Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-06-30
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
FOUNDED IN 1871 By A PRINTER
OF WORCESTERSHIRE

10" Robert RaiHes Was Led TO Organ
lie the First Sunday School-Why tn
scheme Attracted General Attention
Historical Items OF Interest.
Sunday schools were founded about til
close OF the year 1871 by Robert Raikes.
printer In Gloucestershire Business lead
ing him into the suburbs of the tow
inhabited By the lowest class of people. b
was surprised by seeing multitudes o
niseraoly ragged children who made tn
oaooath day carnival Of noise and riot
IN which cursing and swearing had larg
part.
To check this PROCLAMATION of the Lord.
Gay he engaged four women, teachers O.
week day schools to instruct such chill
oren as he should send them on the Sunday
In reading and the church catechism, fol
which they were to receive one shilling
! each.
q visible improvement being effected in
Snort time, both in the manners ano
morals OF the children Mr. Raikes' scheme
attracted general attention Her majesty
Queen Charlotte admitted him to an audi.
ence' and expressed high appreciation OF
hls plan Numerous schools formed on
the same model sprang up in the principal
towns, and a society. under high patron
age. was formed in London in 1855 for the
establishment and support Of Sunday
SCHOOLS throughout the kingdom. This
was the hrst stage Of the Sunday school
GRATUIToUs INSTRUCTION.
a great impeachment to prosperity was
the expense of hiring the teachers. 1t is
not certain who first conceived the idea of
gratWtous instruction, but this in time
came about. and the result was that by the
year 1870 teaching in the Sunday school
was almost universally without remun
ton.
In 1913 the Sunday School union was
formed which. by it's numerous pubica.
IONS agents and branch societies in the
different parts Of the kingdom, exercised
a wide influence The Institute of the
Church of England. which operated tn a
like manner. is of similar date.
Scotland boasts of SUNDAY schools "a
early as 1882 But it was not till 1856.
when the Society for Promoting ReIigi
Gus knowledge among the Poor was
formed, that they were publicly recog-
nlzed, nor until 1897. when the first Free
Sunday School society was organized,
that free Sunday schools became general
AT first these met with considerable op
position from portions Of the ecclesiasti-
cal court, but this soon vanished. and
Sunday school unions existed in most of
the large towns
Sunday schools in.Ireland had been in q
anticipated in County Down in
ITO. but the system pursued by MIR.
Raikes was not adopted till about 1885
since which date it's system has been
similar to that of England
In Ireland the Sunday School society
was established in 1909
The Roman Catholics, in the United
Kingdom at least, havenumerous Sunday
schools.
THE FIRST IN AMERICA.
The First Day or Sunday School society.
formed in Philadelphia in 1891. is the first
permanent Sunday school organization in
the United States of which there is trust.
worthy record 1t was composed of members
II different denominations, including the
Society of Friends It's constitution re.
Iuired that reading and writing from the
8ible and such other religious and moral
books as the society approved should fur.
lish the course Of instruction The New
[ DIRK Sunday School union was organized in |
SIG. the Philadelphia Sunday and Adult |
school union one year later. These three /
oci,aties recognized the union of different /
examinations. and led to the organization |
f the American Sunday School union at
in 1924 The object of this |
nion was to concentrate the efforts Of /
unjay school societies in different sec |
ions of the United States. and to start |
chools wherever there were children
ouId In sufficient numbers to attend them
1t naturally came about that as new
tates were settled and she various demon
1ations were strengthened. increased
ttention was given by each to its own
unday schools, and UNCONVENTIONAL unions
} promote these were formed As years
assed, the question book was added to
he EXPERIMENTATION. and.at length in q
reat degree superseded it. Later on
anne lesson helps. texts. maps. black
oard exercises. etc. In the earlier schools
sward tickets were given and when these
ed sufficiently accumulated they were
kchanged for books. This stimulated
10 production Of works.of a character
litable TO young minds. and from this
IS been developed the Sunday school