Principles of Reform in Sunday School Work

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume VI, Issue 5, 1 November 1915, Page 54

Principles of Reform m Sunday School Work

A Strange Children's Service. I was on a visit to the city and had preached for "X " m the morning. After service he said to me : " What are you doing this afternoon ? " " Oh, nothing m particular." " Well," said he, " why not come along to our Infant Sunday School and see the children at their service ; you mig-ht pick up a thing or two." " Oh," said I, "we have all the latest things m our own Infant S-unday School — sand tray, little chairs, cradle roll, birthday chairs — I don't think we have much to learn." " No, perhaps not,' 1 ' re-* r>lied " X " with a smile, " do you have elder brothers and sisters m your Infant School?" "No, of course not ; every well-conducted Sunday School nowadays is graded and the place for elder brothers an-i sisters is m the Main School." " But m the average home there are not children of all ages, and don't you think that part of the discipline of the home consists of elder brothers and sisters helping the; mother m the care of the little o^ies ? We use elder brothers and sisters m the same way m our Infant Sunday School. If you have nothing arranged for this afternoon come alontr and watch our School at work, or rather at service. We act on the axioms that the home is the unit of society, and the Church is modelled on the home." After ■ lunch, those words recurred to me : " The home is the unit of society, and the Church is modelled on the home." I did not q,uite see what " X " : meant by the last part

and moreover what had that to do with the organisation of Infant Sunday Schools ? But my curiosity was aroused and so I made up mv mind to visit " X's " Sunday School, and this is what I saw m the Infant Department. About five minutes before the time fixed* for School to begin, I made my way through the long vestibule which gave admittance to the room used for the Infant School. Here the children from four to eight and a half were assembling with the elder brothers and sisters. "X " met me at the entrance to the room and explained that there were two divisions m the School at present — 'beginners, aged four to six, and primary grade, with children aged six to eight and a half. The beginners received instruction separate from the other children, but for the rest of the service were with the others. The primary children were divided into little classes of three, four, or five, according to the age and experience of the elder brother or sister who acted as teacher. These ranged m age from fourteen to seventeen — about as many girls as boys, though the latter were on the whole younger. " X» " told m*e that they were drawn mainly from the upper classes of the Sunday School, though one or two had left the School before the Department was re-organised and asked to be taken back to help. I couldn't help saying : " What a pity to take all these ycxung people away from the Bible Class where they naturally belong. They are just at the age when they can learn so 1 much : you don't mean to say that you think that they know all that a frood Sunday School teacher should know of the Bitile, the Prayer Book, Church History, Mission Work, pnd so on?" ""I can't stay to discuss that with you now," said 11 X," " Stay to our Teachers' Preparation Class which meets directly after the session of the Infant School, and you will see that they are learning something of all those subjects as well as learning to understand children and' to teach by teaching." We were now m the room itself, a large room, rather bare, I thought, with rows of little chairs running across the room. Among them were a few of slightly larger size, which I was told were for jthe teachers. "So you don't have armchairs ? " I said ; we do, and then

