A REVIVAL
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MONKWEARMOUTH STIRRED
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REMARKABLE SCENES OF EARNEST
PRAYER AND PRAISE
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(FROM A CORRESPONDENT)
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“Do you know they are holding some extraordinary services at Monkwearmouth?” asked a friend the other day.

“No. Where?”

“In connection with All Saints’ Church. Why, everybody is talking about them. Women throw themselves on the floor and then babble in unknown tongues.”

Then another friend told me he knew someone who had been and had himself suddenly begun to kick his legs about and to talk in a language he did not know. Then a lady who lives in the neighbourhood told me her experiences. She had seen a woman lying on the floor and by tapping her hand over her mouth produce a noise such as children may be heard to do. Then she stopped using her hand and gabbled on, and another lady gave what purported to be a translation of the language.

Going over to Monkwearmouth I found that the services were held in All Saints’ Parish Hall, near Redby School, and was told that a service would begin at eight o’clock and be conducted by the Rev. A.A. Boddy and Pastor Barratt. It was not until about 8.15 that people began to arrive, and among the first was a lady in a bath chair. The vehicle was wheeled in by an extemporised gangway and passed up by the upper end of the hall. A young woman who was going in said in answer to questions that the lady in the chair suffered from rheumatism and had come there to get cured, but that although she had been there for a long time she had not yet been cured. I asked her why, and she said she believed it was because the lady’s faith was not strong enough.

By about 8.30 something like one hundred people were present. By far the great majority were female, and most of them seemed to know each other and to be habitues of the place. Several were of the district visitor type, a few, also sombrely clad, looked like widows, but there were a fair number of young girls and what appeared to be married women of the working class.

“THE HAPPIEST DAY I’VE HAD”

Suddenly a dark gentleman who had been sitting quietly at the side of the hall started a revival hymn, which was sung with vigour by the congregation, many of whom were on their knees. The hymn ended, and the dark gentleman began in fervid tones to ask that the spirit of Christ might enter into that hall. While so engaged he burst into loud shouts and instantly the bulk of those present broke into exclamations, led by a gentleman with a powerful bass voice, who repeatedly exclaimed “He is here, He is here.” The dark gentleman continued to laugh strangely, and said, “I can’t help doing it I am so happy. It’s the happiest day I’ve had.”

“Hallelujah, Hallelujah,” was shouted from all parts of the building. Ladies were burying their faces in their hands as they knelt at the forms, and the excitement was intense.

Just then someone burst out with the hymn “Crown Him Lord of All,” and part sang this and part prayed aloud. Then there was a hush and a lady began to pray: “I thank Thee for all Thou hast done. For all Thou hast done for me, for all of us. I thank Thee for all we have seen. We do praise Thee. Thou hast given us a revelation of Thy power. Come upon those who have not had this blessing. These and similar phrases were repeated again and again with great rapidity and with considerable emotion, the whole congregation shouting “Hallelujah,” “Praise The Lord,” and moaning.

This went on for some time. Another lady took up the prayer, and several times the dark gentleman sprang up and exclaimed, waved his hands and laugh in his own peculiar manner. All aroundladies were calling on the name of their Saviour, and at the same time a strong female voice could be heard singing though in the distance, and giving a weird effect to the whole proceeding. Now and then hymns were sung such as “Onward Christian Soldiers,” and phrases such as “I will believe” were sung over and over again., with continuous praying from many, for the whole congregation were still on their knees, and some of the women laid their faces right on the seats of the forms and appeared to be suffering from intense emotion.

ELOQUENT IN PRAYER

For half and hour possibly this went on, and then the pastor asked everybody to be seated. He read a passage from St. Matthew and commented on it, and then gave an address which lasted about half an hour. It was of a simple character such as one is familiar with at meetings of the Salvation Army and Methodist meetings of the old fashioned revivalist type. He told little illustrative anecdotes, and fervently appealed to all to accept salvation. There were, he said, young girls there and young men too, who had not given their hearts to the Lord. Now was the time. Their soul was most precious to them, it was immortal, and he urged them not to leave that meeting without making their choice.

