OUR SUNDAY SCHOOLS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19204, 21 June 1924, Page 5

OUR SUNDAY SCHOOLS

Et AixPLirs. “ Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.” —Tagore. Modern education is an experiment in representative government. From G. 11. Archibald, the well-known Sunday School leader and principal of Wosthill Training College, comes a letter of thanks to Mr Blair for literature sent him from Dunedin. “Please convey to the school,” he says “tho heartiest wishes of our Wes!hill College. I shall hope to hear some day that you are starting a residential school specially for religious education in New Zealand.” A northern minister writes to Mr Blair; ‘I have to acknowledge with thanks vonra of the 30lli ult., and also tho syljabuscs. These arrived just in the nick of time, as I had a meeting of ministers in the afternoon to discuss the problem of (lie Touth Institute. Tilings seem to be going all right, and I hope soon to be able to report definitely the formation of such an institute.” The fundamental importance of religious education seems to be winning recognition in high j.laces in those clays in a wav that was not so common in past years. Lord • induce, .--peaking at Thames last week, showed Mat he is quite ali> e to modern icadencies in this sphere, and that here, .is in other matters he is not slow to use . hs tremendous personal influence on the ■ gut side, lie drew attention to Ihe want f religious (whin" to children ami said hat this teaching had beer-- e -till Ic-" .•i ; ncc the vvai. He expres■■be hop-' . hat in the I'ni u - teachniv of • in- kind ...odd bo deei'-u-d ..rid irUeusUu-d luo .■.h:y :r of fhincci o ( hr li ■■■ 1 api-V J. Ml 1 i!i- he udntion stone of a new M.ndav -iioo! fi.di for ?t. Martin s Church in th . .■iorrh-Kasl \ alley, spoke out sfonglv ou ueluiif of die .smidnv School, and declared i nat j‘ cn -Id -io longer be locked upon aamong m- rie.rligihie f iclors oi iife. ■ -i... mo •- iu-"iiii:'J than ever in these icodi-ru ~ Sl' r;• ii.d iv Schools shock! O 3 .pport i! .1 ’ll • lIMC Ur, THE Gi’.Oi P GIVhKiTVT:' Each OssiVC cnnfe. cii. f v-eu,- co e s.iccemf- I than the In.--', cud Ihe --c. n -clioni > 'l'.' to he roc r. duccd uiu I ii“ gatherii u hist Semi - •,•.ci noon. i no-*-here ■-j .iv.mt and the aenerai pruc d re wao similar to .cat followed m tinea: lior coiiferervs. A sumptuous tea aas >■“ ude ’ m H<• Presbyterian tc ichors iiiu'm Mr vlagnu.lohnson,. anti Mr earner a ii-qim. r. ic o\ pressed the thanks of the visitors. -no conference was continued in tho c.enm-' -o vice when tho Rev. E. J. xipler, 8.A., pleached an appropriate sermon and made appreciative reference to the wcup of he Otug > o ncil of ? nday School Unions. The next conference will bo held in th- < ievv Street Hall, i.n.v Place Congregu (ional Oh -rch, to-moi : . ■ at 4 o’clock, and v ill include: -First Ci u ca, Trinity, Con-,-regationa.l, ?1. Paul’s. ■ abernae'e. Central ’.lission, Chalmers Oh rch, Salvation Army, Gluiroh of Christ, Fille d Street and York Place Hall. Ihe teachers of Moray Place School will provide tea, so that it may be possible for those attending to disband to their respective churches. It is stressed that these conferences are open to all Bible Class and Sunday School workers. For the opening period we are fortunate in having secured Professor Wilfred E. Powell, M.A.. 8.D.. Professor of Religious Education, Phillips University. Enid, Oklahoma, U.S.A. The subject will b<>; “Religious Education for our Uwn Time.” The sectional meetings will be taken by Miss F. S. Warner, beginners; Miss E. S. Findlay, primary; Mr S. G. Macfarlano, iu-iior Mrs R. Blair, intermediate; Mr R. Blair, Bible Classes. The topics dealt with will l>e those submitted by the schools interested. THE SCHOOL LIBRARY. Tho following additional books have been added to the Central School Library. All are obtainable in Dunedin. All of the suggested text books are now to hand and students would do well to avail themselves of these:

