The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-12-21
CRADLE ROLL IN
WAYNE COUNTY
WRITES ENTERTAINMENT OF
VALUE OF NEW MOVEMENT
PROVES SUCCESSFUL WHER-
EVER TRIED OUT-INTEREST-
ING COLUMN FOR SUNDAY
SCHOOL FOLKS.

SCHOOL FOLKS.
We have taken as our motto
Wayne county in the Front Line by
October, 1911, when we go to New
Castle" for our State convention.
If this aim is realized we must
have about sixty cradle rolls in the
county. We have already quite a
| goodly number but not nearly
enough. 1t is for the schools which
as yet know nothing of the work
that this article is written.
The Cradle Roll is the latest and
in many ways the most important
department of the Sunday School.
1t aims to place the sheltering
care of the church about the little
ones by giving the pastor and other
/ officers of the church and Sunday
/ school an opportunity to come in
| contact with the home through mu-
/ tual interest in the baby. By its
/ work the child at the earliest possi-
/ BILE moment, receives the benefit of
the school, and the school secures
the cooperation of the home.
! Many children who would have
/ but little religious training will ear
/ ly in life realize the sheltering care
/ of church and Sabbath school
| through the Roll.
1t should show a friendly helpful
spirit toward little ones in the COM
munity whether the parents are af-
! filiated with any church or not and
/ should bring them into the Sunday
school
1t encourages parents and older
members of the family to take more
interest in the Sunday school and
! induces many of them to become
attendants themselves.
The babies and children, toe
young to attend the Sunday school
are the members. Babies are enroll
ed at birth or as soon after as the
consent of parents is obtained. They
remain in the Department until they
begin attending Sunday school reg
ularly-usually until three or -four
years old.
This Department has proved very
helpful in my own and many other
schools, why will it not in yours!
1t is possible that many souls viii
be saved through this agency anG
If we are in earnest we will make
use of evrything which has beer
given us by our Master to bring the
world to the feet of Christ. If you
are in a school where the babies are
not members decide to do all in
your power to bring about a change
Think about it. Pray about it anC
then put the matter before your
school. Ask them to appoint some
suitable person as superintendent
This person should preferably be
a woman. She should be some one
with large mother heart, a person
who can make herself welcome il
the homes to which she goes.
When a superintendent has beer
appointed she should find out from
the Primary class, Home Department
visitors, and pastor the names of al
babies in the Sunday school dis
trict.
Enrolment cards together with 6
letter explaining the working of the
roll should then be sent to eact
mother. These are returned by al
mothers who are anxious that theil
children become members. There
are few mothers who will not want
their children connected with the
school and very often the superin.
tendent will receive the reply 'cer.
tainly and | think I'll come my.
self"
AS soon as the child is enrolled
a certificate is sent to the home
This recognizes the new relation be-
tween home and school.
The names of the babies are plac-
ed on a large roll which should be
hung in the school room.
At each birthday as we'll as al
| Thanksgiving and Easter the child
/ iG nh hU rH n n
at Christmas by card or small tok-
en-.
After the child has been enrolled
visits should be made at the home
often for the purpose is to link home
and school more closely
Invitations to special socials OF
festivals should be sent to the baby
and it's mother.
AS soon as the child is old enough
he should be transferred to the Be.
ginner's class. This is a point al
which we must be very careful
Every Cradle Roll member should
be brought at three, four or five
years of age into the school. If then
the work in the various classes is
interesting we shall be able to hold
them until death in one department
or another, and soon the percentage
of people who attend Sunday schoo
in our county shall be seventy-five
rather than twenty.
The materials needed can be OBJ
tanned from any of the denomina
tional publishing houses at a very
nominal cost. A paper called "ThI
Golden Now" which is very helpful tC
CradleRoll mothers is printed by
David C. Cook. We mention this
because ii seems to meet the ap
proval of various workers and 81
far as we know is the only paper
of its kind printed.
There is no school so poor that i
cannot afford a Cradle Roll Depart
ment, and no school so well off tha
it needs none. Here the city schoo
has no advantage over the country
school for it has been tried in equa
success in schools of both kinds
Try IT,