RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Evening Star, Issue 21784, 28 July 1934, Page 3

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

[By Forward.] God grant up wisdom in these coming days, ~ And eyes unsealed, that we clear visions see Of that new world that He would have us build, To life's ennoblement and His high ministry. —John Oxcnham. PRESBYTERIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION The meetings' of the Presbyterian Sunday School Union this year have been organised under . a new system, which is proving very satisfactory. The meetings are being held monthly, each time in a different school, when, besides hearing a good address, teachers have an opportunity of meeting teachers of other schools, of comparing and discussing their work, of seeing other school buildings, and of spending some time socially. The result has been an increase of interest in the work of the union, and profitable evenings have been spent. • The first meeting was held at First Church, when Rev. H. A. Mitchell gave an address on the relation of the Sunday school and the home. The next was held at St. Clair, the Rev. Hugh Graham giving a talk on the relation of the minister to the Sunday school.. The third was held at North-east Valley, where an address was given by Miss Moss on ‘ Worship iin the Sunday School,’ arid last month the teachers met at Roslyn to hear Rev. R. G. M'Dowall speak on the work of the teacher. Next month the meeting will be held at Musselburgh. In each case the local school has been the host for the evening, and- has provided supper for the visitors. Each meeting has been well worth while, and interest is growing. By visiting the different schools in turn a larger number of teachers may be interested, since a larger number of the local school will naturally be present. It is hoped that teachers will realise the value of these gatherings for mutual benefit, and that the numbers will continue to increase. In order that the Sunday schools on the Taieri should also participate a gathering for those teachers is arranged for next Monday at Mosgiel.

THANKING GOD THROUGH PRAYER In a discussion of tbo different types of prayer Edna Dean Baker first draws attention to the cautions which must be observed lest faith and effort he impaired through prayers of petition and intercession, and then goes on to say: “The prayer of thanksgiving has no dangers, and the feeling and expression of gratitude fills the life with a sense of enrichment and contentment. Nothing will do more to open tho eyes to the goodness of God to His children than the habit of thanking Him in the morning and at night, as well as at tho family table for each dav’s blessings.” it is this habit of thanking God through prayer which the earnest teacher is constantly seeking to cultivate in her little scholars, for well she knows the joy which comes from feeling and expressing gratitude to the Heavenly Father. The-' prayer of thanksgiving is essentially an expression of feeling, for without a spirit there.can be no true thanks. There must be a feeling of gratitude to the Heavenly Father, and a desire to express that gratitude in words. This implies a consciousness of the goodness of God, and of His nearness to His, children. The little child must not only be led to recognise that “ every good and perfect gift is from above and coineth down from the Father,” but he must also feel that God is near, and that He is listening when he talks to Him. His prayer should be as natural and_ spontaneous as the “ thank you ” which he says to father or mother, and no pleasure he enjoys is too trivial to merit its expression. In order that the spirit of gratitude may be deepened in the little child no opportunity should be neglected for helping him to feel God’s love and care. The teacher should encourage him to tell her of the pleasant happenings of the week, of the good things he has enjoyed, of his home, and his family and his friends, and of everything and everyone contributing to his happiness. By her comments and suggestions, and by her own attitude of gratitude, she should lead him to recognise that the loving Heavenly Father gives him a kind mother and father, his home and his food, and his clothes, the sunshine and the ruin, the flowers and the birds, and everything that makes a happy world, The natural simple “'thank you ” of the primary child is one of the happiest ways of 'thanking God through prayer, and this form of expression should precede any formal' utterance. “ Thank you for my pretty new dress'”, is a very real prayer of thanksgiving for a little girl, while her brother might offer with equal gratitude, “Thank you for my bicycle,” Such concrete blessings readily evoke a spontaneous expression of thanks, and as the child learns to recognise the loving spirit which is shown through' God’s good gifts he will thank Him just as naturally for His love and care. Although the prayer of thanksgiving may be offered whenever it is prompted by a spirit of gratitude, this spirit may be deepened and strengthened through regular expression in the morning and at night, and at the family table. The prayers offered on these special occasions may be just as spontaneous and informal as those uttered throughout the day, and they may be supplemented by some of the beautiful form prayers which are simple enough to be the child’s own expression.

Thank? to our Father we will bring, For He gives ns everything, is a prayer which any child might offer in recognition of God's goodness and bounty. So also is Father of all, in Heaven above, We thank Thee for Thy love, Our food, our homes, the clothes we wear Tell of Thy loving care. Or Thank you for the world so sweet, Thank you for the food we cat, Thank you for the birds that sing, Thank yon, God, for everything. Or Thank you for the food we eat, For the sunshine pure and sweet, For the darkness and the light. Thank you for the day and night. In the morning when he wakens to greet the new day he might express his thanks in this happy prayer:— I thank Thee, Father, for this day, For all its work and all its play,

For home and friends, for rain and sun, For all Thy blessings, every one. And at night before he goes to sleep:— I thank Thee, Lord, that all this day Thou hast cared for me ; I thank Thee that this night I may Still be near to Thee. The value of these prayers lies ib their .simplicity of expression and their suggestive content. Jlut they arc only supplementary to the child’s own happy prayers of thanksgiving which spring spontaneously from a heart filled witli gratitude to the Heavenly Father.—B. C, Gardner.