The Portland daily press., 1889-10-17
IN SESSION AT sAccARAPPA.
state UniversaIist Sunday School
Convention.

day schools of the Universalist denomina-
ton in Maine, and largely from the western
portion, are in attendance upon the annual
convention.
The opening session has been well attend
ed, and from the first the spirit of devotion
and work has been upon the members Vice
President Rackliff of Auburn is presiding,
with Rev. G. G. Hamilton of Oakland, Sec
rotary
The report Of the secretary revealed the
Tact that during the past year there has been
material increase In members and in
schools, and also In additions to the church
from the Sunday schools. The missionary
work begun three years ago, is bearing good
results.
The discussion which followed was earnest
and interesting. This was supplemented
by valuable and very carefully pre-
pared and able address by Rev.
81. S. Whitman of Augusta, on "The
Missionary Work of this Convention" three
points being elaborated. First, missionary
work essential to the growth and develop.
ment of church; second. missionary work
tends to fixed habits in giving; third, our
present system justified by results already
attained. These several points were care
fully and ably elaborated. The speakers
who followed emphasized the thought of the
essay.
Rev. DR.. Stafford spoke at length upon the
possibilities of the missionary field.
The afternoon found the beautiful church
well filed with an audience In harmony
with tho or xunl1 m aad in bo
morning. On account of the absence of the
speakers advertised for the first afternoon.
the address announced for Thursday morn
ing, by Rev. A. d. Church of Berwick, on
"The uome and the Sunday SCHOOL, was
substituted. The abstract we here present:
The Sunday school and the home are close
ly related; so that in treating the subject it
will be impossible not to trench somewhat
upon the fields of the other speakers. The
Sunday school now considered as such, be-
gan to be, less than century ago, but relg-
the beginning of things, religious instruction
was committed to the family as sacred
task and had the heads of all families done
their whole duty. no other form of instruc.
ton would have been needed. They did not,
however, and after the lapse of centuries
good men conceived the idea of organizing
schools to teach Christianity. This Is, not
new idea by any means. AS far back as the
time of Moses church school existed, and
when Jesus was on the earth he followed
the spirit of Sunday school work, when he
went about preaching and teaching and do
ing good. Now that the Sunday school is an
established fact, many parents feel that
their responsibility for the proper religious
instruction of their children is discharged. 1t
Is not So. The responsibility still holds, and
there is the added responsibility of sending
the children to the Sunday school. Not only
should parents send their children to the
Sunday SCHOOL, they should follow them
moral support to the institution. 1t
l. said that children lose
their interest in the Sunday
school when they reach certain maximum
age. They consider it chid's play and will
There is room for all, all ages and classes In
the Sunday school, and as soon as the pres
ent apathetic state of many parents is over
come it is hoped that this will be realized.
In conclusion Mr.. Church remarked: LET
us all appreciate the divine blessings afford
ed US by tine Sunday school. Let us be more
Jealous in its work and surely God will yield
the increase"
Mr.. j. d. Gilbert followed, taking up the
same subject:
A mighty responsibility rests upon us as
fathers and mothers. We must rise to an
appreciation of what fatherhOod aud mother
hood have brought. Prayers and work must
bO bO6CbuCls luclC uluSb U6 u UleuuluR tl
two. You cannot avail yourselves of the
best fruits of the Sunday school unless you
are there yourselves to prove by your pres
ence to your children that you place
All, hi, high hoo estimate tie upon the
in my Sunday school. / appeal to you.
fathers, and to you, mothers, to 60 your
selves aud make their interest yours. If we
do this work we shall see grand men and
women growing up In the next generation.
for Influence commits with the liftla
as that of father and mother.
Discussion of the subject followed, after
which and the singing of a hymn an inter-
esting paper upon "Music in the Sunday
School" was read by DIR. G.. M. Twitchel of
Fairfield:
DR.. Twitchell gave as his text the ques-
ton, what shall we sing?" and said he did
not propose to solve the question, but rather
to raise it. Music, he said, has peculiar
impressiveness, and what is learned through
in the memory. What then shall we sing,
and teach the children in the Sunday school?
Shall it be songs Of sorrow and doubling, or
songs of hope and 10y and the love. and
the future to fiji child's head with ideas Of
total .depravity. and the lost state
of the world which some al
lege; let us in. childhood show
them the beauty Of holiness. the wis
uoni auu BOOunCoo VI 0Ous N Culiu MANURE
Is like certain kinds of stone quarried in the
West which are so soft when first cut as to
be nodded with the hands, but which rapid
ly harden into adamant. Have we any right
then to mold such nature into belief in the
great and dreadful God, when nature and all
around us would teach of His goodness and
love. One fault with our Sunday school mu-
sic is its old-time solemnity and sclidlty.
Camp Meeting John Allen recommended to
the Methodists to adapt some of their
hymns to the popular music of the day
and his advice has been followed
with marked success. We must do
this If we have to teach our children to sing
our hymns Children will sing and If they
cannot sing the songs that are given them in
Sunday school they will sing the songs of the
street.
DIR. Twitchell'S paper was warmly ap-
plauded, and was discussed together with
the preceding essays bv several members.
The following resolution offered by Mr..
Houghton was adopted: - ~,
Resolved: That the board of officers of the AS
ton, to such needy churches as in their judgment
may require aid, sums for such specific purposes
in connection with Sunday school work as may be
designated, provided that the churches raise one
half the requiem sum.
In the evening Rev. c. A. Hayden deliv-
cred an able address on the "Work Needed"
and Rev. Henry Blanchard on "The Place of
Universalism in the Sunday School,"
ENClIygios, ft1n Mhfto