Going to a Brethren Chapel

It was in 1840 that I first became acquainted with the 'Brethren'.

I had come from a well-filled, well upholstered London Chapel with grand organ, well-played and good singing and where the elite attended. Our pastor was a gentleman of means and education and dressed as such, with knee breeches, silk stockings, buckled shoes and ample shirtfront. In the pulpit he wore a large silk scarf on his shoulders.

Imagine my surprise on the first Sunday morning when I entered Bethesda, a large, bare Chapel and half empty. A very few grave-looking men and women came in and knelt down for a few moments, then rising sat with closed eyes till the Service began.

The sisters' dress was grotesquely ugly. A coarse brown woollen dress with a drab shawl, a straight speckled straw bonnet with drab or brown veil, servants and mistresses all alike.

Soon a brother rose and prayed. Now we were at once in the presence of God. It was Spirit-led prayer. I forgot the dress and all else. Then a pause, then a hymn, sung like a funeral dirge with closed eyes and all sitting and very badly sung too. Another prayer and then the bread and wine were passed round; pause again, then prayer.

Now Mr.Craik stood up to speak. All had their Bibles and used them. His exposition of Scripture was quite a new feature of worship to me; the meaning of the passage read was brought out, as I never heard it before.

'I shall come again', I said and I did go again and again and never went anywhere else while in Bristol. To me it was like a new conversion. Now I heard a clear gospel that I could understand. The Bible became a new book to me. The brotherly love shown was such, as I had never seen before. The godly and simple lives of even wealthy people who had moved in the highest society was such as to carry one back to the days of the Apostles and I felt that this was indeed Christianity of a high type.'