SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2455, 3 April 1901, Page 10

SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.

At the Agricultural Hall on the 22nd ult. a centenary mass meeting of scholars, teachers, and other workers connected with affiliated schools of the Otago Sunday School Union was held, and rmned a gieat success The body ol the hall was well filled with children, anc? the gallery was occupied by about 340 ladies and gentlemen. The Re\ . J. J Lewis, president of the Sunday School Union, occupied the chair, and seats on the platfoim were also taken by the Rev=. J. Gibb, W. Hewitson, D. Borne. C. H. Stan dage. W. Saunders, J \luirhead. anj ¥. W. .Rereham, and Messrs Duncan Wright, A. Burn. C. Watt, r-nd W T. Todd. An apology for unavoidable absence was received from the Rev. Mr Keighway. The evening's piocesdings opened with the singing of a hymn, " Brightly gleams our banner," by the whole gathering, 'ed by a special choir of children conducted by M. T. Holgate, Miss Queenie Logic presiding at the organ. The Lord's Prayer wa, them said in unison, the chairman giving out a few words at a time, after whiih Mi Duncan Wriqhi read a portion of tire fifth chapter of Matthev. . The ne - >t hymn was "Come. c!"''lvca. join to sine:." Xte 43iic.irHU.il, a;Uiic s -jiug 1b.9 xcceung,

said the Otago Sunday School Union de- ' eided some time ago that the new century ought not to dawn without a commemorative gathering, and the objects aimed at were to express thankfulness to God for the good work done by the Sunday school during the last 100 years, to call upon the children to decide for God, and to ask the teachers to consecrate themselves to God's ser\iee. The lamented death of the beloved Queen led them to put off the meeting from January until the present time. It was intended to have an outdoor demonstration, with bands of music and games, but all that had been given up, and the proceeding limited to the meeting of that evening. Such a meeting, he considered, helped forward the movement that was bringing the churches closer together Any body of Christians who narrowed their sympathy and their work within their own petty bounds was neither catholic nor apostolic. He was closely connected with people who revered the name of a man who was called " the Modern Apostle and the St. John of England," and one of Wesley's sayings was, " I desire a league, offensive and dpfensive, with every true soldier of Christ." Another great man also said, what put the whole thing in a nutshell: "In things essential unity, in things non-essential liberty, in all things charity " He (the speaker) felt he was acting consistently with such teaching when in a recent conference, by his voice and vote, he upheld a proposal that they should join the Presbyterians and . the Congregationalists in making the Outlook their paper — not merely to record church news, but to express their common Christianity. He looked forward to all the evangelical churche3 using the same hymn book. He hoped they wcu'd have closer union. Their churches were only now awakening to their sense of power, and when they joined heart and hand they would not only help on gieat spiritual movements, but would make their power felt in the Parliament of the country, and m that wa}- settle some of the great questions that affected (.he most v ital interests, of the colony. Addressing the children, he said it v a» well they should ho trained when they v. ere young, and, a- fighter for the Lord, they should be armed with the Spirit, which was the \Vo:d of C-od. The hand of a lilt le child might bold that sword, and \.ith the Bible not only in their hands, but in their hearts, they would be a match foi all that might come against them. — (Applause.) Hymn, ' Aiourul the throne of GoJ in heaven," after which T'rc Rev. W Raunderp delivered an address on "Gratitude" — gratitude winch was the thankfulness due by them to God for hi* manifold mercie; shown to them timing the pa.-t centuries and m lnding them into the rew century. After explaining the meainng of the word gratitude the speaker went oa to sjy that they should have gratitude for two tliingo — for the manifold mercies of the pa ft centuries and foi the gift of the tiew century They hid reason to be gratofnl for the gift of life, that life winch, w^en fuliv developed, would bring them into touch with God himself. They had icason to be gia'cful becatue they were born at the end of the centuiy, when social c r )i.dit'oi ic s were so much better than the;' v ere in the pist There wa<» a timo v. hen httlo boys arc! girl- were sent to work in lamo*. and kept to labour by cruel (ask master-. Now condition 1 - were much improved, md luiie protcctio i avd ca;e wc.o ipnmfe-t"d toward childiT.. -Anai"", t' ey bad to be thankful that they lived 1:1 this century. bcrau^D t' v cv w ouicl set in thfir <la\ ■, many wonderful tlrng-. Many ot their elders \.ould like to hie t ) thp wcnd^'fid ih; .g= which would be discovered and the piogre^s f,r, e.*ally t'"t tie v oild v oul.l 1.ia1.0. In conclusion, the speaker said he could only en\\ tlieni the '■pleudottr of then opportuiu-

ties, and exhorted them to be grateful to God for them. Hymn, "When Mothers of Salem." Mr W. T. Todd, speaking on "Decision," said he wanted to ask the children if they had taken the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. He wanted them to stand alone before Jesus and ask themselv es : What will I do with Christ?" There was a great responsibility in that question, and in the way they answered it. There were two reasons why they ehould decide for Christ. The first reason was that they knew it was the right thing to do. They had been taught that in their Sunday schools The second reason was that Jesus had decided for them all. In a telling speech the speaker strongly appealed to the children to consider these two reasons and to leave aside all the pleasures of the world and accept Jesus Christ as their guide and Saviour Hymn, "There is a better world, they say." The Rev. J Gibb then delivered a short address on "Consecration," which he said meant "just ghing one's self out and out and altogether to service of God." That was the sense in which tho " ord was generally used. The word had its moaning apart from its religious aspect, and he illustrated this by lefemng to the way in which Napoleon had set himself to become master of the world, and how Livingstone had devoted himself to the tabk of rising from a lowly condition to that of an educated man, an explorer, a missioner. Consecration in a religious sense meant giving one's pelf up to God in the out and out way in which Napoleon gave himself to the ta^k of becoming master of the globe, in which Livingstone gave himself the task 01 becoming a learned man. He asked the children, while consecrating themselves to God, to be natural, practical, and in everything to aim at being like Christ. The Chairman, on behalf of the Sunday School Union, acknowledged the services* renclereJ by Messrs Sharp and Brown (secretaries), the Rev. J. G. M'Leod, a large number of ladies, and Mr T. Holgate. " Shall we gather at the river" was the last hymn, after which the. Key. D. Borrle engaged in prayer, and the benediction being pronounced by the same gentleman, the meeting closed.