The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1903-05-19
QUEER THINGS IN CHURCH.
Members Of Choir MADE Love Openly,
SEXTON Got Drunk and Hen ana
Chickens Attended Service.

sexton Coz Drunk and Hen ana
Chickens Attended Service.
When l. left Cambridge the question
was "Where shall go?" says the Rev.
DR.. w. s. Rainsford, Of St. Georges
Protestant Episcopal church, IN "A
Preachers Story Of His Work. in The
Outlook. About this time man had
never heard of offered me a curacy in
Norwich--the Rev William Nottage
Ripley Norwich was city Of $1,000
people, in the center of the shoe trade.
If were to describe to you the religi-
Gus state Of that town you would
scarcely believe It,. There was 4s old
churches-college liyings-yery poor
livings, but enough for a man to live on.
The holders of some of these livings did
little-some had sunk into a spiritual
slough. Ibid not know them, as a rule;
they looked upon me as a wild fire.
brand, and had nothing to say to me.
One church, very old church, was
held by a don Of Cambridge, a remark
able scholar in his day. That man was
curiosity. On certain occasions he
used to have, comparatively speaking,
a full church, because he introduced
certain things into the service that
amused the people. Among other
things, when he came, IN the Psalter
for the twenty-fourth day, to the tenth
verse Of Psalm cxvi, where, you re-
member, it reads, II said in my haste,
All men are liars" he would invariably
stop and say, David, if you had lived
in these days you would have
said it at your leisure" And in
the lesson for the twenty-first Sun
day after Trinity occurs the pass
age: "At what time We hear the sound
Of the cornet. flute. harp sackbut, psal-
terry. dulcimer, and all kinds Of musiek,
We fan down and worship the golden
image that Nebuchadnezzar the king
hath set up" This list Of instruments
Is repeated, you recall, three times in
the course Of the chapter The first
time he would read il as IL is written,
but the other three times he would
substitute for II the phrase, "The
aforesaid gentlemen with the brass
band" He had other eccentricities
that he would indulge in on stated oc-i
casions. These things came to be
known, and on those Sundays the
church would be full, ,gss 1854 q znl
Once year there was collection for
the choir, and he got some one else in
the pulpit to address his peolle ard |
draw crowd. After had been about
a year and half ii Norwich lie asked |
me to preach The feature of that |
church was its music. The wife Of the |
old don had a beautiful voice; they had |
gathered together a good choir. The
pulpit was a tiny black oak box with a
small desk for the Bible or sermons.
This desk sloped down. Ny Bible
slipped and I had to stoop o get IT, In |
STOPPING / leaned against the pulpit
door: II split open. and nearly fell ont |
of the pulpit After had been preach
ing time looked down into the choir.
which was a great box pew in front Of
the pulpit. after the old fashioned way,
shut of from the congregation by
curtain. and | saw one fellow put his
arm right around the waist Of the girl
next TO him and draw her head down
10 his shoulder; and he kept it there;
then he looked up straight into my
face and winked It broke me all up.
walked out Of the pulpit, went TO
the rector and said "Dr , your
choir members are behaving outrage
ously; I cannot preach until this is
stopped"
He walked Up rs the square pew
where the choir sat. tore the red baize
curtain down with jerk. and exposed
them. disconnected and ashamed, to the
full view Of the congregation. and then
sat down again. returned TO the pull
pit and went on with my sermon.
In the midst of il Hooked UP and saw
up the middle aisle, in solemn
hen with II or Il chick
ems. When the sexton tried 10 drive
hem out, he was so drunk that he fell
right on top Of the henl The old doc
tor called out. "Let her alone. John;
she is doing no harm"
Cauuhf fnae Wrouu One