Presbyterians in Southwestern Pennsylvania A Brief History of the Presbyterians by Leffeerts A. Loetscher, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1978, pp. 65-66.

Presbyterian church life in the period around 1730 was very different from what it is today. The Lord's Supper was celebrated twice a year, with appropriate sermons preached on the preceding Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. At the Communion service itself the atmosphere was one of deep solemnity. Long tables extended from the pulpit to the door. All those persons who had "tokens" signifying their good standing might partake of the sacred feast. Church members took their religion seriously. Upon their return home, it was customary for them to discuss the sermon, and often to compare the preacher's doctrines, point for point, with Scripture. The minister's salary was often paid in kind: wheat, Indian corn, hemp, or linen yarn were often specified in his call. Life was crude, but not illiterate, for the Scotch-Irish immigrants brought along schoolmasters or engaged the local minister to be also the schoolmaster. "It was rare to find [an adult] . . . who could not read and who did not possess a Bible." Parents presenting children for baptism were questioned as to their habits of family worship. The Westminster Shorter Catechism was a staple of spiritual diet, learned at home, recited at school, repeated to the minister. Congregations were divided into "quarters," with one elder particularly responsible for the spiritual welfare of each quarter. The people of a quarter were frequently collected - often in a kitchen or barn - to be catechized by the minister.

	Updated on Saturday, 01-Jul-2000 18:10:37 MDT