Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-06-06
BE-. Prssident. and Friends of the Con.


done to it; but be that as it may, since
your committee Of arrangements saw fit to
assign to me the duty Of presenting to you
/ the saOriein and Object Of SundaT School
/ Conventions" / shall not excuse myself
nor plead want Of time to prepare, for my
notice Of assignment has been ample, but
for all Of that fear shall not do my sub
/ ject Justice. The first time in our own
land that few noble Sunday School work
ers met together to see what better work
/ they might do for the Master among the
children Of our country, dates many years
/ back in the nations history.
The first national Convention Of Sunday
School workers, l find any record Of, con-
Tened al the Chatham Street Chapel, in the
city Of New York, October Sd, 1892. This
Convention was called by conference Of
supeuntendents and teachers, on the rec
ommendation Of the American Sunday
School Union. Two hundred and twenty
delegates were present from fourteen States
and Territories of the twenty-four States
and four Territories then composing the
American Union. The next national Sun
day School Convention, the second, met at
Philadelphia, May 22d, 1888, less than one
year apart. The third nstional convention
met in the same city, February 22d, 1859,
an elapse Of 26 years. This convention oc-
Cured, as we shall see farther on, in the
same year that our own State OF Ohio held
her first State Sunday School Convention.
The fourth national Convention was held
at Newark, New Jersey, April %, 1869;
here we have an elapse Of ten years. The
fifth convention was held at Indianapolis,
April 18th, 1872, with but three years in
tervening. This one at Newark was the
last national convention held; but We find
them followed by an international Organi-
zatiOn known as the international ConTen-
ton Of the United States and British
America. The first meeting Of this As
sociation Of Sunday School workers met
at Baltimore, May 11th 1872. The
second and last was held at Atlanta,
Georgia, April "a, 1873. The next one Of
these international Conventions is to be
held at Montreal, Canada, in 1881. You
will see that these gatherings Of the lead
ing Sunday School workers Of our own
land and Canada meet but once in three
years; but We have our own yearly gath
eriDgs, like Chautauqua and others, that
bring together earnest Sunday School peo-
pie from all over the land. These places
are becoming famous in educating the peo-
pie up to high standard OF Sunday School
work.
l now come back to our own noble State
Of Ohio. Although much younger than
many States she is almost pioneer in the
Sunday School work. OF the vast army Of
1904. .65O Sunday school scholars in the
United States ouroWn State furnishes over
1-12 Of the whole number. OF the 76.048
Sunday Schools in the entire land Ohio
numbers 6,347. This is q record of which
we NAV well be proud. There are but two
States that furnish more Sunday School
scholars than OhiO-New York snd Penn
sylvania, all other States fall FAR behind US.
We will now look for q short time into
Sunday School work Of the State. The
first Sunday school in Ohio and the second
or third in the United States, vas organ
lied in a private room in the United States
Militsry Barracks, at Marietta, Washing
ton county, in 1719, by Mrs. Mary Lake.
This school continued years and months
and hen closed on account Of the removal
of Mrs. Lake to another point, where she
soon closed her labcrs BY death. The next
Sunday school established was on Massey
Creek, Green county, in 1914, making
nearly IS years between the close of the
first and the opening Of the second school.
From this time on the work made sure and
steady progress, and the time came when
Sunday school workers began to feel the
need of the strength and counsel they could
only get by coming together in Associations
and Conventions, that each might add to
his or her usefulness in the good work, by
the experiences, trials, and triumphs of
others.
The first State Convention for Ohio was
called to meet at Cincinnati, May 18th,
1853, and every year since have the work
ers Of the State met, upto the present time,
making 20 State Conventions, with the one
that is to be held at Akron, June Sd;
where the Sunday School workers of our
own State, have met to devise ways and
means, whereby the good work might be
pushed on, so that every county, town and
hamlet in the State, might feel the in
huenee of the Sabbath School.
Our own county has met in Sabbath !
School Conventions once each year for the |
last eleYen years. The Association was |
first formed and commenced its work ip |
1868. The organization was perfected and |
a constitution adopted at its first meeting |
in Ashtabula, July %, 1858. I might name
each place where we have met, but deem
that necessary.
Now, from what of the growing interest |
even here to-day, by the goodly /
numbers, and the zeal and the good words, |
for the work, who will say that they have
not blessings to Us all, infusing new energy |
aad new love for the Masters cause into /
our own hearts, and that they have helped |
US all in the Sunday school work. Much |
more might be said on this branch of my \
subject, but the time allotted is so short, /
that it is difficult to tell just what should
be said, for there is so much that must be
left unsaid. This now brings me to the |
second part-0f my subject, '!The object of
Sunday School Conventions"
It is very necessary that We should fully |
the object Of our coming to-
gether, that we may best improve the short |
time that we, as SundaysschOol workers Of
Ashtabula county, have once year to help |
each other in our home work. Our object /
in coming here ought to be to awaken an
earnest, honest and intelligent enthusiasm |
in the Sunday School work Of the county; |
to impart to each other all the information /
that we in our fields OF labor have gained
by personal experience; in the methods of |
teschiug and organizing new
work, that have been most successful in /
the extension Of the Sunday School cause.
Our work, as an organization, is to pro-
mote the intelligent study of the word Of
God. Many people read the Bible most
but do not study it. They do
not realize the Importance Of its study. |
Hundreds of our church members are not
in our Bible classes, and many Of their
children even are not in our Sunday School.
This might be enlarged upon. But again,
outside Of church members and their chill
iren, there are hundreds in every commu-
nifty, both parents and children that do not
attend either church or Sunday school.
They all ought, and must be reached. We
come here to learn how to better accom-
plish this particular work, that all in our
preached to them, and TO learners of it in
our Sunday Schools Again, there is moth
ing in this world so softenlng, and at the
same time so harmonious as the vocal mu-
SIC. Many of the true christian songs Of
to-day, awake echoes in dead hearts that
nothing else can reach. Many deaf sin
ner has been sung into a christian life;
many a poor bowed down inebriate has
been sung up into pure sobriety and led
10 look to God for help in his hour of trial,
and temptation. / can't but think of the
rewards from song that awaited the noble
Bliss as he assembled up into heaven in the
chariot Of fire from the depths Of that
dreadful abyss over yonder few miles, at
Ashtabula.
Let us then learn how best to teach these
songs to our children. Let US learn better
md better to use this power God has given
ba bo,,,o W. 1