RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22326, 28 July 1934, Page 7

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

By Ampuus. ST. CHRISTOPHER’S COLLEGE HYMN. Lord and Master, Who hast called us All our days to follow Thee, We have heard Thy clear commandment, “ Bring the children unto Me.” So we come to Thee, the Teacher, At Thy foot we kneel to pray. We can only lead the children -When Thyself shalt show the way. 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 the 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 in the Sunday School,” and last month the teachers met at Roslyn to hear the 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 tbe 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. DUTY OF ENCOURAGEMENT. Children need encouragement. They cannot get along without it. It is now a well-established fact that children who seem backward —almost mentally defective •—in one environment will reveal unsuspected abilities when placed in other circumstances where the atmosphere is much more friendly. A repressive, over-criti-cal attitude towards children will stunt their mental and moral development as few other things will, while loving sympathy will excite confidence and awaken latent powers. In his life of Dr Thomas Arnold, of Rugby, Stanley, says: “All Arnold’s geese were swans. Every boy that came to Rugby was a potential' Prime Minister in his eyes.” The thing to remember about this remark, however, is the magnificent contribution which Rugby made in England and to the world, largely as a result of Arnold’s methods. From that school went out men who became noble and truly great. Arnold recognised the possibilities of the boys, but, what was equally important, he made the boys themselves aware of them. He made them feel that they were capable of great things, and because he did this they rose in self-respect and in a sense of personal responsibility. That is the right attitude to take towards young people, and the only way that they can be inspired to rise to their feet. THANKING GOD. In a discussion of the different types of prayer Edna Dean Baker first draws attention to the cautions which must be observed lest faith and effort be impaired through prayers of petition and intercession, and then goes on to say; “ The prayer of thansgiviug 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 the eyes to the goodness of God to His children than the habit of thanking Him iu the morning and at night as well as at the family table for each day’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, tor without a grateful spirit there can be no true thanks. There must be a feeling of gratitude ig 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 lead to recognise that “ every good and perfect gift is from above and eometh down from the Father,” but he must also feel that God is near, and that He is listening when he talks to Him. Hie prayer should be as natural and spontaneous as the “ thank you ” which he ijays 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 encourag;e 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 hie 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 aud father, his home and his food, and his clothes, the sunshine and the rain, 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 o,f 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 tbe beautiful form prayers which are simple enough to be the child’s own expression. Thanks to our Father we will bring For He gives us 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 you, 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 hie thanks in this happy prayer:— I thank Thee, Father, for this day, For all its work and all ite 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 clay Thou hast cared for me; I thank Thee that this night I may Still be near to Thee.

The value of these form prayers lies in their simplicity of expression and their suggestive content. But they are only supplementary to the child’s qwu happy prayers of thanksgiving which spring spontaneously from a heart filled with gratitude to the Heavenly Father. —E. C. Gardiner.