The address ended, prayer began again with more fervour than ever. Nearly all of it was by women. All were on their knees, and one after the other they broke forth into simple prayers, but full of intense fervour, thanking God for having given them help and asking for further aid. One woman speaking with a North-side accent, asked for blessing on herself and then went on “Guide my bairns, for Thou hast the power. Guide them aright,” and there was all the intensity of a mother’s love and desire behind this. Evidently she had firm faith. She asked too that the “dear sister” in the bath chair, who had suffered for so long, might be especially blessed, and indeed everybody there. She was followed by the woman next her with a similar petition. Then a young girl about fourteen poured out an eloquent prayer that she might that night find salvation. Some of the ladies were kneeling prostrate on their forms, and one in particular seemed to be in agony, and with her face in her hands, kept throwing herself to and fro. The men were rather unemotional, and though some were devoted many seemed there more out of curiosity that for devotional purposes. One burst into a prayer, but it was somewhat halting as compared with those of the ladies.

The Pastor now asked those who needed Christ to indicate it by putting up their hands. Some did so, and there was an outburst of fervour. The same kind of query was put in different forms, and each was followed by the holding up of hands and displays of excitement. Once he inquired if any had thoughts that were “unclean,” but only a young woman responded, and the praying redoubled in vigour.

MINISTERING TO THE PROSTRATE

The Pastor was all this time going about among the prostrate ones, whispering a word to one here and there and speaking sympathetically to them, impressing the necessity of immediately giving their soul to the Lord.

After this had gone on some time, Mr Boddy announced that the remainder of the meeting would be for prayer, and he intimated that those who were there out of curiosity might leave. Some thirty or so remained and the doors were locked. All were asked to kneel, and there was a united request that the spirit of Christ might descend and that all who were not converted would receive that blessing. One young girl suddenly broke into a torrent of words to the effect that Christ had come into her heart, and loud exclamations of thankfulness went up from various parts of the hall. The meeting went on amid growing excitement, but all the time I was there there was no talking in unknown tongues although the emotionalism was sufficient for such a manifestation to break out at any moment.

Services are to be held during the evenings of the coming week, and they are the one theme of conversation in the neighbourhood.

“SPEAKING IN TONGUES.”
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RIVAL PENTECOSTALS.
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PASTOR BARRATT CRITICICES MR
READER HARRIS.
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There is evidently something of a split — at any rate a divergence of opinion — in the Pentecostal agencies, for last night Pastor Barratt, who is conducting services at All Saints’ Parish Hall, criticised some recent utterances made in Sunderland by Mr Reader Harris, the founder of the Pentecostal League.

The hall was full, owing doubtless to the publicity which the meetings have received, and the evening was largely devoted to the subject of “Speaking in Tongues.”

The Rev. A.A. Boddy said they met there to seek a Pentecost, an outpouring of the Spirit. They believed the Spirit could possess not only the body, but also the mental qualities of the whole being. They became so filled with the Holy Ghost, that joy flowed through their being and out of their mouths. They had a wondrous joy when they felt the Holy Ghost speaking through them. Many who had received the gift there during the last month had told him of the wondrous joy that came to them when God Himself spoke through them. It was a rapture to find themselves speaking, and to find the Holy Ghost interpreting what was said. For some centuries owing to unbelief and indifference in the Church, this gift had been neglected; but he thought it possible all the time that there had been secretly those who had been speaking in tongues, and he had received letters from elderly people who said that at one time God came to them and they spoke in tongues in their church, but people said they were mad, and they were turned out of the church. After speaking in high terms on the purity of mind of Pastor Barratt, he remarked upon the pain with which he had heard, in an address in the Victoria Hall, that the movement was tainted with uncleanness, immorality, and wickedness, for he believed the people in that movement were among the purest in the world.

PASTOR BARRATT’S ADDRESS.

Pastor Barratt read his address. It lasted for about an hour, and was besprinkled with Biblical references and quotations. Many of the congregation were provided with Bibles, and they spent a good deal of time turning up the passages, and by smiles and nods signified their approval of the Pastor’s arguments. It appeared that Mr Reader Harris had rather belittled “speaking in tongues,” and had stated that it was the least of the gifts, and that “the whole thing was full of danger and fanaticism.” The Pastor argued the Bible did not say it was the least gift of all. No gift of the Holy Ghost could be called little, and he held it was equal to prophecy, and that Mr Harris in certain of his reasonings had fallen into a gross mistake owing to a superficial reading of a certain chapter of St. Paul. “Speaking in tongues” brought them nearer to Heaven. It was speaking in tongues that brought all the people together at Pentecost, and caused all the excitement, and when all the people had been gathered together came Peter’s sermon. Great crowds had been brought together on the Continent by the use that was made of tongues, and many had been saved and were now happy. As to danger and fanaticism, the danger lay on the other side, as always must be the case when the Church or the individuals were not willing to go all the way with the Lord. He had never seen more fanaticism anywhere than was shown by opponents of that movement.

