The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-19
MEETINGS STILL COLD
NOT MUCH RELIGIOUS FERvOR AT
ROBERTS PARK REVIVAL.
Efforts to Excite the People Seem to
BE FutiIe-The Hall-Plnce
Revival.

Religious services were the order of the
day at Roberts Park Church yesterday.
Glass meetings began as early as
o'clock and continued until 10. when
Sunday school services were held.
Evangelist Harrison addressed the
Sunday school scholars. The regular
preaching service began at IL o'clock and
a sermon was delivered by DR.. Bacon, pas
tor of the church, followed by a brief ex-
hortation by Mr.. Harrison, but no altar
service was held. The afternoon meeting,
which opened at . o'clock. was not well
attended on account of the rain, and the
chapel downstairs was called into requisi-
ton as being better adapted to the needs
of the smaller congregation. The evangei-
list had entire charge of this meeting and
made one of his characteristic appeals to
the emotional side of his hearers, succeed
ing in adding five to his list of converts.
The meeting last night in the large audi
torium of the church was the banner one
of the revival. Not only was every seat
in the gallery and on the main floor oc-
cupied but persons stood in all parts of
the room, while a number occupied the
steps leading to the pulpit and choir loft.
of the 9th chapter of Genesis: my spirit
saith God will not always strive The
burden of the talk was that the Holy
Ghost strives for souls conversion for
certain length of time and then, becoming
wearied. goes away and leaves the obsti-
nate one to his fate. The speaker told of a
woman who was in her carriage on her
way TO the theater one night, dressed in
very rich garments, and suddenly ordered
her coachman to stop in front of plain
little church in which revival meeting
was in progress. Entering the edifice, the
wealthy woman cast herself a penitent at
the altar and was soon happily converted.
You may think it strange that the wom-
an on her way to house of amusement
was impelled TO stop at a plain looking
little church to get religion said the evan
gelist, but I'll tell you why it was.
Through one of the hymns which the peo-
pie in that church were singing and which
she had heard in her childhood, the Holy
Ghost touched. her heart and impelled
her to stop and seek salvation" The dis
course was chiefly made up OF anecdotes,
of which the foregoing is a fair sample
The altar service was opened abruptly
with the singing of the song lis My Name
Written There? In a short time after
the invitation was given, the chancel rail
was filled with seekers" who came from
all parts of the church. Several interest
ing incidents occurred during this portion
of the meeting. Pointing to young man
kneeling at the altar, the evangelist cried
This young man has left his friends In the
face of this great congregation and come
here and is crying at the altar Well, L
would rather cry there than cry dying.
Thousands cry dying and thousands Shrek
when they are dying oh, the wicked will
cry at the last when there is no chance to
escape Mr. Harrison's peculiar method
of announcing conversions is at times very
startling in its boldness. At one time he
called out Let us praise God for that
glorius conversion down there-that woman
in black. on, she has been to the cemetery
with some loved one" Although there
were some ten or twelve recorded con-
versions last night, the evangelist made
special allusion TO only the two mentioned
"A quiet, modestly dressed woman of plain
features was noticed leaving the altar,
apparently because no one took enough
interest in her to inquire the reason for her
coming 10 'the mourners' bench" The
announced object of last nights service
TO hold jubilee over the first hundred
conversions of the revival-was not men,
toned. Mr.. Harrison stated, however,
that he expects to secure fifty converts
at to-nights meeting. He still insists that,
despite the comparatively few who profess
conversion, the present series of meetings
exceeds in point of interest that held in
the same church nineteen years ago.