if a little one goes off to sleep, he does not fall off the chair." "We have no need of armchairs here/ said "X " laughingly, ;>» and all our children are so well occupied and interested all the session that there is no danger of their going to sleep." The central feature m front was the blackboard on which were pinned the hymn sheets. Flamking it, were on one side an American organ — I was told that a piano is far better— and on the other a table, on which was a vase into which one of the little ones was putting some flowers that she had brought. On the walls hung the Cradle Roll (just like the one we used m my owfn School"), a wellframed picture (and a good picture) of the Good Shepherd, a picture of Samuel kneeling m prayer and an enlarged photograph of a black lad. I was asked to take a seat at the back of the frail amongr other visitor^, and to join m the children's worship. The organ struck up a lively rhythmic march' — it was evident that the organist was a musician — and the children came m m procession. The leader was a lad of fourteen who led by the hand the smallest girl m the School. The rest of the beginners followed with the •. helpers interspersed among them. Then came older and older, children, each following their own teacher. As they passed the Secretary, each teacher handed him a slip of paper — on this, I saw afterwards, were (i) the teacher's name and the date, and (2) the names of the children m the little class. I was to^d when I enauired at the end of the service that time was too precious to mark register during the School, and besides the atmosphere was spoilt. The Secretary entered up the register from these slips either during lesson time or at home. " That's one wrinkle for me," I thought, ' ;i but ni course to do like that, you miust have your elder brothers and sisters ; " and I was decidedly prejudiced against using qiuite youngr teachers to teach infants. The children filed backwards and forwards through the rows of chairs, . advancing up the room all the time until each class came to its right place, when the music, stopped. " Good afternoon," said the Superintendent; "Good afternoon," replied the children. The orpran. gave one chord and the children saflg their opening hymn

of praise. The words were on the hymn sheet but the children evidently knew them by heart. The hymn ended, a few soft chords on the organ aoid all knelt : "Before our words of prayer are •said We'll close our eyes and bow our head ; We'll try to think to Whom we Pray And try to mean the words we say." And then a short prayer m children's language, said sentence by sentence by the children after their leader, thanking God for the sunshine, homes, food and clothes. Then the Lord's Prayer said altogether. A moment's pause — perfect stillness ; a phrase on the orSfan ; all stand. Another phrase, and all sit. The leader asked for any letters for him. Several children brought one up. I was told by the Secretary that these were m response to a letter taken home by every new child asking parents to 'fill up a form giving particulars concerning the child, including the date of baptism. Then the leader welcomed any new scholars and introduced them to the School. Then came the " Sunshine Song " — " God is I,ight and God is Glory-" I noticed that the children were never told to stand or sit — signals were given on the organ. The elder brothers and sisters sat for the hymns so as not to obstruct the view of the little ones behind. Now came the birthday celebration; " Hilda Green," said the leader, " had a birthday last week —it was on Tuesday. Plilda, we all wish you many happy returns of the day. Did you get a birthday card from the Sunday School ? " Yes, she had. " Hilda, will you come out and show us how old you are ? " So Hilda came out, selected a piece of coloured chalk, whatever, colour she liked, and on the board put as many strokes as she was years old, while the children counted, " One, two, three, four, five, six, seven," And then Hilda picked seven flowers from the vase on the table and went back to her place. I had seen that 'these flowers were brought by the children themselves and placed m the vase with their own hands. "We must sing our birthday song," said the leader, turning over the hymn sheets.

The, organ says "stand," gives the opening chord, and the children sing: "Comes a birthday once again Happy day, 0 happy day; " two verses ending with : " Keep, 0 keep us near to Thee Day by day the whole year through.' 1 "Who has: a name for our Cradle Roll?" asks the leader. "Kathleen, you took a letter home to mother last week ; have you brought the answer ? " Kathleen had, and gravely brings up a card with particulars relating to the new baby, which is dropped into the little cradle which is held by Hilda, because she is a birthday child. A few of the names on the Cradle Roll are read out : " Who's baby is this ? " Oh, that is Emmie's. " And who's is this ? " Then they sing : " Our babies' names are on the roll, We love to see them there ; God bless all and keep them safe Beneath Thy loving care." All seated again, the leader asks : "For whom are we giving our pennies to-day ? " " For Martin Taki." "Who can show us Martin Taki ? " One little mite toddles out and points to the photo on the wall. " Where is Martin Taki ? " " Away m the Islands with the Bishop." " Yes, Martin is helping to build a hospital for the poor sick people. I wonder whether Martin will ever come and see us here. Perhaps he will." Hilda is called out to naake the collection. She takes from the table a brass bowl that came from .China, and, while the organ plays soft music, she goes to all the helpers getting their offerings. Then, going back to the leader's side, she holds out the bowl m both hands, the organ says " stand," and gives the chord for the offertory hymn : '" Here we come with gladness Gifts of love to bring, . . Praising Him Who loves us, Christ the Saviour King." Rot'nd the children march, singing as they go, dropping their pennies m the bowl as they pass. The helpers kept their seats. All m their places, the music stops. The leader asks : v What do we do with our pennies ? " " Offer them to God." The helpers are called to stand, the bowl is held up while

