The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1884-05-01
ENGLAND PRAIRIE.

To the Editor of the Northern Pacific Farmer
DEAR s1R:-The people Of England Prairie
have h nd transition. Farm work now employs
all our muscle, and politics and elections employ
all our minds, while all the lately exciting religi
GUS meetings, the Good Templars and the Sunday
School are alike neglected. The pressing Spring
work, which demands a weekly rest-day, may ac-
count for some neglect of the two former institu-
tions, but this can hardly excuse the neglect, or
abandonment of the Sunday School. The children
attend the district school, and not generally
and laboriously employed as to prevent their at
tendance upon ordinary Sunday School exercises,
and there are always grown people sufficiently in
terested in the welfare of children to act their
teachers. What then has caused the Sunday
School to die out! The bad roads and the cold
weather suspended it for time, but these are not
accountable for its total suspension. The true
cause is that the children not willing to attend
because they are detained so long that they get
tired aud all interest in their Lessons end ex-
erciees, and only anxious to be dismissed. The
School was opened at $50 a. m. Whenever tho
lessons were finished the church services began,
and when these were finished the Class meeting
began; and the weary children had to sit through
all these three long, and often tedious exercises
without any intermission, from 9:30 a. m. till p.
M, four and half hours! This long penance Of
Sunday exercises has already disguised the child
rem, and made them unwilling to attend, and, if
it were continued, and the children compelled to
attend it would cause them an everlasting injury.
I say this advisedly, because have known go
many whose religious bias was warped and de-
stroyed by such Sunday discipline. A near friend
Of mine says: ''Just to think of the weary hours
have passed in these tedious exercises when
was boy makcs my back ache now, after twenty
years, and dread and avoid all religious meetings
to this day, as consequence" am credbly in
formed that the infdel Ingersol was driven by
similar tedious Sunday discipline first, to seek ex
cuses to avoid it, and, in rctalaton to find faults
in all religions, and advocate open infdelity.
These are samples of the evils which attend the
splicing out of our devotions to a resome length
1t is the mistaken idea THAT we will be heard for
our much speaking, which Christ 80 emphatical-
ly condemned.
In contrast with this is the benefits VIII ich
attend SIMPLE Sunday school which is short,
lively and interesting from the opening to the dis
missal. In such school each teacher and schol-
lar is fully occupied in having their own particu
lar part in the exercises perfect, and in perform
ing their paris correctly Thus they gain knowl
ejge Of religious truths which will guide and
direct them in difficulties and danger, aud which
they would never other,yise learn as long they
live. Even the habit of thus spending the sabbath
is safe guard against many tenn ptations. A
friend Of mine who lived among the early miners
of California and Australia, said: ~ often
observed thvt a man might drink, gamble, or in
dugc in other bad habits, but ii he keptthesabbath
day holy he was copari lively safe and prosperous
| yuho IN 1T hQr nd hc min he =
teetotalcr and abjure all other vices, but if he
joined in the horde of Sabbath breakers, he was
compelled to do as they did, and was soon as
profligate and vicious as the rest, and could
seldom be reclaimed as the Sabb ath keepers gen.
orally were." Ny personal experienced is in unison
with this. I have been in many perilous sltua-
rions and been subjected to tenfold greater tempt
ations than the average Of mankind; yet the early
formed habit IF resting upon the Sabbath day
and attending its ordinances, has carried me
through all these in comparative safety and
has thus saved me from becoming total repro.
bate
These are good reasons for 30 conducting this
Sunday school that the children will attend il
willingly, and to this end it was proposed thai
the scholars should be dismissed when their lessons
were ended, aud go home or remain through the
preaching and class meetings as they choose. But
| the preacher insisted that all should remain
| through the whole programme, and there has
| been no Sunday school here since.
Anothe>effort will be made on the first Sunday
in May, to com promise the various opinions OF
| the teachers and preachers who control this Sab.
| bath school. and try to get it established on q
permanent basis. Yours, D.
April 30th. 1884.