Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1880-11-03
The Children's Portion.

What | wish to advocate is the introduc.
tion of suitable words for the children in the
regular sermons on the pulpit. At least one
in every three who come to our churches is a
child under twelve In every congregation of
worshipers there is a congregation of chill
dren. Sunday brings to those young hearts
a certain stir of expectation. Everything
is different from other days the very prep
arations announce that it is to some great
festival the family are going. The thoughts
of the children are set toward the great oc-
casion. Sunday after Sunday they 90 to
church with expectations in their hearts, and
Sunday after Sunday, in the majority Of our
churches, this expectation is not recognized,
their presence is not felt, they are not once
addressed, the Psalms and hymns do not
express thoughts which touch them, the SER
mon is in a language they cannot under
stand, and at length the great occasion has
come to an end, the people are going back to
their homes, but not one word has been
spoken to the children, who, nevertheless,
though despised members, are members of
the church. Think of the immense number
OF children who come up to the public SER
vice Sunday after Sunday and are disap-
pointed in their expectations which keep
growing smaller and smaller, until at last
the pathetic habit is formed of expecting
nothing. What desire is that we provide
for them portion of the service, to which
they shall look forward and by which their
spiritual lives shall be fed. The Presbyte-
rian church has never known time when
| the religious training of her children was
not the subject of deepest interest to her.
Perhaps the greatest monument of the Pres
byterian church's interest in the religious
training of children is its catechism. ! was
brought up, theologically speaking, in the
Westminster catechism. Nothing that am
about to say implies the suggestion that our
catechism should be laid aside; but [ am
bound to say that the best years of my child
hood were passed before 1 understood it..
1t was to me an unattractive text book. In
childhood it is the imagination that is most
powerfully developed. My suggestion is
that we should recognize this condition of
mind. We should set ourselves to meet
this susceptibility of childhood by truth set
in imaginative forms-by stories. l offer
the following as suggestions which / think
are practicable in giving portion of the
church service to the children. In churches
where two lessons are read in the morning
service, the second might be set apart for
the children. In churches where instru-
mental music is used the time consumed in
playing over the tunes, if gathered together,
would probably give all the time that is re.
quired. In churches where duet and quar-.
tette singing is allowed the proper place
would be there. In churches where there
are neither two lessons nor quartette or duet
singing, l suppose l am not far from the
fact in supposing that the sermon is at least
three-quarters OF an hour in length. Let
the minister cut it down to thirty minutes
He will thereby have done two good things
He will have greatly improved the working
quality of the sermon, and will have found
a good quarter of an hour for his words tc
the children. Our purpose is not entertain
ment, but instruction. Therefore, in select
ing stories suitable for this work, it is nee
essary that they have in them more or less Of
the primitive principles of religion. Morbid
stories can only work evil in young minds
The great purposes of the gospel is life, moi
death. The stories should be brimful o.
life; they should be such stories as g t.
make boys brave and honorable and girl
tender-hearted and pitiful, with the pity ano
tenderness of God. The stories should b,
moral, but they should not be such as in tn,
name Of religion discredit morality.