Christian Church
Whitewright, Texas

Dallas Morning News
22 August 1896

The little city of Whitewright in this county is having a church trouble almost an exact duplication of the "organ or no organ" dissension which rent the Houston Street Christian church of this city into three parts a few years since.  There, as here, the trouble is in the Christian church, and this morning J. M. Batsell, N. A. Andrews, J. F. Anderson and W. B. Penn asked that James Bray, J. R. Andrews, J. F. Spindle and J. L. German be restrained from continuing to force an entrance into said church edifice and using the same without the consent of the board of elders, etc.  The injunction was temporarily granted by Judge Bliss in the district court upon the required bond.

In 1896 a few of the members could find no reference in the BIble where musical instruments were used in the church during the days of Christ on the earth came to the conclusion that the organ was unauthorized, which caused a split in the church.  Those who desired to continue the use of the organ in the church services were called "the progressives" and withdrew from the existing congregation and organized The Progressive Christian Church and built a church building of their own.  Agreeing upon the value of the old building and its fixtures, the elders of the non-progressive church paid to the elders of the newly organized Progressive Church that estimated value.

Ms. Laud German went with the progressive group and played the organ for The Progressive Christian Church while the remainder of the German family retained their membership in the non-progressive Church.  The parents of Ms. German failed to see any harm in using instruments in the song services and they were not inclined to take sides in controversial issues.  Possibly the elder Germans chose to continue their worship in the old building where they had met, were married, and taught school when the building was used as the school house for the Kentuckytown Pleasant Grove School.  The old building was moved to Whitewright in 1878 when the town was organized.  

The Progressive Christian Church closed its doors many years ago, while the Non-Progressive Christian Church has remained in existance.

Churches
Susan Hawkins
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