were held on Saturday
evening, but this added none the less to the
interest taken.
The feature in the various churches was
the special choral service. Elaborate pro-
grammes had been prepared and were rem
dered in masterly way, as the choirs were
fully able to render anything that was
brought before them. The attendance was
for the most part very large, and there
were few empty pews. The decorations
were profuse In all the places of worship
and were in harmony with the occasion.
A Strong Double Quartet.
At the First Presbyterian Church the
musical programme was rendered by a
double quartet, consisting of Mrs. William
B. Wolfe and Mrs. Cowan, sopranos; Miss
NJ. E. Bankerd and Miss Ella Semple, altos;
Daniel E Nuttall and Ramsey, tenors, and
John A. .Strouss and Wagner, bassos; John
A. Bell, choirmaster and organist.
James N. Bebout was the choirmaster at
the Second Presbyterian Church. The
quartet consisted Of G. G. Rinehart Jr.,
tenor; j. n. Bebout, basso; Miss Edith
Harris, contralto, and Miss Irene Sample,
soprano. Miss Adele Reahard was the
organst.
Rev. A. W. Arundel, pastor of the
Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, took
special pains to make the observance of
Christmas notable one. A vested choir of
40 men and boys rendered the music Mrs.
Julia NJ. B. Huntington was the director
and James Dodsworth, organist.
The Fourth Avenue Baptist Church choir,
under the direction of Simeon Bissell, as.
sisted by Madame Schiemedeke, harpist,
and Edward Rothleder, violipist. rendered
an excellent programme Christmas morn
ing. The soloists were Miss Macintosh,
soprano; Wallace Moody, tenor; Charles
f. Kahn, basso. Mr.. Moody's solo in the |
anthem, "Manger of Bethlehem" was ad- |
mirably rendered, as was also Mr.. Kahn's
solo. Miss Macintosh has a very sweet
and sympathetic voice.
The usual Christmas services in the Cath |
olic churches were uniformly observed |
throughout the city. This is one of the |
most earnestly observed days of the year BY |
the Catholics and is always a time for |
special services. Mass was said at $50 and |
was followed by services at 1880 o'clock.
Special Services in Catholic Churches.
Some of the Catholic churches held spe-
cial exercises commemorative of the |
biblical story of Bethlehem. At st. Paul's |
Cathedral Thomas K. Kirk was director of |
the quartet, with Miss Alice Carter, Or
ganist. The quartet consisted of Miss
Grace Miller, soprano; Mrs. William Loef-
fer, contralto; Joseph G. Briel, tenor, and
Lawrence A. Rickett, baritone. These
were assisted by large choir, and the SER
vices were on an elaborate scale
Perhaps one of the most interesting exer-
cises in the entire city was that given at
the ST. Malachy's Church under the direc-
tion of rather James j. McTighe yesterday
afternoon. He had arranged the exercises.
of the school and were very interesting.
The parts were taken entirely by children
Some of the leading characters were
only Z years old, but filed their
parts most acceptably. 1t was intended to
by dialogues, speeches and tab
leaux the events as they occurred. The
principals were in costume and the exer-
cises passed off most successfully. 1t is in
tended to repeat the exercises during each
afternoon of this week. The reciting of q
poem composed by Father McTighs called
bethlehem, was executed by Miss Katie
Discon, aged IL years, most effectively,
while sermon by Master Harry Collery,
aged years, was excellently done.