SABBATH SCHOOLS.

Evening Star, Issue 14117, 21 July 1909, Page 2

SABBATH SCHOOLS.

ANNUAL MEETING OF TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION.

The second annual meeting of the Dunedin Presbyterian Sabbath Schools' Association was held in First Church Hall last evening, Mr D. Todd (president) presiding. The Chairman expressed pleasure at the attendance, and specially welcomed country representatives, a number of whom were present, and the Moderator of the General Assembly (Rev. J. Chisholm). It augured well for the Association when the Moderator attended their meetings to see wha,t they were doing. They were also pleased to see the llev. G. H. Jupp (organising secretary of the Welfare of Youth Committee), who would afterwards address the meeting.—(Hear, hear.) —Annual Report.—

The following is taken from the annual [report:—During the year eleven Exeeu tive meetings have been held, which have been well attended, especially by our lady members. Great interest has been shown by all the members, who have worked well and harmoniously, and a good deal of consideration has been given to general Sunday selwol work wliich has not so far been brought before the Association. General meetiugs of the Association have been held in various schools throughout the presbytery, and the large attendance of teachers and those interested is an evidence that these meetings, are much appreciated, and have proved helpful. Your Executive assisted in connection with the. Assembly's meetings when the Welfare of Youth Committee's report was considered, and also at the annual distribution of prizes in connection with the Assembly's examination. At the invitation of the Synod's State of Religion Committee your Executive assisted in securing a good attendance of teachers, and two of their members gave addresses relating to work among the young. In addition to arranging for the various meetings already mentioned, your Executive have discussed with Rev. J. J. Cairney (convener of the Assembly's Sunday School Examination Committee) details in connection with the annual examination, and suggested some desirable improvements. The matter of teacher training classes has also been under consideration for some time. Efforts were made to find a suitable leader, but proved unsuccessful. After consultation with members of our Executive, Mr W. S. Fitzgerald brought this matter before the Synod, with the'result that a representative committee was set up to prepare a scheme for the appointment of an instructor in school method. At their meeting on June 1 the Presbytery requested our Association to take over all the Sunday school work in connection with the Presbytery, including the annual prize-giving demonstration, and to associate the members of their Committee with our Executive. This request has been agred to, and we look forward to increased interest and greater'efficiency in consequence of closer relationship with the_ Presbytery. Your secretary, Mr A. Wilson, has continued to represent Sunday school interests on the Assembly's Foreign Mission Committee, and lately the Executive have appointed him on their behalf to visit schools throughout the Presbytery, in order that the Executive may be made conversant with their needs. About forty schools are affiliated with the Association, and in addition a number of branch schools might also be counted. We are pleased to note that a school has been opened at Cattle Yards, and also one at St. Clair. We are pleased to report that nearly all the annual subscriptions have been paid, with the exception of a few small_ country schools, who have difficulty in raising finance for their own work. In addition to £9 13s 3d carried forward from last year, the balance-sheet shows receipts amounting to £ls 12s 7d,'and expenditure amounting to £l2 19s Id, leaving £l2 6s 9d as a credit balance—a net gain to the Association of £2 13s 6d on the year's working, which is highly satisfactory. In conclusion, your Executive desire to sincerely thank all those who have assisted the Association to carry through another successful year's work, especially to speakers and others who have led the meetings, and to the various schools where these meetings have been held. From expressions o7 approval made by superintendents and_ teachers, your Executive consider that lasting benefit has resulted, and another link formed in the great forward movement in Sunday school work in all parts of the world. We feel that the Association have fully justified their existence, and we wish to impress on all the great importance of the work and the responsibility that rests upon us in seeking to bring our Sabbath schools to a greater degree of efficiency, and so carry out the ;omm.i!id " Feed My lambs." The Chairman said that he moved the adoption of the report with great pleasure. During the year the Association had made a forward movement. It existed f r the purpose of helping individual clasaea and individual teachers, and he thought that members in their meetings had tried to keep that before them, and by the opinions expressed by people in'a position to judge the meetings had been much appreciated. They all recognised the importance of Sunday school work, and so they must adopt the best measures to carry on the work successfully, and they had reade another forward movement, and were doing something to get a training c'ass formed. A strong committee had l.een appointed by the Synod, and it was hoped in a short time to have a capable r.an, who would be fully equipped for the work. It was necessary that they should employ the best methods, and ho thought that the Church as a whole was quite alive to the greal importance of Sunday school work.

Mr J. Reid, in seconding the motion, said that he would like to know how much the Association had touched the bedrock in Sunday school work. It was just there, he thought, that the weakness of the Association came in. It was only the enthusiasts that had come out that dirty night, and so he would suggest to the incoming Committee that they try to look for some way by which to form'the Association into a board of advice for the Sunday schools, which needed a central authority to which they might appeal for advice en the thousand and one things that aro;;e in Sunday school work.

The Rev. G. H. Jupp pointed out to Mr Reid that the Welfare of Youth Committee did the work that Mr Reid suggested should be done by an advisory board. They did not will* themselves an advisory board, but they had laid themeelvea out to act in that capacity, and letters wore received dealing with points to which Mr Reid had made reference. The report was adopted. —Officers Elected.—

The following officers wore elected ■ President, Mr J. W. Todd; vicepresidents, Messrs David Beath, D. Todd ; secretary and treasurer, Mr A. Wilson; assistant secretary, Mr G. Carrington; committee—Miesw Simpson, Dagger, Messrs A. M. Boss, B. Duncan, J. Ironside, B. D. Sutherland. —World's Conference of Sabbath School Workers.— Mr A. Bum moved—" That the meeting strongly urge upon the Welfare of Youth Committee the desirability of releasing the Boy. G. H. Jupp (travelling secretary) from his duties next year, in order to enable him to attend the World's Conference of Sabbath School Workers at Washington in May. 1910, in company with the Rev. J. Mackenzie, and also to proceed to Britain in ordeT to study methods of wotlc amongst men; and the Association underto do their utmost to raise a proportion of the funds required to cover the necessary expense."

Mr J. Eeid seconded the motion, which was agreed to unanimously. Mr A. Wilson (secretary) said that he had spoken to some of the members of the Welfare of Youth Committee, and he believed that they would be willing to give Mr Jupp the necessary leave of absence. —Secrets of Success.— The Eov. G. H. Jupp delivered a sententious address on 'Some Secrets of

Success hi Sunday School Work.' First, they needed to have a clear, fixed, definite idea, and a high idea of the tremendous value and importance of their work, and (2) a clear idea of the end that they were aiming at. A great many schools were failing because they were not linking the children up -with Christ. There must be an endeavor on the part of every teacher to bring every child in his or hex claee to Christ. They must show the power of Jesus Christ in their own lives, in their own hearts, in their own thoughts, if thev could, and in their own actions. Thirdly, they wanted training. And, lastly, they should never allow a child to go from them on a Sunday afternoon without impressing on it that it was to put into active practice what it had been taught. The supreme mistake that a teacher could make was just this : To give all the knowledge concerning the life and death of Jesus Christ and forgot to make the child realise that this had to be put into practice in ite daily life.