After some hard knocks at Mr Reader Harris and references to “misguided Christian leaders”, and “dead, or half dead” church members, the Pastor went on to argue that God had a right to the whole being and not merely a part of it. They gave it all to Him. Many people stayed God’s hand when He was about to give them the sign of tongues. Pentecost enabled them to live normal Christian lives and fitted them for service.

Then he took up a point by Mr Reader Harris that “a carnal life seemed to haunt movements of that kind,” and said a more unfair slap at the faith of faithful Christians could not have been made, and it was so unfair and false that it could not but grieve upright Christians that anything so abominable should have been intimated. Why even the Pentecostal League had suffered in that respect, but who would say that carnality haunted the movement because of that?

ABOUT “INTERPRETATION.”

Speaking on “interpretation,” the Pastor said that at Sunderland the interpretation had been given word for word or sentence by sentence. It was necessary they should first get the tongues before they could get the interpretation, and if anyone was grieved because the interpretation was not given he would press them to pray for the interpretation themselves. The difficulty arose because some did not speak plainly. Others were surprised at the strange sounds emitted by some who were under the spirit. The fact was they worked at syllables and words in foreign languages, but in the end the language was spoken clearly. He had known cases commence with uncouth sounds and finish up with the complete language, and the interpretation given sentence by sentence. Owing to the gift having been neglected for centuries they were sometimes puzzled; the Church should have kept the gift in use from the days of the Apostles, and then they would have known how to act in each case. There were constantly cases of people rising to their feet and talking clearly the moment they got the fire, and interpreting plainly.

Coming back to Mr Reader Harris — who was a King Charles head in the way of cropping up — the Pastor denied that the movement meant a weakening of the marriage tie, and the living apart of married people. And if people fell to the floor under the influence of the Holy Spirit, God Himself knew what he was about. As to a statement that carnality had followed the introduction of speaking in tongues at a branch of the Pentecostal League he said it was unkind and unfair to try to frighten people away from seeking the glorious blessing of Pentecost by alluding to the sins of immorality within the League arising from causes utterly foreign to the movement with which he was connected. He could show thousands of people in it whose lives were unspotted by sin, and yet Mr Reader Harris flung the taint of carnality against them all. A man must be deluded if he believed all those Christian souls whom God had blessed so wonderfully to be “side tracked” by the Devil.

On one point he agreed with Mr Reader Harris, and that was in his denunciation of Spiritualism, the great remedy for which was Pentecostal experience.

Personally he had no desire to discourage members of the Pentecostal League, but Mr Reader Harris had attacked the movement he (the speaker) was connected with, and he felt it necessary to put it in a true light. He prayed, he said, for the prosperity of the League and of all Christian people.

CHILDREN AFFECTED

The Rev. A.A. Boddy spoke of the blessings many had received in connection with the movement, and said that his little daughters, two dear little children, had been blessed with the Spirit, and the other evening at the Vicarage commenced “speaking in tongues,” and one gave her mother a most positive assertion that Jesus was there. (Ecstatic murmers.) He told also the story of the conversions of his wife and her sister, and then announced that after that meeting was ended those who wished would gather together in prayer. They might be there late, but they “did not mind how late.”

Pastor Barratt of Norway, who is conducting a “speaking in tongues” mission at the All Saints’ Parish Hall, Fulwell Road, Sunderland, last night replied to his critics. He said it was not one of the greatest gifts, as his critics said. It was mentioned by the Apostles, and by Christ, who said “these signs shall follow to those that believe.”

SPEAKING IN TONGUES.
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Interview With Pastor Barrett.
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WHAT IS THE LANGUAGE?
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“Would you mind talking about this speaking in tongues?” a correspondent asked Pastor Barratt in the course of a conversation yesterday.

