With Our Fighting Men: The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great WarSellers, William E.
History
With Our Fighting Men: The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great War
Sellers, William E.
Great Britain. Army -- Military life; World War, 1914-1918 -- Religious aspects
In a letter to the Rev. John Bell, Mr. Sarchet tells the story of this
remarkable spiritual movement which has been taking place at the
General Hospital, with which he has been serving at the fighting base.
I give the story in his own words as printed in the weekly article by
the Rev. J.H. Bateson in the _Methodist Recorder_. Mr. Bateson is
Secretary of the Wesleyan Army and Navy Board and Ex-Secretary of the
British Army Temperance Association in India. His weekly article is
replete with first-hand information, and that and its corresponding
article in the _Methodist Times_ are a gold mine in which students of
the war may well dig.
Mr. Sarchet, after referring to the wounded "fresh from the trenches
in all their grime and dirt, torn clothes, broken limbs, and ghastly
wounds," goes on to say:
"In addition to this really distressing work, I am having some most
delightful camp work experiences. Last Sunday week at my second Parade
service--my first was at 8 A.M. three miles away--I discovered by the
very hearty responses in the prayers that there were some out-and-out
Christian men present. I asked them if they would like a voluntary
service at night. They said they would very much, so we fixed it up
for 6.30 P.M. We had a delightful service just at setting sun. I think
that 'Abide with me,' as that crowd of R.F.A. men, waiting to go up to
the fighting line, sang it, never sounded so beautiful.
"At the close of the service, we had an after-meeting by moonlight,
and three sought and found Christ. I announced a meeting for Monday
night, and so we have gone on right through the week, and there have
been seekers every night. At the close of this meeting we enlarge the
ring in the centre, and then invite those who have decided to serve
Christ to come right out into the ring before their comrades.
"It is beautiful clear moonlight, just like day, and out they come one
after another. One never-to-be-forgotten evening we had twenty out.
They kneel down and we pray with them, then close the meeting with
'God be with you till we meet again,' and prayer. Then we take the
names and talk with the soldiers individually. We have enrolled the
names of over eighty men who have come out in this way in the last ten
days.
"The meetings are having this good effect--finding the Christian men
in the camps around. There are several camps and thousands of
men--reinforcements just waiting for orders to move forward. Night and
day men are coming and going. A Christian officer too heard us singing
and has come and joined us. He has been with us every night when not
on duty."
Supplementing this story Mr. Sarchet tells of another series of
meetings still proceeding as he wrote. He says:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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