Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-06-14

the year, the tenth international Sun
day school convention. is to meet in
Denver from June % to 80. From 1000
to 200 Sunday school workers are ex-
pected to attend. The international
convention is a delegated body repre-
senting auxiliary associations and
standing Tor the organized cooperation
of Sunday school interests. The inter
national lesson is the chief fruit of the
association. and while the information
al convention meets but triennially,
there is held under its auspices 10000
or moro annual local conventions.
Through these the best and most prac.
teal methods are promoted, the stand.
ard OF teaching is raised and Sunday
school extension is furlIered. One of
the functions of the international con
v~ention is the election of a lesson COM
mittee to prepare the international
series for 1906-1911. The committee
to be appointed this year will be unus-
uaily important. because since the ap-
pointment of the present committee in
1896 the whole field of Sunday school
teaching has received unusual atten-
ton from specialists in pedagogy. and
a comparatively new psychology of re-
ligious training has come TO the front
and must be considered by the new
committee. The whole subject of Sun
day school curricula will be thoroughly
discussed in the convention. and some
radical changes in methods and les
sons would not be unexpected.
Two Live Questions.
There are, for instance. two live
questions to come Deiore the Denver
meeting, on both OF which much 1eel-
ing exists. One of tnem is whether the
number of temperance lessons shall be
decreased. Under the present arrange
ment four temperance lessons are in
t~erjected each year into the otherwise
consecutive and logical series. Pres
sure will be brought at Denver to have
this number reduced to two. Many
think that these special lessons ought
to ne taken out altogether. but friends
of temperance instruction will stoutly
oppose such a course, and may even
fight the proposed reduction.
The otner live question is the break
ing of the uniformity of the lessons.
This uniformity has already been
broken in some slight measure by the
adoption OF a senior series. If this be
done the uniformity of the information
al series will disappear. probably for
ever. and with that uniformity will go
much of the reason for the existence of
such lessons and the selecting commit
tee.
Some of the Criticisms.
Criticism of the lesson committee
has been frequent of late, especially
since what may be called the pedagogy
of the SUNDAY school has been better
understood, but much of the criticism
is unjust, because based upon ignor-
ance or the plan o. as appointment and
its spirit. The committee came into
existence at Indianapolis in 1872 and
is. first and last, only a committee of
selection. 1t does not prepare exposi-
tons of the lessons; these are entirely
the product OF publishing houses and
their writer's. The committee has al
ways asked advice and suggestion
from outside. Biblical scholars and
Sunday school workers being asked to
cooperate in order that lessons which
may best meet the needs of the entire
constituency of the series will be Sc
lected. How large this constituency
is, was told at the Atlanta convention
in 1899, when it was reported that 49,
Oo4, 72S pupils in North America were
studying these lessons from Sunday to
Sunday. The lesson committee is com
posed OF fifteen American members
and a British section OF eight CORE
~spondents. All the members are elect
ed by the international convention,
itself a delegated body. The present
committee consists OF join Potts, ID.
d., Ontario. Methodist. chairman; A. Z.
Cunning. ID. D., Boston, Congregation
al. secretary; j.. NJ. suffer. ID. D., Penn
sylvania, Baptist; b. f. Jacobs, Chi
cago. Baptist; j. l. ID. Kinds, Phi. D.,
Tennessee, Cumberland Presbyterian;
b. b. Tyler, ID. d., Denver, disciples of
Cnrist; j. S. Stair. ID. D., Lancaster.
Pa, Reformed; j.. II. Sampey, ID. d.,
Louisville. Baptist; II. w. Warren, ID.
D.. Denver. Methodist; A. F. Schau-f
fer, ID. D., New York. Presbyterian: L.
b. Kephart, d. d.. Baltimore, United
Brethren; John r. Pepper. Memphis,
Southern Methodist; w. w. Moore, ID.
d., Virginia, Presbyterian; Mosheim
Rhodes. l.. D., st. Louis, Lutheran; f
|. ReXford, Montreal, Episcopal. OF the
British section, six reside in London,
one in Calcutta, India, and one in Mel
bourne, Australia. b. f. Jacobs, of
Chicago has belonged to every lesson
committee since the plan was adopted.
DR.. S%chauffier has had almost as long
service. while Bishop Vincent of the
Methodist church, now resident in Eu
rope. has always been active in the in
terest of the international series.
Pa~ssionist Fathers to Celebrate.
The Passionist Fathers. one of the
most ascetic of the Catholic orders. are
planning to celebrate the fiftieth ami
very of the establishment of the COM
munity in this country. The celebra-
ton will be of a national character
and will be held in Pittsburg July ~.
Monsignor Falconio, whom some say
is to be the successor of Cardinal Mar
tinelli as apostolic delegate TO this
country, is to represent the pope at the
gathering and noted prelates from all
over the country will attend. The Pas
sionists were founded in 1920 and have
been renowned from the first for their
missionary work and their hospitality.
With the exception of the Benedic-
tines, the Passionists are the only
monks who maintain guest houses.
where the needy are received and TEN
porarily cared for without reference to