Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-08-05
THERE IS NO Church
IN NO MANS LAND
American Soldiers Seek Religious
Services At The Risk OF
Their Lives
SERVICE IN SHE'LL CRATER

All over the war zone, even out in
No Mans Land, the soldiers of the
American Expeditionary Force seek
religious service, often at the addi-
tional risk Of their lives, and assemble
in place of worship as unusual as
were the meeting places of the early
Christians. Never before was there
such an army whose lighters seek wor-
ship calmly amid shells. in the shadow
of hostile aircraft. No matter how
dangerous the position, these sincere
boys from America who came overseas
for a great. unselfish purpose, always
welcome the Y. NJ c. A. secretary who
risks his life TO reach them TO hold
Sunday services.
a shell crater in No Mans Land
was the strangest place in which
"Y" man held services, though others
reported cover the entire field of dam
ger. Pews and pulpits are the least
essential requirements, A camoufiag
ed gun emplacement often is the
sanctuary and the gun butt is the pew.
In a village under fire. where gather
ings were prohibited, a thin line of
men backed against the walls along a
street while the speaker fiattened him
self against the opposite wall.
Men seated on the firing step a
trenches have listened eagerly TO
words of comfort, while in an outpost
two sat looking out into No Mans
Land with their automatics handy, but
as much at religious services as were
those Pilgrim forbears who carried
their matchlocks to church. In a lit
tie summerhouse of an old chateau
one Sunday morning men sat about
round table Others heard "Y'' man
speak from the pitchers box of a base
ball diamond.
Another "Y'' man stood beside an
old stone cross near a village church
above which two aeroplanes were
swooping down upon others in an at
tack, and as the villagers pushed their
way into the sanctuary the American
spoke quietly to his fellows in khaki.
The band did not play its concluding
number that evening for the old pipe
organ within the church was booming
forth a hymn of praise as the preach
er out-of-doors lovingly placed his
hand on the old cross and summoned
the fellows before him to respond to
it's challenge
Let no reader think this religious
work is forced on the soldiers. Far
from it, In the face of the great prob
lem, united for a great, serious pur-
pose and with the artificialities of life
stripped away, these men demand and
seek spiritual solace. They have risk
ed death or terrible wounds to as
semble where they can hold religious
services, as did some American boys
one Sunday recently in the Lorraine
sector when they gathered to take
communion in an old apple orchard,
by a wall.
Having finished the prayer of con-
secration, the minister at the COM
table beneath the trees was
about TO break the bread when the
enemy started firing At the time ten
men were on their knees in a semi
circle about the pastor. while many
others stood farther back, respectfully
and waiting Suddenly
gun bomed, a shell shrieked through
the orchard, and the congregation
threw itself PROSTATE on the ground.
Gould put a saddle on that one, all
right" muttered one boy.
All quietly resumed their reverent
attitudes and the service proceeded.
shell sirened through the or
and again the communi-
cants pitched full length on the grass.
to rise and resume the sacrament
when the missile had passed, the serv-
Ice continuing as steadily as though
this alternate kneeling and prostrat-
ing was part of the ritual.
The circumstances leading to the
actually held in No Mans
Land were as dramatic A Hun she'll
had filled a great tree out there and
ten Americans had been sent over the
top to hold this outpost in the crater.
A Red Triangle man, arriving at the
front line for his regular Sunday serv-
ices. heard of them and with his bag
,kell-filled with supplies cautiously
their trail through the tangle
Of ugly barbed wire. He found ten
men sitting low in the crater under
the shadow of the tree roots. Shippers
would have picked of anyone who
stood. They presented eight different
denominations. but they did not care
about that. They wanted Sunday
services.
So with trench mortars believing
and high explosives whining over
head, the older man with the Red Tri-
angle on his uniform spoke about