Call number
Publication
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1936.
Physical description
195, 9 p.; 20 cm
Notes
Inscribed on the front free endpaper: "San Benito, Texas. April 21, 1960 / Given in memory / of Mrs. S.M. Tenney by / her daughter-in-law -- / Jena Brown Tenney. This copy also bears an ink stamp from the Wilshire Presbyterian Church.
Opening Words [excerpt from chapter 1]:
Tokens, "the leaden foot-prints of Church history," lead certainly back to the time of the Reformation, and those who have carefully studied the subject are agreed that there is good reason to believe that the metalic trail leads on back to the earliest days of Christianity, when it is made brighter by the sardonic glare of the flames of pitiless persecution.
There are thousands of Presbyterians, and other denominations as well, who have not so much as heard of the Communion Token, and would not have the remotest idea of what is meant by the term, or how, or where such a thing could have been used. Many who have heard of them have but a vague idea of their significance. Some regard the story of the part played by the little metal pieces in the religious life of the people as merely a tradition of the olden times, rather than as an historical fact; while others look upon it as a joke, saying "there was a mighty lot of judging going on in those old days," and dismiss the subject with a laugh. In the days when Church discipline meant something, it was not a joke to him who was, because of "scandal," denied the token which entitled him to take a seat at the communion table; it was not a joke to him who was "ignorant" and did not care to learn, to know that he must commit to memory the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, and the Ten Commandments, before he could claim as his own the token, without which he would not only be excluded from the Sacrament, but from certain other Church privileges.
Communion Tokens were usually made of lead, or other base metal, in various shapes and sizes, marked with the name of the congregation to which they belonged, the date of the church organization, the initials of the pastor, or some appropriate text of Scripture. On some of the specimens a large letter, or a large numeral standing by itself, indicated the part of the house, (as "E" for East) or the number of the table at which the communicant should present himself. There were other tokens which had neither name or date to identify them with a home; they were simply marked with a large "T" (token), or a text to mark their sacred office, or indeed just a plain piece of metal like a slug, and could be used anywhere. These were known as Stock or General Tokens.
CONTENTS:
Preface, by Mary McWhorter Tenney.
Introduction, by Dr. Walter L. Lingle.
I. Origin.
II. In the Reformed Church in Europe.
— France.
— England.
— Scotland.
— Ireland.
— Holland.
III. In the United States.
— New England.
— Pennsylvania.
— Western Reserve.
— Virginia.
— South Carolina.
— North Carolina.
— Kentucky.
— Tennessee.
— Georgia.
— Alabama.
— Mississippi.
IV. Disuse.
V. Catechising.
VI. Conclusion.
VII. Extracts and Notes.
VIII. Bibliography.
IX. Index.
Opening Words [excerpt from chapter 1]:
Tokens, "the leaden foot-prints of Church history," lead certainly back to the time of the Reformation, and those who have carefully studied the subject are agreed that there is good reason to believe that the metalic trail leads on back to the earliest days of Christianity, when it is made brighter by the sardonic glare of the flames of pitiless persecution.
There are thousands of Presbyterians, and other denominations as well, who have not so much as heard of the Communion Token, and would not have the remotest idea of what is meant by the term, or how, or where such a thing could have been used. Many who have heard of them have but a vague idea of their significance. Some regard the story of the part played by the little metal pieces in the religious life of the people as merely a tradition of the olden times, rather than as an historical fact; while others look upon it as a joke, saying "there was a mighty lot of judging going on in those old days," and dismiss the subject with a laugh. In the days when Church discipline meant something, it was not a joke to him who was, because of "scandal," denied the token which entitled him to take a seat at the communion table; it was not a joke to him who was "ignorant" and did not care to learn, to know that he must commit to memory the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, and the Ten Commandments, before he could claim as his own the token, without which he would not only be excluded from the Sacrament, but from certain other Church privileges.
Communion Tokens were usually made of lead, or other base metal, in various shapes and sizes, marked with the name of the congregation to which they belonged, the date of the church organization, the initials of the pastor, or some appropriate text of Scripture. On some of the specimens a large letter, or a large numeral standing by itself, indicated the part of the house, (as "E" for East) or the number of the table at which the communicant should present himself. There were other tokens which had neither name or date to identify them with a home; they were simply marked with a large "T" (token), or a text to mark their sacred office, or indeed just a plain piece of metal like a slug, and could be used anywhere. These were known as Stock or General Tokens.
CONTENTS:
Preface, by Mary McWhorter Tenney.
Introduction, by Dr. Walter L. Lingle.
I. Origin.
II. In the Reformed Church in Europe.
— France.
— England.
— Scotland.
— Ireland.
— Holland.
III. In the United States.
— New England.
— Pennsylvania.
— Western Reserve.
— Virginia.
— South Carolina.
— North Carolina.
— Kentucky.
— Tennessee.
— Georgia.
— Alabama.
— Mississippi.
IV. Disuse.
V. Catechising.
VI. Conclusion.
VII. Extracts and Notes.
VIII. Bibliography.
IX. Index.