the leader says : v Dear Father m Heaven, take our gifts ; use them for Martin Taki and bless him and us, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen." The children sit while Hilda .takes the bowl oft to the Secretary to be emptied and the money counted and taken to the School Treasurer. " There were some very good drawings done last week," says the leader. " I have picked out two of them to show you. Let us put this one up on the board. This was done by Alice. What can you see m the picture?'* "Mary," says a child. " Yes," says the leader, " Come and show us Mary," and the little one trots out, all eyes being on her and on the picture. " What is Mary doing ? " " Saying her prayers." " And who is this ? " " That is the angel." "Why did the angel come to Mary ? " "To tell her that she should have a baby boy." " And what was she to call Him ? " " Jesus." In the other picture the children discovered the house that Mary lived . m, the angel coming to Mary and also the angel coming to Joseph as he was asleep. Evidently the story had been about the Annunciation. " Now, to-day," said the leader, " elder brothers and sisters are going to tell you how the promise that the angel brought was kept, and then you are going to make me a picture of the story m the sand-tray. I want you to remember two or three things — I shall ask you for them when we come together — (i) what the little baby had for His cot ; (2) what He had for His bedclothes, and (^ the name of the town where He was bom." The organ gave us- soft music ; the beginners marched out to their own room, to which. I followed m a few minutes to see them/seated m tiny chairs m a circle while the story was told* by the leader of the grade. In the main roomt the elder brothers and sisters were busily engaged m telling the story to their little class. That the children were interested was apparent from their attitude. The story took five minutes and then sand trays, were produced from the back of the teachers' chairs and the children set to work. I saw the trays afterwards and it was quite evident that the little ones had grasped the main points of the story.; that showed that the young teachar had given the story well,

There was the inll made of white paper — the<leewan with its roof for the travellers— the yard for the animals ('bits of cotton wool) leading into a -cave m the side of the hill. This expression work took ten minutes ; then the organ played soft music again, the beginners came m from their own room, and the Department came into line for the remainder of the service. Holding up a piece of red chalk, the leader said : " This is to write on the board what the baby had for His cradle," and a child came out to write the word " manger." Yellow chalk was used to write what the bedclothes were, and blue the name of the town. The little girl who did this knew the sound of the name but not the spelling, so the leader had to prompt her m a whisper. Then a picture was shown of Joseph and Mary arriving at the inn, and then a model of the inn made by one of the elder brothers. The children picked out the various parts and then the elder brother took the model on his knee for the children to see as they passed him m their march. The beginners carried little blackboards on which they had drawn their picture with chalk, the primary children their sand- trays. As they passed the leader, they gave their work into his hands. Back m their places again, the Secretary came forward to write on the board the offertory for the day and that for the previous Sunday. Then Kathleen is called up to tie with pink ribbon the little slip with baby's name on the little cradle, and g-ravely receives baby's Cradle Roll certificate to take home to mother K'hile the Cradle Eoll Superintendent reads ofi from the Cradle .Roll on the wall the name of the child to show that it has been properly entered. Then comes a new hymn, "Away m a Manger." I was astonished how quickly the children learnt the hymn wlien helped by the elder brothers and sisters. Then came prayer and the Grace ; a moment's pause ; all stand and sing the parting song, il Our Sunday School is over and we are going home," and to a lively march, children and helpers march out to the lobbies. The children's service is over — one m which all the essential parts of Divine service were present : thanksgiving, prayer, intercession, almsgiving, and definite instruction. H. H. ROB JOHNS.