“Not at all,” he replied.

“Have you ever personally spoken in tongues?”

“Yes, four or five times.”

“Did you know the language you were speaking?”

“Yes, sometimes. But it may be a human language or an angelic language. The Apostle says you speak “in the voice of men or angels.”

“Then as to interpretation. Do you mean that when speaking this language you interpret what you are saying?”

“Yes. The interpretation comes just as clearly as the words you are speaking in tongues. I knew a case in Norway in which a man suddenly began to speak in Lappish, a language he did not know. A lady came into the room who spoke Lappish, and he began to talk to her in that language, and he appealed to her to give up everything that would prevent her receiving Christ in her own heart.”

“Have you had any cases in Sunderland?”

“Yes, there are some that are remarkable. There was the case of Mr Boddy’s daughter. She was kneeling in that room and I was praying with her. The Holy Spirit found her and she began to speak in an unknown tongue.”

“None of you knew it?”

“No. But immediately she gave the interpretation, saying ‘Jesus is coming.’ Then she emphasised it. ‘He is coming,’ and suddenly she was seized again by the power and again spoke in a foreign tongue. This she interpreted as ‘The Heavens are open,’ and ‘The first shall be last and the last first.’”

“What language was it?”

“I do not know, but a lady who has been in China said it was Chinese. Her sister spoke some words in Norwegian, which she does not know. It was not much, but it was clear and in a natural tone.”

The pastor then mentioned two cases in Norway, one where a workman who did not know English was able to translate the remarks of an English foreman, and another case in Christiania in which a Salvation Army girl spoke in two languages, one being German.

“How many times since you have been here have you heard Sunderland people speak in an unknown tongue?”

“I should say some 25 or 26 during the month I have been here.”

“What language was it?”

“I cannot say definitely because I did not know it. Some say it was one and some another. They have heard odd words which appeared to be in a certain language. A lady in this room sitting where you are sitting spoke Hebrew. She was seeking Pentecost some time and got it the first time she came here. She came from Scotland.”

“You think it is a language and not merely incoherent gibberish?”

“Well, we differentiate between the real gift of tongues and speaking in tongues. I do not believe everyone gets the real gift. There was a man in New York who had the real gift and could speak in some twenty languages. I think it is ecstatic worship when the Holy Ghost fills them up to the brim and the power seizes the organs of speech and forces the language forth. They are then edified themselves, but if the Church is to be edified they will have to interpret.”

“It is not mere hysteria?”

“That cannot be proved. I am not hysterical, I am solid, sound and strong, and take gymnastics and a cold bath every morning. The strongest and healthiest men speak in tongues, and people of all kinds of temperaments, even the most phlegmatic.”

“What were your sensations when you spoke?”

“I felt a burning in my breast and it went right through to my back. A holy flame seemed to fill one with a joy unspeakable. I am praying quietly to myself when suddenly this flame comes, and I burst forth into tongues. It is a marvellous experience. My jaws seemed to be gripped like this (putting his hand up and grasping the jaws), and I heard singing and was oblivious to everything around me. It is wonderful how different people take it. Some are boisterous, then they steady down and become calm. Others are quite seraphic.”

“Who was the dark gentleman who took such an interest in the Sunday night service?”

“Oh, he was Max Reich, leader of the Bethshan Home in London. He is a Jew. He came down here to get his Pentecost.”

“Did he get it?”

“No, he did not quite get it, but he got a great baptism of the Holy Ghost.”

“You object to strangers being present?”

“No, any one can come.”

“Well, Mr Boddy seemed to want to get me out on Sunday night.”

“Well, we like to be by ourselves. Many feel more comfortable when there are no sightseers present. We tried open meetings in Norway on several occasions, but they are difficult to control.”

“Is it true that you keep on all night?”

“No, that idea has arisen because we had all-night meetings twice, but we generally finish about eleven. The number present at these after-meetings varies up to about fifty.”

“And real languages have been spoken?”

“Yes, no doubt about it. But we do not make the talking in tongues the chief thing. The chief thing is the unveiling of the Holy Ghost. The other comes as the outward sign.”

MRS BODDY’S IDEAS.
IT MAY BE A SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE.

