The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1895-11-14


SCHOOL CONVENTION IN WINTHROP,
ME-, OCT. :, 1895.
To THE EDITOR OF The Journal: The
following paper was read by Miss Charlotte
L. Sibley of Your city at the State Sunday
School Association recently held in Win
throp. 1T was one of the finest papers read
at the convention. Belfast has reason to be
proud ef sher local taleLt. | secured the IA
per amt send ii to yen ever. without the
knowledge Of Miss Slbley. Its publication
know must do good. l hope it may find
place in Your excellent paper
A MEMBER OF CONVENTION.
Childhood is the worlds rainbow of
promise. With each generation God ere
ates the world anew-new hopes. new
possibilities, new ideals blossom in every
field OF life where child buds bloom, and
children are Indigenous to every soil.
They grow where grass and flowers can
not grow, even in the desert sands of
Egypt.
In Assiant on the Nile went one morn
ing to Sunday school service and within
that bare, white washed chapel | found
more sunshine than dwells in blue Egyp-
tian skies or dances on the ripping eddies
OF the Nile. On the children faces the
sun shone and stars Of happiness sparkled
voices they sang together Arabic hymns
set to good old-fashioned Scotch psalm
tunes. We could not understand the
Arabic, but we knew what the collection
box meant; and the children studied with
delight the gold coins which we dropped
into the box. In and out of the open
windows flew the swallows, unheeded.
unframed. One little bird alighted above
the speakers head. another stood beside
him on the platform. | am told that they
build their nests within the chapel. conf
dent that Gods house is their home. 50
''the birds of the air have nests The
children We're more shy than the birds.
Custom requires that the girls and boys
shall he curtained off from each other,
and the girls We're 50 timid that when one
OF our number. himself a good minister,
sat down on the end OF a bench beside one
oil them, she rose and departed to dis
tant conner 81 the room. On the faces Of
native children in Egypt. both Copts and
Mohammedans | had seen only hunger,
pathG> hupeles>ness, or a flash of mo
mentaly nirth which but served to show
ms life darker background. But here in
this ScAoNlrvum a missionary teacher from
Ohio, with faithful love and patient BRAY
cry pours enduring sunshine into the
tidi hlltSS VA Itludu HtHllS. ne bDNs anu
girls in the mission schools are believe,
the en.y truly happy children in those
eastern lands.
Christian Endeaver and the sunday
sehoo! are both children Of the Church
and owe duties to each other and pre-em-
inentN to Tie Church. Every lite has
three phases-duty. privilege, power.
~ cu ought YOU may. you can
are words which are daily heard by all OF
us. Duty. privilege, power are the three
glaces WHICH stand guard At the door of
true success. They are the handmaideus
Of all real religion, by their guidance
alone We enter into abundant life.
Endeavorers ought to help the Sunday
school Oar pledge commits US to whole
hearted labor in behalf of the church.
The sunday school is the embryonic
church, the church in it's childhood.
hence we are committed by our pledge to
whole-hearted labor in its behalf. Chill
dren are born into the church as truly as
they are born Into the family or into the
State. The church OF God should and
does include all mature believers and all
little children. At Pentecost Peter said,
The promise is unto you and to your
children In the New Testament where
mature person accepted Christ it is al
must tdheu loI SIdHteu llldl NE uIluSS
that whole household to a belief in the
Messiah. Witness such records as these:
Lydia believed and her household, 'ssThe
jailer believed and his household The
names of all Roman Catholic children are
found on the church rolls. Perhaps you
have heard Of the conversation between a
mother and her fouI-year- old boy. She
was preparing to attend a special church
meeting. Mamma. y he asked, may
go too?f You cannot she replied
'.for it is only church members who meet
this evening but. mamma" he ask
ed again, ''do | not belong to the
church, She said, 'sOnly those belong
to the church who believe upon Jesus r
In a still more aggrieved tone the little
pleader asked, Mamma, do not believe
upon Jesus?''
AS soon as Endeavorers realize That to
the children as well as to the mature the
church belongs, that on the children de-
ponds the future welfare of the church,
we Shall understand that duty requires us
to works IN and for the Sunday school.
There is another phrase in our pledge
which enjoins such works upon us. 81
promise Christ that | will strive to dc
whatever he would like to have me do, =
and Christ's commands were imperative
to come unto me and forbid them not
'sWho shall receive one little child in my
name receiveth me. But whose shall
cause one Of these little ones which be
lieyeth on me to stumble who dares Il
finish that imprecation? And after his
resurrection Christ gave to Peter, the i'm
petuous, the penitent, His last and high
est command, Feed my lambs.' In the
last century Thomas Fuller, who has beer
called in the pulpit the fore-runner of oul
Emerson in literature, said in the quaint
phraseology of his day, "Did not oul
Saviour say, even to Saint Peter himself
Feed my lambs, feed my sheep?' Ano
why lambs first? First, because they were
lambs before they we're sheep. Second
because, if they be not fed whilst lambs
they could never be sheep. Third, be
cause sheep can in some sort feed them
selves; but lambs (such their tenderness
must either be feed or famish. ''It i.
much easier" says one. ITO stop before
SHINING than to stop snning'' Children
are still pure. A little help and care may
keep them pure.
1t is privilege for Endeavorers to work
in the Sunday school. 1t is our privilege
as a society. From the Sunday school we
gather recruits for our own ranks and in
crease our membership. 1t is our priv
lege as individuals.
We keep our youth by contact will