Who is quoted in the first paragraph, and with whose style of speech does this language belong in "After the Baptism" by Carol Bly?

Father Geoffrey is quoted in the first paragraph; he is the Episcopalian priest who performs the rites of Baptism for the baby Molly Benty. This style of speech is somewhat in line with that of Evangelical preachers who often address large crowds with their emotional and dramatic speaking style.

The narrator describes Father Geoffrey's style as somewhat less the "proclaiming style" than he had earlier when he pronounced "Holy Ghost" as "Ha-oly Gha-ost." This pronunciation is...

Father Geoffrey is quoted in the first paragraph; he is the Episcopalian priest who performs the rites of Baptism for the baby Molly Benty. This style of speech is somewhat in line with that of Evangelical preachers who often address large crowds with their emotional and dramatic speaking style.

The narrator describes Father Geoffrey's style as somewhat less the "proclaiming style" than he had earlier when he pronounced "Holy Ghost" as "Ha-oly Gha-ost." This pronunciation is much like the Evangelical preachers, who have a style that utilizes what is often referred to as the use of double dipthongs—the forming of two vowels where there is only one in order to draw out the word with emphasis. Such preachers use this dramatic style in order to draw emotional responses from their listeners.

Bill Benty, the baby's paternal grandfather, is not impressed with Father Geoffrey's attempt at such a style. He thinks that if the Episcopalian priest talked this way at his chemical plant, he would be laughed out of the place.