The Washington herald., 1913-08-17
Washington Clergyman Tells
Of Religious Service at Sea.
A Perfunctory Officer's
Prayers Inspires Sugges-
tions for Reform.

tions for Reform.
Special Correspondents Of The Washington Herald.
On board S. S. Minnewaska. bound fol-
London, Aug. 5, 1s13.-A service at sea
is not infrequently an experience which
lives long in the memory, especially IL II
be the first of the kind ever attended.
But even to the most regular of ocean
travellers it can always be made helr-
full and inspiring. The sight of the
oceans vastness, with its suggestiveness
of majesty and awe. inspires one with
the sense of the Creators power in a
way nothing else does in all the world.
From this point of view the service
July 26 on the S. s. Minnewaska was a
grievous disappointment to a large num-
Der of passengers The conditions were
ideal, for it was a lovely day and the
ship, steady. as ship could be. moved 81
lently over a beautiful sea shimmerius
in the sunshine And yet those anxious
to join in religious worship en- the great
deep experienced a keen disappointment.
A Purely "Of'icinl' Affair.
The service was nanifestiy a pure.y
official aftair-without heart or soul
sort of concession TO amiablc weak
ness. The captain was the officiating
minister reading the prayers and Civ
ing ont the notices. Flanking him on
either side were the purSer and surgeon
who respectively read the first and sec
ond lessons, the Church of England
service being used throughout. At tue
piano one of the stewards presided and
did his part very we'll Another s,sw-
ard, lurking in the back of the salocn
with an aims dish, came forth at :hc
appointed time for the offerings of tns
faithful. Beyond this officialdom appar-
entity did not care to go. There was no
choir nor any attempt to secure one and
the patchy singing in consequence lei.
much to be desired. With the sole excep-
ticn of stewarGess, whose devotional
Joining in the service was a fine inspira-
tlon TO those near her, not another mem
Der Of the ships company-other than
DI ssengers-was present. Not a steward.
not even single officer. Those officers
not actually on duty put in their time
oafng on deck or elsewhere. They prob
ably knew what to expect
A Trio of Mi.nts,
The captains's reading of the service
Was painful to the devout One COM
Jared 1t to galloping; another thought il
was like chain-lightning. The purser's
part was sorry performance, though
rom different cause. He read exactly
ike third or fourth grade schoolboy,
md he was quite inaudible. The surgeon
cad his part in clear and pleasant
'olce, though, as he evidently knew moth
ng of the original. the teaching en-
'hrlned in a grand chapter of the Acts
vas altogether lost There was no SER
non.
With two or three clergymen on board.
me could not but feel that something
,etter might have been attained, and
hat, in any case, such a travesty should
not have occurred. The trio were as
much out of their place as three lands
men on the bridge would have been.
Doing their best, they reminded one of
ne Kansas organist who thought 1t wise
o keep beside the console a poster, with
his inscription, Don't shoot the organ
st: he is doing his best
Whatever the perfunctory performance
vas due to makes no difference. What
night have been really memorable oc-
aston was hopelessly marred by its being
egarded and treated as a piece Of ship
outline, like fire drill or inspection. 1t
vas veritable case OF seekers after
Chaplains for Ocean Linersf
Out of the experience the reflections
# a clergyman are perhaps in order:
]. OF all undertakings the rendering of
'ervice to Almighty God is least capable
IF being treated as a piece of mere rou-
inc duty. What is worth doing is worth
loing well, and bysinference what is not
worth doing well is not worth doing at
III. Better abolish it.
?. Instructed church members knowing |
he church's rules, seeing the captain as
iume functions commonly restricted toI
he clergy or to lay readers commits
ioned to act in their absence, mentally
sked: BY what authority doest thou |
hese things and who gave thee this au-
hority?' As captain he had no more au-
hority to conduct that service than he 1
ad TO say mass for Roman Catholic |
assengers. Moreover, captains may be |
lormons, Agnostics, Or. when protesting |
,hrlStians, quite impossible from the
tandpoint Of character.
). Why do not our great ocean liners /
AIRY chaplains as they do surgeons? The
teamship companies are solicitous in
lany ways for their patrons comfort.
witness the generous supply Of such
,xuries as palm gardens. tennis courts,
iiu the ike why not cnapla1nS alSO?
'hese steamers are little worlds in
themselves. On them children are born
no deaths take place. And all sorts and
onditions Of men are there, the pleasure
ecker and the business man: the well
nd the strong; the sorrowful and the
eedy; the invalid and the dying. And
II alike have time to spare as they have
OF en- land. Sometimes, indeed. it hangs
earily on their hands. Many, too, OF
n ocean voyage are peculiarly receptive
spiritual influences. Hence q regular
laplain on ar ocean liner would be to
a boon, the greatness of which
one can measure.
to Liners Employes.
l. Then, too. some attention should be
lid to the religious needs of the COM
mics employees. from the captain down.
ever mind whether they are anxious for
ritual opportunity or not. They need
ligion most when feeling their need Of
least. These are not days when those
authority, can afford to ignore the
ritual needs Of men. Our sense Of re-
onsibility Is larger than 1t used to be,
It a mere routine official service, with
Q ships employees left out, indicates
at that sense of responsibility IL far
"a /