Ship of Fools: Chapel Car Bible Church, Rawlins, Wyoming, USA

The Mystery Worshipper

Ship of Fools: Chapel Car Bible Church, Rawlins, Wyoming, USA

All aboard! Next and final stop: Heaven! But no circumcisions, please.

Read the full Mystery Worshipper report here

Baptist Trainfan

Of course, the Russian Orthodox Church has/had chapel cars too.

Amanda B Reckondwyth

The report mentioned that. Expand the More Church Info link. I didn't know, though, that chapel cars were still active in Russia.

Climacus

Baptist Trainfan wrote: »

Of course, the Russian Orthodox Church has/had capel cars too.

Fascinating reading, and viewing, of the train -- thank you.

And thank you Miss Amanda for another great report, and very interesting background on chapel cars and history of the northern Baptists.

Al Eluia

Very interesting background! At my Episcopal Church in Seattle there's a photo of a former rector circa 1940 or so leading services in a train car for skiers going to Stevens Pass.

Amanda B Reckondwyth

Especially interesting because the very first chapel car was built in 1889 at the request of the Episcopal Bishop of North Dakota, who named his car "Church of the Advent" but often referred to it as "The Cathedral Car."

Bishops Finger

I see there's a chapel car in Norway, served by the Lutheran Church:
https://fjordnorway.com/things-to-do/andalsnes-train-chapel-p786033

Amanda B Reckondwyth

With a wheelchair-accessible ramp, no less!

Bishops Finger

Quite right, too - very civilised they are these days, those Vikings!

Would The Ship care to fund me a trip to Norway (with my wheelchair) to MW the chapel?

No?

O well - no harm in asking!

Twilight

What a lovely MW! It made me a bit misty to think of our Amanda out in the old west, alone among strangers but being treated so nicely. ' Amanda and the Truck Driver,' sounds like one of those movies where an unlikely pair are thrown together and good things happen. Just a little more time with Amanda and I'm sure those bumper stickers would have been pasted over with better ones.

Amanda B Reckondwyth

With no public buses, no Uber service, and a reportedly unreliable taxi service, Miss Amanda did have to throw herself upon the kindness of strangers. She's sad to have to report that not all were as kind as her bumper sticker friend, but she managed nonetheless.

Forthview

Father Werenfried van Straaten, a Dutch Priest and member of the Praemonstratensian order , was well known for his humanitarian work in the wake of the Second World War,begging for food for the 16 million displaced Germans, and receiving a lot of meat from Flemish farmers,he became known popularly as 'der Speckpater' the 'Bacon Priest'. He was interested in the spiritual care of the six million Catholics displaced who often ended up in purely Protestant areas of Germany with no churches or priests. He too was responsible for many 'chapel cars' which brought the Celebration of Mass to places where there was little opportunity to attend. Later on his work extended to parts of Eastern Europe under Communist domination and later still to providing financial help to the resurgent Russian Orthodox Church. He was one of the founders of the international Catholic relief agency 'Kirche in Not'/Aid to the Church in Need.

Amanda B Reckondwyth

[Above edited to correct slight typo]

The phenomenon of the chapel car seems much more widespread than I had thought. I'm glad my report has sparked the bringing forth of facts about chapel cars.

Bishops Finger

Yes, yes - but what about my earnest request to the Ship for funding a trip to Norway, in order to allow me to MW the chapel car there?

O, all right then...

Gee D

Can we have a report on the locos used please. Of course in the steam days there would have been a good supply of holy smoke. What did the more Protestant groups think of that?

Amanda B Reckondwyth

I strongly recommend This Train Is Bound for Glory: The Story of America's Chapel Cars by Wilma Rugh Taylor and Norman Thomas Taylor -- available on Amazon, ebay, and a variety of other sources, for a detailed description of each car, the history of each, and the itinerary followed by each.

Of course at that time in the USA steam locomotives would have been used.

Gee D

Thanks, I'll look it up.

Bishops Finger

Gee D wrote: »

Can we have a report on the locos used please. Of course in the steam days there would have been a good supply of holy smoke. What did the more Protestant groups think of that?

It probably gave them fuel (Ha! See what I did there?) for sermons about hellfire...