Old Time Religion — A Meeting of the "Holy Jumpers"

Wisconsin, 1906

Practiced by Holiness Band in This City

Primitive and Active

Members Give Lively Manifestations of Emotion. Mr. Farson Preached Sunday Evening

For people who like old-fashioned things, who look back to an earlier and simpler civilization with regret and who honestly believe that more primitive manners indicate more honest and genuine feeling, the meetings of the Holiness Band, or the "Holy Jumpers," as they are known, now being held is this city, are heartily recommended. The "Jumpers" have no use for the elegancies, the culture and the restraint incident to the times. They scorn material luxuries and they find in the quiet religion of the present day churches only dust and ashes.

They believe in revivals, continuous revivals, old-fashioned, praise-the-Lord, Hallelujah, revivals, where when a man feels inspiration, he shouts and sings and jumps up and down, and in any way that comes natural expresses his joy in salvation.

The meeting conducted by the Band at the Athenaeum, Sunday evening was like the old-time Methodist camp meetings one reads about.

It began before seven o'clock and continued more than two hours, every moment of which there was something doing. The Band sings with tremendous gusto, their songs of the rollicking, swinging, camp-meeting order, with about seventeen verses apiece. One of the remarkable things about the "Jumpers" is their length of wind. They can sing seventeen verses with the utmost enthusiasm, every once in a while bounding up and down like a rubber ball, without once stopping to take breath. Many of their prayers and testimony are of the same breathless, rapid-fire type.

Mr. Pettingill leads the chorus singing, singing, and also sings solos, accompanying himself upon the zither. He has a good voice and it is pleasant to hear him. For the choruses there is also a cornet, played by one of the men, and a cabinet organ, played by one of the women. Sometimes a singer stops singing to shout out a regular Indian war-whoop, or a woman's voice shrieks out in high G. Often the singers sway and swing, as in "balancing" for old-fashioned quadrilles, and now and then they jump up and down and crack their heels together. The lightness with which these middle-aged people perform their gymnastic feats, argues well for the effect of their regimen upon the physical condition.

Duke M. Farson of Chicago, one of the leaders of the Band, preached Sunday evening. At least he called it preaching, though most people would have called it exhorting. His theme was the need of sanctification, of the actual presence of the Holy Ghost. According to Mr. Farson, real religion means two distinct processes, conversion and sanctification, like a double-barrelled shot gun, as he said, and the former is of very little use without the latter. The man who is sanctified is washed clean of all meanness and wickedness, and is made holy; the Lord lives with him and walks with him. Mr. Farson strode up and down the platform to illustrate.

Mr. Farson hasn't any use for many of the Churches of the present day. Perhaps they used to have sanctification but they haven't got it now. He declared that the Lord believes in revivals, continuous revivals, and he is with the Church that holds continuous revivals, and with none other; he hasn't any use for the Church that has one week of prayer and devotes all the rest of the year to strawberry festivals and oyster suppers. The speaker waxed merry at the expense of the preacher, who writes his sermons, "for fear he should forget what he once thought," and who wears out the carpet just back of the pulpit and no place else. He, Farson, used to prepare his sermons with infinite pains and trouble. Now he has learned the futility of such performances; he has learned that the only way is to fill the heart with true religion and then to open the mouth and let the heart speak.

"It's a great thing to have no reputation to sustain," declared the speaker. "I'm so sorry for the poor man who is getting ten thousand a year and has the reputation of a big preacher to hold up. Think of always having to preach so as to please your board of managers, or they will retire you and get someone else. Now, we don't have to please anybody. If you don't like our meetings, you needn't come. We didn't ask you to come anyway. Of course you're welcome, but we don't owe you anything. You don't pay us $50 a year and we are not asking you for any collections.

Mr. Farson bounded up and down, with an expansive smile, and the members of the Band nodded and smiled approval.

"I saw something that I liked as I came into this hall," continued the speaker. "The letters W O W, — wow," and he gave vent to a war-hoop that split the air.

Mr. Farson looks like the typical city business man. He appears well-fed, and well-dressed and is clean-shaven. He says he was a traveling-man for thirty years, and thought he always frequented the churches, wherever he went, he found very little religion in them. Now he is apparently satisfied that he has found the only genuine simon-pure brand.

The Band is holding its meetings down-town, while the heating-pipes are being put in to the big dining-room at the Fountain House. As soon as that work is completed, the meetings will, it is said, be held there. The down-town meetings naturally attract large audiences, but they are perfectly orderly. The Athenaeum was crowded Sunday evening, and the people laughed occasionally, though hardly so much as those who were conducting the meeting. But there was not the slightest symptom of disrespect. Members of the Band who served as ushers would also, it may be presumed, serve as policemen if necessary. The "Jumpers" have not had Chicago training for nothing.

