, 1880-12-24
The Sunday School and the Church.

ton. From small start at the COM
mencement, this Christian work has
grown to assume immense proportions
and to WELD mighty influence for good
on the young, verifying the words of
Scripture, ''despise not the day of small
things" In many instances it has had
its effect in the after life OF those instruct
ed in it. So that in Christian lands every
Sunday thousands upon thousands of chill
dren assemble to hear words that tend to
everlasting lie and to learn their duty to
God and man. Great for good has been
its influence on the youth OF successive
generations since its commencement
hundred years ago.
But there is one danger that negligent
parents are apt to fall into, and that is to
throw the responsibility of the religious
education Of their children entirely on the
Sunday School, as if by sending them
there they had done their entire duty and
had nothing more to do. Whereas this Is
not the case. 1t Is the parents duty to
see that the children are thoroughly pre-
pared in their lesson before they 60. If
this were done there would not be the
many excuses from the, children Of their
not having been able to learn the lesson,
or the frequent one of lost book or leaflet,
which is so discouraglng;to the teacher.
There is another evil, and one which |
would bring particularly to the attention
of parents, and that is the substituting the
Sunday School for the services Of the
Church. Parents seem to think that il
the children attend the Sunday School
every Sunday it is sufficient, and think
nothing of negIeCting the Church service.
We are sure that it was far from the in-
tention Of the founders Of the Sunday
School that it should ever take the place of
services of the Church. 1t is as it were
nursery, in which the young are taught at
first the rudiments Of Christianity, and
then fed with stronger meat as they are
able to bear it. They learn about the
Church, its teachings, its claims &C., all
of which would rather lead them to love
and attend 1t, instead OF keeping them
away.
Every child when it has arrived at a
mature enough age to understand the ma
ture OF worship and the necessity of at
tenton and devout behavior in Gods
house should attend once at least on Sum
day. At present it is not so. Many come
TO Sunday School regularly who seldom
or never attend the Church service. This
ought not to be. know no better way
to bring about better attendance than
that the parents, or one if they cannot
both leave home at the same time. should
conduct their family to Gods house and
see them all In their places and by their
own presence help 10 insure the proper
bel avior of the children.
1t is astonishing how little some chill
dren know of worship in the church. A
short time since boy and girl came into
the church little while before service
commenced, and each took a seat In a dit
ferent part of the Church. A lady re-
II arked, "are they not brother and sister,
why do they not sit together" Aud then
turning to them she asked the reason, and
the little boy replied. "Oh, we are not
in the same class" lie knew so little OF
the Service Of the Church that he lmag-
ined 1t was Sunday Sceool he was attend
ing and so each took their accustomed
seat where their classes were won't to sit.
And this is not an uncommon instance of
ignorance on the part of children in re.
gard to the worship in the Church. With
a iew exceptions | am afraid number of
children know as little about Ii. Let the
children attend one Service at least ON
Sunday. Those who are able to attend
several hours morning and evening every
day in the school house, are surely able to
join in worship with Gods people for
about an hour or little over once week
ia the Lord s house, rs well as attend the
Sunday School. DO not let the children
grow up in ignorance of the Services nor
unaccustomed TO attend them. Let alb
scmce from the worship on Sunday be the
exception. aid not vice versa as is the case
now, We would not wish to bo under
stood as { we would deteriorate from the
value of the Sunday School; on the con-
trary we deem it noble work and It hasa
weighty itluclice for good MS we remark.
ed before and we say God bless it and
may it yield hundred-fold more in good
fruit than 1t has done, but we would cau-
ton Parents that when they see that their
children neglect not the one duty they
take care also that they neglect not the
other, namely, the duty OF attending ON
Sunday the worship in he church.
EnNV Ann nANV,