amen corner

American  

noun

Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.

1. a place in some Protestant churches, usually at one side of the pulpit, occupied by worshipers leading the responsive amens of the congregation.

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amen corner British  

noun

1. the part of a church, usually to one side of the pulpit, occupied by people who lead the responsive amens during the service

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Etymology

Origin of amen corner

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Example Sentences

Except — and this is important — she was holding up an amen corner.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2024

You reach into your own pockets — and see, we’ve got the amen corner.

From Time • Jan. 6, 2017

He waited a moment, and then, leaning over the pulpit and looking at the amen corner, he said: "And could you do that, too, Mr. Smith?"

From Toaster's Handbook Jokes, Stories, and Quotations by Fanning, C. E. (Clara Elizabeth)

Yes, with plenty of creature comforts and her old place in the amen corner in her possession again, she would be perfectly happy and at peace thenceforward to the end.

From The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Twain, Mark

Old man Jones, in the amen corner, would not swindle his neighbor; nor would Wetmore, the Baptist, practise the holy calling of shepherd, having in his breast the heart of a wolf.

From A Forest Hearth: A Romance of Indiana in the Thirties by Major, Charles