Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 January 1894 — WITH THE DUNKARDS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WITH THE DUNKARDS

VISIT TO THE CHURCH IN THE ANTIETAM VALLEY. Interesting Characteristics of These Peculiar People—ln the Sixteenth Century They Were Called German Baptists— Nearly All Are Thrifty Farmers, The Religions Rites. The old Dunkard church In the beautiful valley of the Antietam stands on a slight eminence near the fork of the Boonsboro pike and the East Woods raid, in the town of Sharpsburg, McL, writes Chas. E. Fainnan in the Washington Star. It is a plain, square, onestory building with the doors and windows set in in such a regular way that they stand as a silent reproach to the congregations who seek to worship in churches where the exterior shows triumphs in architecture and the interiors are a study of modern luxury. Around the church is a scattered grove of oaks, and to these are fastened the teams ofjthe worshiping Dunkards. When the writer visited the churoh on a beautiful Indian summer Sunday the congregation were singing a familiar hymn. The interior consisted of a room about thirty feety square; the floor was of smooth boards that had been scrubbed until their whiteness equaled the whiteness of the floors of the historical Dutch kitchens; the walls were without paper, fresco or kalsomine; the white plaster walls were without ornament or decoration of any kind. The windows, of which there were eight, were without curtains or shades, no stained glass or ground glass in the windows to tone and soften the sunlight, which shone through the clean glass without hindrance. The seats were plain-wooden benches with a narrow straight board for a back which would prove a stumbling block to the long or short worshipers; those of medium height oould lean back and thank their birth star that they were not as some other people, too long or too short. It is needless to say that the seats were without cushions. Such an innovation would no doubt breed disoord in the midst of the humble worshipers, to whom the four bare walls embody everything necessary in a church in which to worship God, who is no respecter of persons. The church is entirely destitute of a pulpit or pulpit furniture. The preach-

er is not even given the prominence oi having a raised platform on whioh to stand while he addresses his audienoe. The office of preacher is an eleotive office, and, the electors are the ohuroh of which he is a member. „The office is for life—if the duties are performed satisfactorily, but the salary—here is the Incentive that is wholly lacking. In the Dunkard Church the preacher is expected to Jserve the church without salary or reward except that whioh comes to one who is conscious of an earnest effort to do good. Three Divisions. In the church were some forty worshipers, the female portion of whioh were'seated on one side, and the male portion on the opposite side of the church. The sisters seem to be divided into two classes, the uniformed and the ununiformed. I noticed that those who wore the regulation Dunkard garb were seated in one of the amen corners near the preacher. Those who were dressed after the sinful fashion of this world sat apart. ' The cut of the garments of the sisters are of the same sober Quakerish pattern that was used generations ago, but in the material the ambitious Dunkeress finds an opportunity to make her less fortunate sister turn green with envy, and it is often the case that the rich material represents in outlay of more money than the most

fetching tailor-made gown has cost the fashion-worshiping sinners. The brethren of the congregation dress better than they onoe did. Years ago the correct style was to wear ooats fastened by hooks and eyes instead of buttons, to shave the upper lip, and have the hair cut after the pattern formed by placing a milk crock on the head and cutting awav all the hair not oovered by the crock—but all these distinctive characteristics of dress have passed away, and while the Dunkard brother of to-day dresses plainly, there is little about his dress that would indicate the brotherhood to which he belongs. The singing is without the leadership of an organ or precentor—it is congregational and independent; there is no stern-eyed chorister to browbeat the singers into the adoption of Borne standard of time of his own selection. Each singer feels his or her own importance in the proper rendition of the sacred song, and proceeds to do his level best without thought of the other singers. One quavering soprano voice was heard above all the rest, one metallic tenor followed for half aline in unison and then struck out boldly into the unknown ethics of free upper A&r the-singing the preacher offered prayer. There wp# much of earnestness and but, little thought of rhetorical pauses or finely formed sentences in the prayer: it was hie simple story of thaas_aefeds, poured, Into the ear of a synthetic Creator. The whole congregation knelt. Tha prayer ended, the worshipers remainsn upon

their knees; a solemn hush pervaded tho little church; then an agea brother commenced the recital of the Lord’s Prayer, slowly and reverently the words dropping from his lips. I have heard many renowned pulpit orators,' I have listened to some of the best acton of the day, but as compared with the reoital of the Lord’s Prayer by the aged Dunkard brother the pulpit orators and the actors have as yet only learned the alphabet of expression in the school in which the old man is so proficient The sermon was preached without any reference to any written notes or headings, as the Dunkards do not believe in the practice of writing sermons, claiming that the inspiration to preach should be forthcoming at the time and to suit the purposes of the occasion. The sermon was a plain matter-of-fact talk. There was no attempt at flights of oratory, nor struggle for effective sounding sentences,

