Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-11-04
WARSHIP WORSHIP.
HOW JACK "RIGS CHURCH, IN UNCLE
SANS NAVY.

Divine Service on Sunday on Board q
United States AIan-of-war and How 1t Is
Conducted-The Church Ensign and Its
Meaning-The Chaplain.
When there is seen flying from the
gaff of a United States man-of-war a
small, white triangular pennant, bear
ing ON its field blue Greek cross near
the pike or halyard, it is signal that
divine service is being held ON board.
"Rig churchr'' is one Of the regular ma
val orders, issued usually at about 1890
on Sunday morning.
Church is ''rigged'' in various places
according TO the construction of the YES
sci and according to the weather condi-
tions. If the day is fine and not too
cold, the quarter deck will probably be
Iselected, although in some ships it is
customary to hold the service ON the
| forward part of the gun deck. In stormy
weather the berth deck below is used,
where the men may be under shelter,
J though they are more cramped for room.
Assuming that the service is to be
! held ON the quarter deck, the arrange
ments for it will proceed about like
this: When the bugler gives the signal,
the "church ensign is hoisted to the
| direction of an officer bestir themselves
briskly i'll making the simple prepare
! tions which are necessary.
A table or desk, covered with the
! American flag, is placed at the end of
the quarter deck for the chaplain. a few
wardroom chairs are brought up from
below and ranged along the starboard
side, where the officers are to assemble,
and benches or capstan bars resting on
buckets make seats for the crew on the
port side.
The organ-fo- every ship that has
chaplain is provided with an instrument
of this nature-is put in a convenient
place. If there is band, and its serv-
ices are desired, few musicians are Sc
lected and stationed near by. Then the
ships bell is tolled for about five min
utes, giving the officers and men, wher-
ever they may be on board, sufficient
time to assemble, if they are so inclined.
The boatswain may call down the
hatchways "Silence, fore and aft, dur
ing divine service!' but it is we'll IN
derstood by the entire crew that the
ship must be quiet now for about three
quarters of an hour. Finally the bell
stops, the captain, after a glance
around, makes n sign to the chaplain
that all is ready, and the service begins.
How it is conducted depends upon
the denomination to which the chaplain
belongs and various sects are represent
ed among the naval clergymen. The
singing, accompanied by the organ,
which is played either by an officer or
by some musician among the crew, is
generally fine. The men enjoy it, and
their voices ring out strong and fresh in
the open air.
During the prayers they are required
to remove their caps, but throughout
the rest of the service they may remain
covered. When it is over, the order to |
'Pipe DOWN. is given, and church is !
''unrigged. Sometimes an evening |
service is also held, but this is not the |
general custom.
Attendance at church on the warships |
is of course not compulsory, but the Off |
GERS are expected to attend by way of |
furnishing an example, and most of |
them usually do, accompanied by per-
haps about half the crew-sometimes |
more and sometimes less.
But by no means all the ships of the |
navy are provided with chaplains- For |
the 60 or more war vessels now effective |
for service there are fewer than 80 |
chaplains, or less than one for every |
two ships. They are attached to the lar
gest and most important vessels, where |
their ministrations may reach the great
est number of persons.
y queer incident happened a few
years ago, when one of the modern
cruisers was put into commission. It
had been intended that she should carry
q chaplain, but when the officers quar-
tiers were completed it was found that
his room had been entirely overlooked.
No accommodation for him thus being
available, the ship put to sea without a
chaplain and did not have one for at
least two years.
In an action the chaplain's duties are
with the sick and wounded Occasion
ally, however, his aid has been required
at the guns and in many instances the
chaplains have proved themselves hero
ic fighters as well as good preachers In
the old days of the navy the chaplain
wore the full uniform of his rank-lieu-
tenant, lieutenant commander or COM
it is now customary for
him to wear suit of black or the regu-
lar costume of whatever church he rep
resents, sometimes with the insignia of
his rank upon his sleeye.-New York
Tribune.