Mrs Boddy, in the course of a conversation was asked.

“What language is it that is spoken?”

“We do not know,” she said. “Some think it Chinese. Whatever it is, it is not a language we know. Of course it may be a spiritual language.”

“Have you ever heard them speak any European language?”

“Yes, German. I know that, and one woman when speaking said “Ja, ja, ja” (Yes), which shows that sometimes an European language is used.”

Mrs Boddy went on to point out that it was not necessary that others should understand what was said so long as the person speaking knew. Often what was spoken seemed to be simply a phrase, such as “He is coming, He is coming.”

It was not correct to say that she translated what was said, because it was in a language she did not know. Also it was not right to say that people threw themselves on the floor. “They sink down,” she remarked. “No one can stand against the power of the Holy Ghost when he comes to them.”

WHAT ONE VISITOR SAW.

A local gentleman who remained through one of the prayer meetings saw women “speaking in tongues.” He says, “When I went in I saw a woman lying on the floor. She was going ‘Ha, ha, ha.’ in a sing-song tone. Then suddenly she began to make a noise like the crowing of a barn-door fowl, finishing with a sharp ‘Phwitt, phwitt.’ like the spit of an enraged cat.

“I said to the man next me, ‘What’s the matter with her. She’s in an epileptic fit. Better send for a doctor.’

“‘No,’ he replied solemnly, ‘she is receiving the Holy Spirit.’

“She remained in that state all through the meeting, and no explanation was given of the language she was using.”

The meetings conducted in the All Saints’Parish Hall, Fulwell Road, Sunderland, by Pastor Barrett, of Christiania, Norway, on “Speaking in Tongues,” are attracting wide-spread interest. Two meetings are held each day; one in the afternoon, and the other at night, and these are crowded. For the most part the meetings are conducted on the lines of a revival meeting, and the audience, or rather that section of it which comprises the congregation, break out into spontaneous prayer and hymn singing. The emotional faculties of the worshippers are aroused to a very high pitch by the exhortations of the conductor of the service, and it is no uncommon spectacle for one of them to throw themselves on the ground in a paroxysm of weeping, while others gabble and utter what appear to be unintelligible sounds.

The Rev. A. A. Boddy, vicar of All Saints’, Monkwearmouth, who, to use a commercialism, is engineering the movement locally does not confine his ordinary religious propaganda work to the church and Sunday School, but goes into the highways and by-ways, conducting open air services. He is a believer in faith healing and some months ago conducted a successful mission propounding this doctrine. While in Norway, where the followers of “Speaking in Tongues” are to be found in large numbers, he met Pastor Barrett, and was so impressed with his work that he invited him to conduct services in his parish. It is claimed that since he began his work at Sunderland, Pastor Barrett has had in his audience visitors from Ireland and remote parts of Great Britain.

NEW METHODS OF REVIVAL
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EXTRAORDINARY SERVICES IN SUNDERLAND
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The new phase of revivalism known as “speaking in tongues” which has emanated from Sunderland, and caused such widespread interest in the north, continues to occupy a good deal of attention. The meetings are conducted in the All Saints’ Parish Hall, Fulwell Road, by Pastor Barrett, of Christiania, Norway. There are two meetings held each day, and these are always crowded.

For the most part the meetings are conducted on the lines of a revival meeting, and the audience, or rather that section of it which comprises the congregation, break out into spontaneous prayer and hymn-singing. The emotional faculties of the worshippers are aroused to a very high pitch by the exhortations of the conductor of the service, and it is no uncommon spectacle for one of them to throw themselves on the ground in a paroxysm of weeping, while others gabble and utter what appear to be unintelligible sounds.

The vicar of All Saints’, Monkwearmouth, the Rev. A.A. Boddy, who is conducting the movement locally does not confine his ordinary religious propaganda work to the church and Sunday School, but goes into the highways and by-ways, conducting open-air services. He is a believer in faith-healing and some months ago conducted a successful mission propounding this doctrine. While in Norway, where the followers of “Speaking in Tongues” are to be found in large numbers, he met Pastor Barrett, and was so impressed with his work that he invited him to conduct services in his parish.

Since he began his work at Sunderland, Pastor Barrett is said to have had in his audience visitors from Ireland and remote parts of Great Britain.