The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-09-19
THE CONVENTION CLOSES.
Twelfth Annual Session Of the Mon
tana Christian Association
ct Helena
Visiting Members Well Pleased
with Their Reception and
Work Done.
\ Paper On Duty - the Sunday sehesl
Attracts . Great Deal OF
Attention.

Thu twelfth annual session Of the Mol
tsna Christian association which oloses u
day 10 considered : successful ons, =
though the attendance was mot 40 large Z
anticipated. The session commenced Q
SAINT. Ii. A number of exeellent paper
were read in connection with other busi
ness transacted. Great interest was AXE
In The following paper read BY NJ. ~
Davis on the "Duty OF Parents II IN
Chureh to the Sunday Schools"
The subject assigned me il both lars
and important, and therefore in the tim
allotted me can only be treated in . mos
general way. But to some of Ito funda'
mental and practical phases | call your At
tsntion. 1t 10 . suggestive fact that tn
last utteranoe of the Old Tsstament con-
Germs parents and children. Behold.
send You Elijah the prophet before ,tht
great and dreadful day OF the Lord; and h
shall turn the heart OF the fathers to thu
children, and the heart ofthe children to th'
fathers, least l como and smits the eartf
with . ~curse;" Nal. 4:5. 6 A long silence
follows; four hundred years pass away. anc
shs next recorded message from the skies il
that of the angel to Zachariah in his houi
Of trouble, saying: Fear not Zacharlah,
for thy prayer il heard, and thy wife Eliza
beth shall bear thee . son, and thou shai,
call his name John;' Luke l: ID. Thus the
Old Testament closes and the New Tesla
msut opens with the thought OF
psrent and child, the thought Of the ques-
ton to which ] o call your attention.
The question az stated by your committee.
DUTY Of parents and the church to the
Sunday school," suggests q twofold divls-
ion and, 10 I will treat it.
.Duty of Parents to the Sunday School,"
Under this head l will mention: They
should see that their children attend the
school. An angel must think 1t strange
that after 1900 years of the Christian re-
work Of tho Sunday school. the nursery of
the church, Christian parents should have
to bo urged to see that their children at
tend this school, But, alas! such is the
case, They will see that they attend liter
AIRY schools, willingly. if they choose. but
unwillingly, il they must; but in this mat
ter they strangely reason that II they wish
to 20 they may do 10. but otherwise they
do not feel that il II right to force then-
they might become ~prejudiosd against the
church and Christianity, and 30 they allow
them to run on the streets with the
very worst boys, 20 to the base ball game.
hunt, fish. almost anything they choose,
however vile and vicious. and then these
parents think it strange that as these
BOYS land sometimes girls, too), grow into
their perilous teens, they do not love the
church and come into her sacred folds.
They send for the pastor and ask him to
make special effort to save them. n
when the evangelist comes and other young
people by the scores n BY the hundreds
are tlooking TO the Cross. they become ter
ribly aroused. and they expect him in u
month to undo ths fatal work which they
have been doing for a dozen years. There
are thousands of parents with bleeding
hearts all over our land, who in this way
have forged the cruel blade that his
pierced their bosoms.
There is another class of parents who
wish their children to attend Sunday
school, but they are not careful as to the
school they attend. and so they often go to
other schools, are taught the doctrine Of
another church, form pleasant associations
there. and then naturally become member
of that church in spite OF the tears, en-
treaties and protests of their parents. l
would therefore say that if you have con-
victions which have led you into the Chris
tian church, zee that your children attend
its Sunday school, and thus take advantage
of the plastic period of childhood and
mould them into sue Christians al you
think the new testament teaches. But if
you are q sort OF aabby Christian. ana in
this church by accident, why | suppose this
10 zoo much to expect of you.
You notice | do not say you should send
your children, or that you should bring
them. but simply that yoa should see that
they attend; bring them if you can, send
them If you must. Most parents could, and
therefore should, attend with their chill
dren. The excuses they urge for not doing
Be, in the main, are simply e1cuses. not rea-
sons, and miserably poor excuses at that.
The habit of long maps on Sunday morning
is simply sinful slothfulness. If there 10 q
real demand for extra rest on this day, as il
often the case. why not take it i'll the after
noon2 Ii the same material reward ex-
listed on Sunday as on Monday the same
time of rising would be observed. Thu
custom of reading the Sunday paper, al
WAYS a large one, and filled with sensa-
open transoms, and the like. will at the day
Of judgment, If not sooner, prove to be i,
source of keenest regret. And of course
there ia nothing in the old thlead-bare OK
cuse that the Sunday school is for chiidreE
only. 1t is principally for them; but still il
there was not q child in the church v.
should have a Sunday school.
But there are those who cannot attend
Mothers with large families and no help dc
we'll 10 send their childten. while they re-
Rain at homo and do the work, and thsr
attend the morning service at church.
They should assist their children in learn
ing the Lessons. To ths child which know,
nothing of the lesson, the school is of littls
profit, n often Of loss interest. But tt
the one we'll instructed there is tho sems
JOY that he possesses on Monday, when
with we'll prepared lesson. he bounds int
the recitation room. But how shall thu,
assistance be rendered? Many of thes,
parents are az ignorant of the Bible as the,
are of geometry. and how can they in
Struct their chiidren! This is d strong, bu,
not an insupersbis difficulty. With tn,
literature nov in all our schools, preoaret
by the best scholars OF the land, one is mex
cusable for not knowing the lessons. Bu,
there are many who will not STUDY tn,
helps even when brought to them by tbsi,
children. What shall be lone in their case,
] would rganlze them into u homo depart
mont OF the Sunday school, IL phHse of Sun.
day school work now 30 successfully usec
III many OF our best schoois. Let the righ'
man be chosen sa superintendent Of
this department., and le. .hes,
parents who can not attsne
thS school be furnished will
the same lessons ind literature. and will
proper blanks for full reports; in a word
let them be organized into U distinct school
doing their work and Is families, ra,he
than at church and In mass, and once
month let the superintendent gather n,
these reports and combine them into Oh.
general report which shall show the worl
of thiS department of ths Sunday school
In this way, rs has already been done in
many places. these parents are induced /,
study the lessons and thus become able /,
assist the children.
Another great aid would be to attend th
teachers meeting whenever it was possible
Won aAA I uuNrn TINT Avar0 " "A onl..' -