but a plain interpretation from the preacher’s standpoint of the meaning of the Scripture from which the text had been chosen and its personal application to the every-day life of his hearers. Throughout the sermon the attention of the audience was invariably good. After the close of tho sermon the preaoher announced the services for the week in the different parts of the town. Tho aged Dunkard who had acted as an assistant to tho preacher offered the closing prayer, tne preacher followed by reciting the Lord’s prayer and then tne congregation was dismissed. There was no collection taken. The omission of this usual important part of worship was qqite noticeable. After being dismissed the congregation lingered for a short time, and discussed topics of interest with neighbors whom they have not met since the last service, and tho church was deserted. The windows were securely fastened down, tho shutters closed, the doors locked, and the teams unhitched from the grove of oaks, then the different teams were driven away in a sober way, highly appropriate for the Sabbath. The Love Feast. *' The Dunkards date back to the sixteenth century, when they were called the German Baptists. Some of their church ceremonies are peculiarly their own, especially the love’ feast, followed by the washing of feet. At these, love feasts the men and the women sit apart, as at the usual services. After the partaking of the love feast, basins of water and towels are brought, and on eaoh side of the church the washing of feet is commenced. This coremony is confined to the members of the church, although at some portions of the love feast all are invited to par-

take. The brother who commences the ceremony washes one foot of the brother next to him and salutes him with a kiss, the brother who has thus been washed and kissed then performs the same office for the brother next to him, and this course is followed until all have been waited upon; the same line of action is pursued by the sisters of the ohurctt* ,< * • “How do you manage when you come to a person in the church that you don’t like?” was asked of a sister concerning this ceremony. “Oh,” she replied, “we always manage to sit beside some one we are on good terms with.” So it Beoms that there aro persons from whom the groat lesson of numility has not entirely leavened the spirit of caste and wordly preference. Aside from the peculiarities of dress and churoh ceremonies the Dunkards have other characteristics which identify them in the community in which they reside—they are usually very thrifty, and their farms are well cultivated. Brawls and dissensions among them are rare, they do not seek for political preference, and in some localities it is extremely difficult to induce them to go to the polls to voto, even

during the most heated political excitement. Some have been known to visit the polling precincts and vote, and then return without waiting to learn the results of their vote or remain long enough to see whether the candidate of their choice .could be elected by their remaining for another ballot. They have discharged their

duty by voting once, and are then ready to wash their hands of all responsibility in the matter and go home to the more congenial occupations of the farm The Dunkards as a class are strictly temperate, their lives are as quiet as the hills and valleys about their farms. While they take but little interest in the management of the affairs in the communities in which they live they are good citizens and manage to live without helping to support lawyers or courts of justice. Of late years the boundaries which separate them from their neighbors have been someweat broken down—the plain Quakerish garb is considered a yoke of bondage by the younger generation, the manner of dress has become so much modified bv the class who seem to be able to think for themselves, that it is safe to say that not one-half of the church membership wear the Dunkard garb. Then close

proximity to other religious bodies has somewhat broken into their church membership, aud many of the younger Dunkards have left the church in which they were reared and allied themselves to other churches which seem to them less exacting in the prerequisites of church membership. An Interview with the Preacher. A visit to the Dunkards would not be complete without a chat with the preacher (the term minister or pastor is not used), so I managed to find an excuse for calling upon the preacher to

whoso sermon I had listened the'Sunday before. I found him at work upon the little farm, for he is a farmer, and soon was engaged in conversation with him. Our talk soon turned upon the church service of the day before, and he half apologetically said he was not so well prepared as he should have been, as it was expected another preaoher would preside, but having been called away to attend a funeral there was no other

choice but to proach himself. I expressed myself as highly pleased and instructed by his sermon, and then he told me the manner in which his sermon was prepared. He said: “I always select my text early in the week, and then, by the aid of my Bible and Cqncordance, study carefully all passages of Scripture relating to the subject selected. All the Wbek while at my work I keep my mind upon the subject of my sermon, and try so far as possible to learn exactly what it means, and its lesson and application to ourselves. Then on Sunday I try to tell the church what the Bible has told me on the subject. ” “Do you think the Dunkard characteristics of a few years ago will finally disappear?” I asked. “I do,” he 6aid, “so far as the peculiarities of dress are concerned, but the church ceremonies will probably remain unchanged."

PRESSURE OF BUSINESS.

THE DUNKARD CHURCH.

INTERIOR DUNKARD CHURCH.

A DUNKARD FARM HOUSE.

AT ANTIETAM FORD.

WASH DAY AMONG THE DUNKARDS.