Norwich bulletin., 1913-11-06

i erick B. Seymour of Wakefield, R. l.,
 and the final Bible period, conducted | bT Rev. Rockwell Harmon Potter D. | l., oi Hartford, followed.
 l President s. H. Williams gave his
 annual address, postponed from Tues | day afternoon, his theme being Indi- vidualism. He spoke as follows: Address by President Williams. One by one the days have gone since our meeting together In Hartford last 1 November. Each day has had it's own duties and opportunities; and the year has been successful or otherwise in proportion as each day has been right ly used. I hope that with each of you
 the opportunities of the days were not 1 neglected, and that thus the year has been rounded out with a rich harvest of achievement.
 Great things have been achieved
 by men who have independently fol- We are told that "In a multitude of counSellorS there is safety" Safe things, however, are seldom brilliant. A successful general will listen to the advice of his officers; but in the end he himself must decide upon his course of action. Some of NapoIeon's bril- liant achievements were brought about almost in direct antagoniSm to the rec ognized rules of warfare. Sherman made his famous march through Geor- gia to the Sea by cutting loose from his base of supplies; something that in the eyes of students of the art of war must be fatal to any expedition
 Not all, however, are geniuses- Not every one is a born leader of men. But each one has his own individuality to develop or suppress.
 Progress along any line is really made only when one follows out his own plans unswervingly. He may be influenced indeed must be-by what others have done and thought. Any young man would be foolish not to seek. and profit by, the advice of others. But after all he will succeed only when he refuses to be turned aside from his clearly marked out course of action.
 Apt to Follow Others.
 We are all of us too apt to Ego with the crowd" to try to do as others do We do not like to be thought sin g1lar or peculiar The man of inde- pendence of thought and action is the leader of other men and the one who will accomplish something that is worth while Even that which seems to be done collectively, the achievement of a group, a society, a board of trus- tees or committee, is really due, al most without exception, to the activ- lty and energy of some one, who by the power of his personality Is a lead tI- AS SOC1SLy Is made up or mass of individuals, so all progress is the result of their personal acts and ex- presses the power of Indiyidualism.
 And yet with all this power of in divsdGa1fs1n, one cannot live and work entirely independent of others The power of 8 strong personality comes to full fruition only as one works with and through others,
 Value of Independent Thought
 My object In what have said is to lead you to realize the value and pow CT of independent thought and activ ity in the Sunday school, and at the same time to appreciate the necessity of working with others tn order to bring about the greatest results
 Our work Is essentially individuals tic, taking the Sunday school as unit. We have our own peculiar constitu- ency- N4.Swo Sunday schools have exactly the same conditions They vary in size from the small school of an outlying district. to the one in running into the thousands Some are composed mainly of small children, while others may have begun to real ize the possibility of a large adult con Btituency with it's great influence on the community It may be that some tial1y, while with others this can be done most thoroughly And between the extremes come the many in vary ing degrees of perfection
 Whatever then is the status of your Sunday school, it stands by itself, and is like no other in all respects It Is your part to make the most of your conditions and surroundings to ar range as is best for your school for the division into groups or depart ments, to provide the course of study best adapted to your membership, to 1a1 5a1 activities in accordance with your con- ditions.
 Then again, no two teachers have the same problems in exactly the same degree. You teachers need to use your own individuality constantly. You ation- indeed it is indispensable: but after all you must decide on your methods, and carry out unswerving1y the details of work with your class
 I do not need to go into particulars further You are studying during these days under experts much better qualified than I am to advise and sug- gest, What l am trying to do is to make you realize the need of indiyid- ua1 study of your conditions, and of faithful and aggressive Independent work in your own place
 Working Together.
 Bear ye one anothers burdens" said the apostle; but in the same chap ter he said Let every man prove his own work-for every man shall bear his own burden" All of life Is thus somewhat paradoxical- To succeed we, must work out our own problems: and yet to succeed we must work together with others for mutual advantage The most successful superintendent or teacher. then, is one who puts into his service the very best that is in him, knowing that it requires indiyid- uaIity and close personal attention; and yet who cousults with others, giy- ing and receiving suggestion and help, encourag cement and Inspiration
 Or we may put it this way: Our obligation is, to our own Sunday school to instruct to inspire and to train for service Upon our faithfnlness in these details in our own spheres the future of our churches and of our state de- pends But we can work out our own problems and do everything most effi- cientIy only as we associate ourselves with others who are doing the same things in their schools. and thus give and get help.
 Personality What Counts.
 Here is the very kernel of organized Sunday schaol work. The superinten- dent who is always too busy to meet with other superintendents. when op- portunity offers, is usually the one who in a few short years finds that he does not progress. that the routine of the sessions of the Sunday school gets monotonous. and becomes sure that someone else can do better than he in he had at first soon eyaporates. The af a SJnAfiFf NrdA59f