amen / amen corner

amen. An expression used at the end of prayers, and meaning, So be it. At the end of a creed, it is as solemn asseveration of belief. When it introduces a declaration, it has the force of an adverb, and is equivalent to truly, verily. It is also used as a noun, to denote Christ as being one who is true and faithful; and as an adjective, to signify made true, verified, or fulfilled. — Webster, 1882

amen corner. Usually a place to one side of the pulpit in a church, most often occupied by the people who lead the responsive amens during the service.

One day this week we heard a gentleman make this remark: “While you are passing along with your food for the poor, don’t pass the poor hungry horse by.” To this humane suggestion we said within our self, amen. – March 1894, Kingsbury County Independent

     
The Hebrew amen as an affirmation means truth, certainty, so be it. It was adopted for use in Christian worship services as the concluding words to hymns and prayers, and its use is such in the Little House books.

Amen corner. In These Happy Golden Years (see Chapter 30, “Sunset on the Hill”), the church is so crowded on the Sunday before Mary goes back to college that there isn’t room for the entire family seated together. Pa goes forward to sit in the amen corner, while the rest of the family sits together elsewhere. It is not known which corner (east or west) of the original 28-feet-width of the church this section traditionally was, and if there was indeed a section where those leading the responses usually sat, this information was not recorded.

     

amen (BW 5; BPC 12; LTP 8; PG)
amen corner (THGY 30)