—The Waukesha Freeman, Waukesha, Wisconsin, March 15, 1906, p. 1.

Note About Some of Our Town Folk

Stevens Point, Wisconsin, May 22, 1907

Information has been received by local friends from Rev. L. J. Pescinski that he sailed from Europe on May 11. He intends to stop at some of the larger cities enroute from the east and is expected here the last of May.

The ladies of the Presbyterian church will give a baby show on Tuesday, June 4, in Mr. Andrae's vacant store in the Opera House block. All babies entered must be under four years of age.

The vestrymen of the Episcopal church have extended a call to Rev. E. M. Thompson to take charge of the Church of the Intercession, but no formal acceptance has as yet been received. The reverend gentleman is now located at Wausau.

The Epworth League will give a "Rubber Social," Friday evening. May 21th, at the M. E. church. Everybody cordially invited. A program will be given. Admission fee: bring old rubbers. Refreshments, 10 cents.

—The Gazette, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, May 22, 1907.

Church Notes: "The Teachings of Popular Hymns"

Waukesha, Wisconsin, 1911

Rev. F. D. Butler will give a series of addresses on "The Teachings of the Popular Hymns and Their Authors," at St. Matthias' church on Sunday evenings during a portion of the winter.

The young people of the Evangelical church will give a basket social. Friday evening, November 24, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Lang, 301 Brookfield Ave. They will meet at the church at 7:30 p. m. Everybody is invited to come.

The regular monthly meeting of the Home Missionary society of the M. E. church will be held Friday afternoon at 3 o'clock, sharp, at the home of Mrs. John Becker, corner Lincoln and Oakland Aves. Miss Amanda Flattery of Carroll College will give an address on the subject of Mormonism, and there will be special music. This society is preparing a Christmas box to be sent to the frontier and contributions are solicited from all members and friends of the Methodist congregation.

—The Waukesha Freeman, Waukesha, Wisconsin, November 23, 1911, page 4.

Dr. Harrison Speaks on "Jesus, the Bread of Life"

Sheboygan, Wisconsin, 1950

Speaking on "Jesus, the Bread of Life", Dr. Paul W. Harrison continued the series of Autumn Religious Festival programs on Tuesday night at North High auditorium. The crowd again was large because this great medical missionary has a message each night that is impressively delivered.

Dr. Harrison, who ably pictures Biblical scenes for his listeners, chose the one of Jesus feeding the crowd of 5,000, who were on their way to the Passover in Jerusalem. Jesus, their host, looking at them realized that their need was to be brought close to God. People were tremendously impressed by this great miracle and they reacted naturally. They decided to take Jesus by force and make Him king. After He had sent His disciples to Capernaum by boat, he went into the mountains alone to pray, to fight back Satan and his glittering temptation.

Another miracle performed then was Jesus walking on that rough sea to overtake His disciples. That miracle was performed to reinforce the badly shaken loyalty of His disciples.

Jesus taught the people about God's salvation, and the lesson was aimed at those who do the honest work in this world. These people were willing to reach out and take charity from God's hand even though they didn't deserve it. They were so obsessed with their desire for a free meal, so preoccupied with their empty stomachs that they could not think a spiritual thought, even if they tried. It was then that Jesus told them, "I am the bread of life," and that sentence is one of the most profound and wonderful things that He said.

Dr. Harrison said to his audience, "We get the earthly kind of bread by buying it. The heavenly bread is far closer than that. There are three steps necessary to get the bread of life. First, one must admire it and want it. Next, we must take those words and the story of that life, think about it, meditate on it, until we understand it. Then, when the matter is in your heart, you accept it."

The speaker suggested that when the bread of life is eaten and becomes a part of the soul we will organize our lives. "Mission fields," he said, "are full of people who have taken Christ in that manner. Let us not forget it is the bread of life that gets us entrance into the kingdom of heaven."

"Let us take the life of Jesus as an example to study, to imitate. What we want to do is to take this human life of Jesus and join with the common people that take of this bread — they shall live forever," he said in concluding his third message.

—Sheboygan Press-Telegram, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, October 18, 1950, page 18.

Sunday Morning Fire Drives Out Worshipers

1920

FLAMES DRIVE OUT LA CROSSE WORSHIPERS

La Crosse. -- Fire which broke out here Sunday morning in the English Lutheran church drove out several hundred worshipers who fled from the building. No one was injured.

It is thought an overheated chimney caused the fire, which consumed the upper part of the edifice. The interior was badly damaged by water and falling debris.

The Rev. J. J. S. Rumbarger is the pastor.

--The Appleton Daily Post, Appleton, Wisconsin, January 6, 1920, page 3.