RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22830, 14 March 1936, Page 5

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

By Amplius. THE BOOK. What other literature, writes Professor David Smith, in the British "Weekly, could one study for a lifetime only to realise that he has touched but its fringes? Where else could one find weeii after week for a quarter of a century, messages of comfort and hope and peace for all the diverse needs of the human heart? The Scriptures have grown more precious to me with every passing year, more truly divine, more surely the Living Word of the Living God. Old disputes regarding their inspiration, infallibility, inerrancy, and the like, have lost all interest for me, and seem to me pitifully trivial and meaningless. Enough that the Scriptures are the literature of revelation, the historic record of the gradual unfolding of a redemptive purpose which emerged amid the ancient darkness like the light of dawn, and shone more and more from generation to generation unto the perfect day, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in tho face of Jesus Christ. They are literature, a wide and varied literature covering some 15 centuries; and it is easy for callow minds, " unable to see the wood for the trees," to be bewildered amid the literary and historical problems which they necessarily involve, and vent cheap scepticism in the abused name of Higher Criticism. But to minds endowed with literary instinct and historical imagination the increase of knowledge and understanding brings an ever-larger and surer faith, and they rejoice in the things which the Scriptures testify with exceeding great joy. HARVEST THANKSGIVING IN SUNDAY SCHOOL. At this time of the year most of the churches are observing Harvest Thanksgiving. It is a suitable time for impressing upon the children the need of thanksgiving, and of bringing before them the love of the Giver of all gifts. We therefore have special services in the various departments of the Sunday school, in order that may have an opportunity pf expressing their thanksgiving, not only in word, but in offerings, A few suggestions as to the way of doing this are timely. In the Bcginners's Department.—For several Sundays past the atmosphere has been one of thankfulness for God's gifts to us, His gifts of sunshine and rain, and the flowers, fruit and vegetables He has made to grow. We have sought by story and conversation and song, and by expressional activity, to awaken a spirit of thanks and gratitude to the Father for His gifts to us, and also feelings of gratitude for all the helpers who work to give us our daily bread. During the week the children have been taken to see the ripe corn stored for winter use, or ready to be sent to the mill to be made into flour. A visit has been made to the baker's shop to see the flour being made into bread. A loaf has been bought and a piece given to each child with the honey the bees have gathered from the flowers in the summer.'

Special Harvest Thanksgiving hymns have been learned. The children have dramatised the stories of the farmer, the baker and the miller. They have picked the ripe fruit from the trees, posters have been made, 'modelling has been done. The children arc ready to bring their gifts to share with others.

On Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday the room is specially decorated with ripe corn, autumn leaves and flowers, a blackboard drawing of a fruit tree. On the walls are the posters the children have been making, and a special table is ready to receive the gifts. The programme is as follows: — Music to suggest the day: harvest song we have been learning (" For the Fruit Upon the Trees"); song. "Praise Him, Praise Him, All His Little Children." News time, thanking God for all His gifts; thank you prayer; prayer for birthday child; love gifts, "We Bring Our Little Love Gifts"; march, while' offering is given; prayer chords and prayer, " Father bless these gifts we bring Thee." Song: For the fruit upon the tree. For the birds that sing of Thee, For the world in beauty dressed, Father, mother and the rest,

Father we thank Thee. Father in Heaven, we thank Thee. Preparation for story, talk of children's gifts; Bible verse, "O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good"; story. How some children planned to share their harvest: Bible lesson. After the story the children take their gifts to the church. Some have been set aside to be taken to sick friends we know. Having placed their gifts in the church they stand and say a, prayer of thanks to the Father for His love. In the primary department the children will have a greater knowledge of the harvest time, of the labour that it involves for all the helpers, of the need of the sunshine and the rain to ripen the crops and the fruits. During the week or two preceding harvest thanksgiving they will be helping to make posters of fruit, flowers, and grain or foods. A talk will be given on the Father's gifts to arouse interest, and to create a desire to express gratitude to the Heavenly Father, and to share His gifts with others. The children will then be prepared to bring their gifts to Sunday school on the following Sunday. In general the service will be somewhat similar to that of the beginners, except that trie children can sing longer songs of thanksgiving. Suitable hymns would be: "For Air and Sunshine," "AH Things Bright and Beautiful," " Seed Time " (child songs). "We Have So Much to Thank Thee For," "Thank You Father," " From Above." A beautiful large picture issued some time ago in " Child Education," illustrating the prayer " Thank You For the World so Sweet," is to be found in many Sunday schools, and makes a great appeal to the children. The children's expression on this occasion is the taking of their gifts to the church and placing them in the space provided. In the junior and intermediate departments there is not so much need for weeks of preparation, but the interest of the scholars will be aroused by talk and by poster, and the children will be asked to bring along their gifts on harvest thanksgiving Sunday.' For some time they may have been gathering pictures of fruit, vegetables, bread, harvest fields, etc.. and making suitable posters. These, with those made by the teachers, will decorate the room, which will also be carefully decorated with flowers and leaves, and if possible some corn. Suitable verses for posters will be found in some of our hymns, such as: All good gifts around us Are sent from heaven above: Then thank the Lord, 0 thank the Lord, For all His love. We thank Thee, O our Father, For all things bright and good; The seed time and the harvest, Our life, our health, our food. Suitable hymns for use on Sunday are:. "Praise, O Praise Our God and King," 'We Plough the Fields," "Fair Waved the Golden Corn," "For the Beauty of the Earth," " Let Us With a Gladsome Mind," " O Lord of Heaven and Earth and Sea" (selected verses). A talk may be given about the first harvest thanksgiving, and of the way in which the Jcw« brought their harvest offering as they celebrate their feasts, and the verses in Leviticus xxiii, 10, 22, 39 may be read. Other suitable Scripture messages arc: Psalm Ixv, 9-13; Psalm civ, 1, 10-14. The gifts should be brought forward with dignity, and dedicated in prayer, and later taken to the church to add to those already there. STEWARDS. "The stewards for the month will he Dorccn and Derek." The leader laid down the slip from which he had made this announcement. "Will this last month's stewards come, please?" Harold and Murjorie left their respective places and came to the leader's table. Dorccn and Derek, knowing what was expected, stood opposite to them, on the other side of the table. A glance from the leader, and the whole department stood. The leader spoke again, " Jesus said, I am among you as one who serves. The greatest among you shall be your servant." He paused a moment. "Harold and Marjoric, we thank you for your service." He shook hands with the two. "Now, will you pass the signs of your service and your privilege to those who follow you?" Harold and Marjorie unfastened the small badges they wore and fastened them on Derek and Doreen. The leader shook hands with the two new stewards. The prayer signal came softly from tho piano. All heads wore bowedj and all voices joined softly in the prayer the whole department, knows and loves: "Teach us, dear Lord, to serve Thee as Thou de-

scrvest; lo give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not. to seek for rest; to labour and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we try to do Thy will. Amen."

And what will the stewards do? They will be sit school each week 20 minutes before the opening time. They will help arrange the room, seeing to chairs, pictures, blackboard, maps, (lowers, hymn hooks, etc., as the leader may arrange. They will remain behind to help to clear up, and never go till they have reported to the leader with a cheery "Anything else, please?" They will, perhaps, take a note to an absent teacher or leave a message and the department's flowers at the home of a. sick scholar. We have a roll of stewards in a treasured book in our cupboard; each month the newly-appointed stewards write their owr names therein. Sometimes they look back over the pages and point out names they know now as those of teachers in the primary or leading lights in the sports teams. The leader is glad to know they first learnt the joys of service as departmental stewards. —L. E. C. in the New Chronicle-