WORLD'S SUNDAY SCHOOL CONVENTION.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLI, Issue 178, 30 July 1907, Page 2

WORLD'S SUNDAY SCHOOL CONVENTION.

THE GREATEST GATHERING IN SUNDAY SCHOOL HISTORY.

There recently assembled in~ Rome, Italy, the greatest Sunday school gathering in the history of the world. For five days—May 18 to 23—about 1,500 delegates, representing thirtyseven different lands, nearly all evangelical creeds, and 26,000,000 Sunday school adherents, met, together to hear reports, of progress throughout the earth and study the best methods of winning the world to Christ through the medium of Sunday school. From beginning to end the keynote of the Fifth World's Convention was the Sunday school as a missionary force. It was clearly brought out that the hope of evangelising the world lies in the potential energy, as yet largely untouched, of the Sunday school. | Near the close- of the Convention thei-e occurred the most epoch-making event since the inauguration of the international system of Sunday school lessons, a generation ago. There was formed the World's Sunday School Association to rapidly promote and develop Sunday school work throughout the entire world. Bishop Hartzell was chairman of the Committee, which brought this action before the Convention, and in moving its adoption he declared it was the most important movement he had ever been privileged to'endorse. Without doubt, it will mean an unparalleled advance of Sunday schools during the next few years. The lot fell to England to have the first president of the World's Association in the Rev. F. B. Meyer, of Tjondon, and to America was given the chairman of the Executive Committee, Dr. George W. Bailey, of Philadelphia.' The Convention in Rome was held in 4» ' I

the beaut-ifiil hall of the Methodist Episcopal ChuiCh bililiing; It is a bigstructure, in the heart of the city, resembling an Italian palace in appearance, and containing not only the church with two auditoriums,, but a college as well. The hall. seats about 1,000 or 1,200 people, and was fittingly decorated with flags of all nations. The chief presiding officer throughout the Convention was Mr E, K. Warren, of Michigan, * A strange and impressive scene was, presented at the opening meeting. 7fhe representatives of thirty-ssven lands made a polyglot company as on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, as, as then, all were with one accord in one place, praying and pjraising God in divers tongues. There were seen in the audience dark-skinned men of Egypt with their red fezes, native delegates from Palestine, a dark-faced college president from India, swarthy men and women from Spain, Bulgaria, and other countries of Southern Europe, fair-haired delegates from Sweden, considerable delegations from France and Germany, over 300 delegates from .Great Britain, as many as could crowd in the building from Italy, and about SQO from the United States and Canada^ The five days of the Convention were crowded with addresses by famous Christian leaders, reports of Sunday school progress in ail lands, conferences in. Italian and German and English, and committee meetings of the wildest import by the prominent business men who had charge of the Convention and the world-wide Sunday school movement. Amongst the speakers who stored the Convention by their mes- v sages were the Rev. F. B. Meyer, Bishop J. C. Hartzell, Mr Marion Lawrence, Rev. B. B. Tyler, and Madame Bieler (of Paris), daughter of J?rofessor d'Aubigne, the historian of me Reformation. One man, Dr. W. A. Duncan, of New York State, journeyed over 6,000 miles to Rome and return, simply to address an Italian and German Conference on the home department of the Sunday school, which he founded. The.most unique of all the meetings during the Convention was the gathering in the ruins of the famous Colosseum. There, where Christians were thrown to the lions, assembled Christians representing a score or more of different people to praise the God whose worship the Csssars thought they were destroying for ever. The next Convention will be held in 1910. The place is not yet fixed.