On one were printed the ten commandments, and on the other the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed. The reading desk and pulpit were very much alike. The rector conducted the entire service facing the congregation. When the offering was taken, a box at the end of a long pole, antedated the present alms basin. Gas did not come until 1847, so Mr. Lee had to be content with kerosene, as a lighting agent. We find an old item in an expense account, December 4, 1848, that a Committee was formed to consider plans for hearing the church. So the first heating method must have been a makeshift. The church was well supplied with lightning rods.
How many pleasant memories cluster around that old building! "We were like one happy family," said one parishioner who had worshipped many years there. "The services were quiet, dignified, peaceful; the Saints' Days were enthusiastically kept, just as we love to observe the anniversaries of dear ones in our own homes."
At the Lenten Services in the basement, the room was packed to the doors, and there were often persons outside unable to get in. The singing, led by Miss Safford, was especially inspiring. Many remember how much Dr. McKnight loved the singing, and added greatly to it with his spirited, robust voice. The services of Holy Week were held in the church. Services of baptism, also, were wonderfully well attended. People came from all over the city to see the babies and witness the beautiful Sacrament. A home wedding, among Christ Church people, in the old days, was practically unknown. Weddings were held in the church, and it was an unwritten law, in the Parish, that a marriage must not take place on Saturday.
A great many English people came to Springfield, in those early days, and this was, for the most of them, their own church. Then, too, many colored people attended old Christ Church. One has but to speak the names "Marm Abbey" or "Mammy Lee" to realize some were of that fine, old type of family servants that has almost passed out of existence.
One time, a house owned by Mr. Frederic Dwight, built near
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