The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-09-11


ing the coming year.
Within the past FIVE years Sunday-schools
existed in the following places: Abingdon Au-
rora, Columbia City, Fairfield, Lafayette Man
chester, Mier, New Albany, North Vernon.
Union Perry county,, Union Union county,,
Union City, Vevay, Saluda, whitesville, Wood
ville-sixteen places; why they have been dis
continued is worthy of our serious considera-
ton. How many of these can be revived, and
in what way is the question of the hour. The
situation is humiliating. Instead of engaging
in aggressive work and considering how to es
tablish new schools and plant our banner in
new fields, we to-day are driven to the neces-
sity of considering how TO regain lost ground.
These sixteen dormant Sunday-schools five
years ago represented nearly 700 pupils.
By the discontinuance of these schools this
magnificent flock of Universalist Sunday
school children have been turned adrift, with
out proper religious instruction, prey to de-
leterious partialistic influences, as evidenced
by the numbers that have been drawn into
the orthodox churches. All. or at least some,
of these schools must be revived. 1t Is vital
question. 1t is the que stion. Better let the
old folks do without preaching and concen-
trate energy on a Sunday school than spend
your resources in maintaining occasional
preaching. ignoring the Sunday-school. The
Sunday-school is the nursery of the Church.
The horticulturist well understands that to
keep bis orchard vigorous, growing its ranks
full. he must not neglect his nursery. So with
the Church. Deaths and removals will thin
the ranks of every society. The best recruit
| ing station is the Sunday-school. l earnestly
urge that committee be appointed by this
Convention to take under consideration the
| possibility of reviving some or all of our dor
maDt schools and the establishment of new
| ones. To a small extent the Sunday-school
| Convention is in a condition to extend help.
| ing hand. Two years ago it donated singing
books to the Lafayette Sunday school, and
when that school was discontinued the books
were transferred to the Indianapolis Sunday.
school, where they are doing good service.
know that in a number of instances-as at
| Fairfield, North Vernon, Columbia City, La
fayette, New Albany and Whitesville the chief
obstacle to success lies in the difficulty of OBJ
tanning suitable superintendent. At Aurora
| we could have Sunday-school but have no
| house to meet in; at Vevay, Union Union
county, Terre Haute, the complaint is lack of
children; at Mier, Manchester and Saluda, the
membership is widely scattered and many of
the pupils would be obliged to travel from
!
But some of the difficulties confronting us
can be overcome If we awake to the situation
and rise to the occasion. We must command
a halt. During the past five years five new
schools have been organized and sixteen dis
continued Is this growth? Is not this con-
dition of affairs worth inquiring into? 1 have
been presenting some disceuraging features
Let us consider the other side of the picture
| TwQ houa haa, in
during the past year. enrolling nearly 1900 pu-
pills. average attendance, $50. Ofthe fifteenUni-
versaist societies that have been blessed with
revivals during the past year thirteen received
accessions from the ranks of their Sunday
| schools. The average attendance of these
| thirteen schools was 6SS. They furnished
| ffty-fve new members or eight per cent of
the attendance, or thirty-three per cent of
the entire accessions in the State. The Sc
facts speak for themselves. They demon
strate most certainly the Importance of the
relation sustained by the Sunday-school to the
Church.
l have discovered that several schools do
without a service book aud several use ortho
dex singing books. l would especially recon.
mend the first to procure the " Year of wor-
ship" and the others to use Straubs Morn
ing Light" or Living Fountain" Two of
our schools had been persuaded to use Cook
publications; in both instances 1 succeeded
in effecting a change to our own literature.
| About dozen of our Sunday-schools are
| loyal to the Sunday school Convention and an
nually pay in their dues. Several others have
| paid about every other year, and several seem
! to think the Convention has no claim upon
| them. The dues apportioned according to
| the average attendance, five cents per capita,
are as follows: I'VE omit table of twenty-one
| schools.l
We hope that every Sunday-school will
Loyalty pay its dues at the present session. If
not prepared to do so, then remit the amount
at an early date, to the Secretary. who will re-
ceipt for the same. Two years ago, at the
Fl. Wayne meeting of this Convention, the
minute book of the Convention, containing
| our constitution and bylaws, was unfortu.
nately, lost. 1t becomes necessary for this
Convention to Immediately adopt new con-
stitution and code of bylaws.
We learn with great satisfaction that at a
number of county Sunday sehoc. Institutes
| representatives from Universalist Sunday
schools have been fairly recognized and
granted equal privileges with Others In at
tendance This is as it should be- We hope
will bravely and respectfully stand for their
rights and claim recognition as workers in
the army of our common Lord and Master
All of which is respectfully submitted.
r. N. JOHN. Recording Secretary,
Universalist Sunday school Convention of
Indiana.
Following the reading Of this report,
somewhat general discussion was had
on various features of the document.
In regard to the suspended schools, it
was urged that the Secretary be re-
quested to undertake their revival dur
ing the current year. DR.. Demarest
spoke on the practicability of family
Sunday schools, and urged that the
school be not suspended any time in the
year. j. M. Bulla explained the con-
dition of country schools, and how diff
cult it was to continue sessions during
the winter. The question of Sunday
school literature was discussed. Is it
right for Universalist schools to patron
ize the papers or helps of other denom-
nations? F. j. Waldo, of Rising Sun,
convulsed the audience by some sharp
criticisms on our own Sunday-school
paper, commencing, however, the fourth
page. DR.. Cantwell invited the Indiana
schools to contribute to the Myrtle and
thus make il more valuable. The trand