The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-03-05
The Pentacostal Cru
saders In Sterling.
THEY HIRE A HALL
And Hope to Convert Some
Local Ministers.

Clinton, March 4.-The Pentacostal
| Crusaders, who more commonly refer
| to themselves as the Pentacostal Band,
met an Unexpectedly cold reception in
the neighboring town of Sterling.
The Pentacostal Band acoords allie
glance to the Boston Evangelical Asso-
ISOLATION
The band is headed by shrewd, good
and comedy woman named Hannah
Hayes. She is assisted by Miss Grace
Bryant, Miss Mary T. Earle and Perry
H, Murdick. Mr. Murdick is the gift
ed young man who, with Edward r.
Leslie. has been conducting revival
meetings in the Methodist and Bap-
fist churches with success that the old
est church goers say was never known
before.
Miss Hayes. at the head of the PEN
tacostal Band, arrived quite recently.
She and her workers have assisted in
the revival services at the Methodist
Church with the full approval Of Rev.
A, M. Osgood and Rev. A. S. Brown.
Rev. Mr.. Brown was so well satisfied
with the work of the Pentacostal Band,
and of the soundness of the doctrine adj
her a. letter of introduction to Rev. w.
L. Stone, pastor of the Sterling Baptist
Church, so that Miss Hayes might be-
gin her mission in Sterling under good
auspices.
Since Miss Hayes presented the letter,
she has met nothing but discourage
ment for herself and the Pentacostal
| Band.
The Sterling pastor received the idea
OF the revival meetings very coolly. He
did not offer the use of the Baptist
Church for the meetings. He led Miss
Hayes to think that no outside workers
would have any success in regenerat-
| ing the people Of Sterling.
This was Thursday All the after
noon Miss Hayes looked for a boarding
| house. She tried again and again, but
no one cared to take her
! Then she decided to fight 1t out along
that line. If 1t takes all the rest of the
winter. She hired hall-the town
hall. The Pentacostal Band is in the
| town hall. and going to hammer away
at the church doors in Sterling until
they open and let the workers in.
She talked with the Clinton CORES
pendent of The Spy, in Sterling, this
afternoon. She had found a boarding
place with Miss Gibbs, one of the lead
ing ladies of the town, and discussed
in a businesslike way the plan Of cam
paign.
oh" she said, there's no ill-feel-
lngs between ourselves and the
churches. Perhaps they are not SO
ready to take US in as some churches
have been. They may doubt the
soundness of our doctrine. We've hired
| a hall, and we are going to hold our
meetings in the hall. 1t seems to me
that this old town needs re awaken
ing, and that there is plenty of work
for US to do here. [ think that prob
ably we will be invited to enter one of
the churches before long. The pastor
of the Congregational Church looked i'm
at our first meeting. So did the pastor
of the Unitarian Church. We are nray-
ing for his conversion.
For night or two we drove back
and forth to Clinton, but now have
found a stopping place on the ground
and will conduct the fight on the spct ;"
In Clinton Miss Hayes and her meth
DDS were received with open arms. She
and the Pentacostal band have the full
| approval of Rev. Mr.. Brown and Rev
| Mr.. Osgood, who are reckoned con-
servative clergymen.
The people of both churches are Civ
ing Miss Hayes active as well as MOI al
support Tonight a whole barge load
of the strongest workers IN the BAD
| fist and Methodist Churches went down
| to Sterling to attend the meeting in
the town hall and to pray and speak
vigorously that the work of the Pen
( tacostal band may be successful in
| Sterling, the doors of the Sterling
| churches opened to it, and the same
kind of meetings that have been held
| in this town prevail.
| The Pentacostal band has been doing
| most of its recent work in the churches
| of New Hampshire. Miss Hayes says
| that the band has made a thousand
| conversions in the last t~-o seasons.
Il hope" said she with smile, Ito
make several notable conversions in
| Sterling"
Mrs. Bryant and Miss Earle are
| young women; attractive young wo-
men. They make the music for the Pen
tacostal band. Mr. Murdick is study
| ing for the ministry.
One of the possibilities of the cam
| paign is a citizens meeting, called es-
pecially in the interest of German cit
liens, for 10 a. m. tomorrow, at Schiller
Hall. The meeting will deal with the
political situation, and possibly en-
dorse candidates.
Just who is behind the meeting is rot
clear. The prospect is that it will be
called to order by some person favor
able to the candidacy of Charles r..
! Shaw, for town treasurer. This is
| rumor and not necessarily a fact. Fol-
| lowing the citizens meeting, there Kill
be q meeting Of the German Republican
| Club.
| The board of registrars completed the
voting list this afternoon. The exact
number Of names on the list of male
voters is 1888. This is an increase of
| 108 since last spring: the total number
of names added to the list is 236. OF
this number, the republicans have
brought 115 to be made and the demo-
Gratis the balance. The total registra-
ton of domen is 220, less than last
| spring.
| Tomorrow the democrats issue a proc
| lamation to the voters of Clinton,
which is @ review of the democratic
candidates for town offices. 1t de-
! scribes the candidates as men of ster-
| ling integrity, of unapproachable char
acter and progressive ideas, and makes
an appeal for votes.
! At the beginning of the campaign, the
republican town committee decided that
| the campaign from the republican side
should be conducted in decent, order
! ly and respectable way. The chairman
of the committee, s. Ives Wallace, had
| long been of the opinion that too many
personalities had been allowed to Green
| into politics in the past. In David |
Walsh, chairman of the democratic
committee, there was a man of the
same mind. As a result, it is probable
that there never was a campaign in a.
! city Of 10000 people, when SO much
from exhibitions OF party spite as this
campaign is.
The executive committee of the elm