Few congregations among the Stone-Campbell Movement can claim book-length descriptions of their history, activities, membership, and import.  But the Christian Church of Somerset, Pennsylvania can, and on top of that Peter Vogel published his book in 1887.  I can think of no other comparable congregational history from the 19th century.

It is at points hagiographical by modern standards, but considering the sheer quantity of information it preserves, and much of that from primary written sources and oral history and tradition, I can scarcely fault Vogel for feeling proud of this congregation.  It is certainly a storied history which intersects with many of the people who made the Campbell movement such as it was in its strength in the 1830s-1870s.

What catches my eye is Vogel’s description of the various weekly services and meetings, the full details are in ch. 25, pages 297ff.  Here is his description of the “Lord’s Day Exercises”:

The Lord’s Day Exercises are severely simple. In a church that really numbers over three hundred members, though only two hundred and seventy-five are reckoned as tolerably faithful, the attendance might be better. It is, however, above the usual average of like- sized churches elsewhere. Some of the older members attend only in the forenoon, and the spiritually deficient only at night. Country residents, as a rule, attend but one service, while in many other instances husband and wife, or parents and older children, divide the services between themselves on account of the smaller children. The hot chase during the week after Mammon so tires out some that the Lord must excuse them from attention to Him on His day. Besides, Sunday head-aches, and such like, invade even this home of health. Surely the Lord will be merciful to such, for He was never known to endure weariness or pain!

The first thing in the morning service is either a resurrection or fellowship hymn; then a resurrection chapter is read by one of the elders, taking the four gospels in regular turn, and on a fifth Lord’s day in the month the eleventh chapter of I. Corinthians. Occasionally a crucifixion chapter is taken instead. After [p. 309] this the minister ascends the pulpit, announces and reads either a resurrection or other Lord’s day hymn in praise of Christ. After this is sung by the congregation without organ, a devotional lesson, usually from the Psalms, is read, and the audience stands in prayer which bears in mind the toils and conflicts of the past week, the purpose of the hour, the needs and relations of the church, the absent membership, and the coming week. This is followed by another hymn of either a devotional, penitential, consecrational, or invocatory character. The sermon which follows is addressed to the membership, and ranges somewhere in the broad field of Christian life or duty, or draws inspiration from God’s providence or promises. Sometimes it is so far doctrinal or expository as pressing duty may require. In all cases it has a definite aim suggested by the known needs of the membership, and varies in length from thirty-five to forty-five minutes. The hymn which immediately follows is sung standing, and, if not always suggested by the theme of the sermon, is at least not alien to it; and both sermon and hymn give the key-note to the succeeding prayer. Then the minister and one of the elders attend to the breaking of the loaf and the distribution of the cup. Next the collection is taken up. For this the membership come with prepared envelopes, having name, date and enclosed amount written on them, and containing the proportionate amount of their yearly subscription. A good sister who died five years ago is still regularly remembered by a dollar bill fresh from the press. The loose change in the basket goes into the poor fund. After the collection come the announcements; among these, on the first Lord’s day in each month, the particular books of the [p. 310] Bible which are to be read by those who will, are announced in such order and number as will finish the Bible in the year. A doxology and benediction conclude the services, after which friendly and fraternal greetings are freely exchanged.

Some remain to spend the hour which intervenes between that and the Sunday-school session in friendly conversation, in consultation over the coming lesson, or in the rehearsal of Sunday-school songs. Others return home to relieve those older children or servants who care for the smaller ones during parental absence, that they may go to Sunday-school.

The evening service may or may not have a preliminary song. The pulpit work is, however, always introduced by singing, reading a portion of Scripture, prayer and singing again. These songs are usually of the chorus kind or some other light and popular air, and of varied theme. The Scripture lesson is related to or preparatory for the address or lecture which is to follow. Evening announcements come immediately before the reading of the text. The evening discourse is of varied character, and may be for the instruction of the younger members of the church, for the information or conversion of the world, or the treatment of some popular question. This, too, is immediately followed by a song; and, if the theme of the evening has led to it, an invitation to come to Christ is extended. A short dismissal prayer concludes this service. If, however, an evening collection for missions or other purposes has been announced in the morning, it is taken up immediately before this prayer.

–Peter Vogel, Tale of a Pioneer Church (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Company, 1887) 308-310.

In my teaching I use this excerpt (among others) to illustrate what congregational worship was like among 19th century Disciples.  Though it is one data point, what I find useful, as a historian, are Vogel’s explanatory comments about the items of worship.  He should know since he served the congregation as minister, twice.  So, not only do we have a recitation of the elements and order of worship from the middle 1880s, we have a participant’s commentary on it.  I thought of this in light of my recent foray into the literature of minister’s manuals concerning the items and order of worship.