Principles of Religious Teaching (Barclay), Organisation and Administration of the Church School (Ouninggim and North), What Do Wo Moan by Education ? (Wolton), The Garden of Eden (Hodges), New Testament History (Rail), Religious Education in the Family (Cope), The Teaching of Our Lord (PaUau). Environment of Early Christianity (Angus), Theology of the Epistles (Kennedy), Fundamentals on Child Study (Kirkpatrick), The Sunday School Building and Its Equipment (Evans). The Juniors and How to Teach and Train Them (Baldwin), Primary Method in the Church School (Munkros), Religious Certainty (O’Connell), Girlhood and Character (Moxcoy), Introduction to Social Psychology. The Apostolic Age (Purves), Life of Christ as Represented in Art (Farrar), The High School Ago (King), Introduction to the Life of Christ (Hill), Misunderstood Children (Harrison). The Main Points (Brown), Pictures in Religious Education (Board), Brothoring the Bo> (Rafferty), Sunday School Officers’ Manual (Brown). Junior Worker and Work (Bald win), Plow We Got Our Bible (Smyth). Survey of Religious Education in the Local Church (Bower), Educational Values (Bagleyb Psychological Principles of Religious Education (Horne). F-oistles of Paul the Apostle (Findlay), The Teacher's Philosophy (Hyde), Talks to Teachers in Psychology, Principles of Religious Teaching, Kcrb-Madsen Maps. NINE POINTS. Dean George Platt Knox, University of Columbus, Ohio, one of America’s frontrank religious educators, writing of community religious education, lavs down the following nine points;—l. Religious education is a community problem. 2. It is to lx. accomplished only hv united effort. 3, United effort, to be efficient, must bo well organised. 4. All religious interests are vitally concerned. 5. The widest participation must bo encouraged. 6. Self-determi-nation exorcised by a thoroughly representative responsible group is safe, sane, and essential. 7. Finance is a legitimate function to be carried by the organisation. 3. P-ohlems of educational nature deserve treatment lv educational exports. 9, Ail efforts, forms, processes, methods, materials, aims, must spell service. WHAT THEN SHALL THIS CHILD BE? “Train up a child in the way ho should go; And even when ho is old ho will not depart from it.” The saddest page in the history of the Christian Church is that which records the spiritual neglect of childhood in the home. For 50 years a minister toiled itr an oh! Scottish kirk. They thought he was no longer doing the work. All the fruit for a whole yeas was one soul, and he was only a boy, One of flic deacons suggested that the fruit was meagre, very slight; something must bo radically wrong with T>ifa.-hi>'g and practice, 'tearfully the old >uan went grieving to his home, wishing that he lay among (he saints “ who from their labours rest,” in the eld kirkyard. And the bov. the fruit ef that vent’s s-rrine? Oh 1 he became Robert Moffat 1 Tie added a province to the church, converted a swage chief, translated the Bible for strange tribe's, pnvbhefl the Royal (leegrat/b'cal (society with his discoveries, "ave Ids dan"hr«>r to T,i-;-.gs(one.. and honoured the universal missionary cause—bin be was only a boy ! “ What, then sb-H Ibis child be?” Tube H"”mh of old -.ve may give, our children to He Lord 'MS’,, met have .ndl’ons of fa’Hfi.T en.rf.nls for epJinnrv bo v« and ends if tbe .'.'.l,- end file of tbe n'Ob.n are Pp navrd f o>- He Service of Cod nod her.ianjlv, .V- fled for the bin’ l, honour of i-einrr a r..f’.rr a ...a 1 ’’er f 'live --on)- cl’ildron the best, in cm love. ’ln' ser-ifo W..11"d-ere "d-ere von u-,t| ’-e ..'bid to have them follow P i..t -"t the Hires 4 hf*v nnrrht to me' Von m-st fm S ;' C .-( ■1 f. )'H (• | with for 1 :f -o ■ do yonr be.-! Hr .-eur babul.,, P.i-.ro -O. c:. . i -f.-’.- I, it;.,, •• in ey-:- It.n !-e ,W -r Cod TH.y.