The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1894-08-17

OtlAttn Two tcSchtfN OF MMOSt
grown scholars was so discourag-
ing that my mind has been engaged
all week in trying to unravel the
mystery as to why these girls and
boys At the ages OF u to 10 are SO
disin'trested, know SO little of the
Bible After being invited by our
President, Capt J, NJ. Ferguson
To address this convention, giving
them something on the subject OF
SUNDAY Schools, I've penned a few
.oi my scattered thoughts; Tor to
embrace the subject, broad and
grand as it Is, would require more
time and attention than is allowed
one person.
The keynote, I'm almost per.
suadei, is this We no longer
have the Bible in our schools; We
no laaser have special verses mem
orizcd aud reciteA. Oar boys will
never address n convention either
religious or political with more
pride taan manifested when recit-
ing yrse after Verse from the Bi-
bile, ard these verses learned even
10y litle tots were truly "Seed
sown in good ground, and have
taken ytrlasting root. To prove
it, when We are called upon sud.
denly lor a quotation from the Bi-
Die, one of these very ycrses is first
10 present itself and I'm old togy
enough to advocate the little red,
yellow aud blue tickets, with the
words OF the blessed Master and
the Apostles printed thereon, in
preference to the literature OF to-
day. l hat is, with the little ones ;
Tor II they are properly cared for
they Will be able TO manage the
qnarIerlies in their time. Our
leaflets for Juvenile classes are dis
tributtd after all are in their places ;
little ones are already interested in
each other, aud where we have no
infant room lis hard midst tie
ronluslon TO keep their attention.
In the snort time allowed We have
rarely time To 20 over the lesson,
4iving possibly one question,
around. Those wha can read
wen = little bit have to puzzle their
brains lospell out the wOrds, hay
ing never seen the paper before
school loses, paper has served its
purpose, for another is printed for
next Sunday so lis left upon the
seat, torn. mp, or lost on the way
home, with absolutely nothing ac,
complished thererrom. Would il
not be better To distribute these 8
week in advance, or so back Ia
printed passages Of scripture on
more substantial paper or card
board, having them commit some.
thing to memory?
The Sunday SchGol has been
styled "The nursery of the church
Ought we not then be as anxious Il
ill their minds with these Leauii
full things that live on through
eternity as with mother goose,
melodies and fayorite lalIubies
which they 50 readily grasp in the
nurseries at home, thereby sharing
the responsibility of this early re.
iigious education with the parents
What have we done with ouI
Apostles Creed" is 1t no longer oil
importance? no longer a part OF
religious education? True We
find It printed in our quarterlies
and magazines time after time, but
We no longer require 1t memorized
or repeat 1t in concert as part oil
our worship. Think of it At the
age OF twelve Jesus was coDfound-
ing the wise men, At the age OF
twelve Samuel was called, at the
age of twelve, Moses was ready to
do Gods work, while most of our
boys and girls are feeling them
selves getting too large to attend
Sunday School--ready to quit, and
that without being able To quote a
single passage OF scripture, by no
means educated enough in biblical
lore 10 comprehend one tenth of a
sermon. Therefore the importance
of the situation. We must con
secrate ourselves to tins work more
fully. We must look well to the
little ones and secure their hearts
for Jesus by riveting their minds
and attention upon things that will
last, before they reach even the age
of twelve, if we hope to be able to
be able to have them interested in
more advanced classes.
Are We on the lookout for new
scholars, or just taking our places
regularly ourselves and expecting
the scholars 10 come 10 us? Were
we making up class in music, in
art, would we not, with pencil and
paper canvass the town? True, we
would expect so much per scholar
.ao a r.tnunarafinn for o,,r al :, 4