The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-10-19
State Meeting Opens in First
Baptist Church With
Many Present
SESSION OF STATE
BIBLE SOCIETY
John L. Alexander of Chicago. Presi-
dent Benton of University of Yer
mont, Rev. A. II. Bradford of Rutland
and Others Speak.


mont, Rev. A H. Bradford of RUTLAND
and Others Speak.
The 4Sth annual convention of the
Vermont Sunday School association
opened yesterday afternoon at 81
o clock in the First Baptist church and
will continue tonight and Friday with
sessions morning, afternoon and even !
ing.
Before the afternoon session was more
than half concluded the auditorium of
the church was almost filled, and as
many OF the delegates were to arrive
ON the late afternoon trains the large
attendance at the opening session
presaged an unusually large eonven
tion.
Rev. William Shaw of Montpelier.
president OF the association, presided
at the opening session. Rev. Milton S
Llttlefeld, D. D., of New York con
GUIDED the opening service of worship
L. W. Hawley, superintendent of the
Baptist Sunday school for over 80 years.
was introduced and in turn introduced
Rev. George E. Tomkinson, pastor of
the church, who gave a brief address
of welcome.
He said that he was glad to welcome
the delegates to town famous for
many things, among them a factory in
which the finest of church organs are
built. He said that Brattleboro is an
up-to-date town and spoke of the evi
dences of new construction to be seen
on several sites in the business section
He welcomed the association and the
delegates to the church and predicted
much inspiration for them in the meet
ings and cordial welcome and good
care in all homes where they NAV be
assigned during their stay in town.
President Shaw in his brief report
of the work of the wear extended his
thanks to the workers for their united
and untlrlng efforts, especially the field
workers. He congratulated the asso
cation upon its increased membership.
saying that they are closing the best
year IN the history of the association.
There has not been time when the or
ganlzatlon of the work is in such good
condition as at present
He said that the business of the
Sunday school, some teachers are be
ginning to realize, is to instruct and
not entertain the pupils. The associa
ton must strive for better teaching and
so organize the work as to extend the
influence of the Sunday school beyond
its present membership
The address of the afternoon was byi
John l.. Alexander of Chicago, secon,
Diary division superintendent of the In
ternational Sunday School association.
who spoke upon The Why of Evangel
ism III the Sunday School
The three essentials of the Sunday
school, he said, are the Bible, the child
and the teacher and the most impor
tant is the teacher. You cannot talk
anything into a boy or a girl He cited
an instance of large stock dealer who
mentioned his two boys to the speaker
and then said that they had gone to the
bad because one could not raise bows in
such community. At the next ranch
was a woman who referred to her two
boys and said they were in seminary
studying to enter the ministry He said
that fathers and mothers are such only
in so far as they understand the inner
life of their children.
The church is suffering, he charged,
with adultism. 1t fails to devote time
lntelligently to the rising generation
The Christian religion, he said, is
caught by contagion. No one ever gets
it by being talked to death. Hence the
teacher who can transmit it to the child
is the most important essential of the
Sunday school. 1t ism t what you try
to remember that helps, he said, but
what you cannot forget. Religious edu-
cation is the giving of impulses for
Christian living.
Speaking of the young man who is
able to handle and interest boys and is
given charge of the large class but who
leaves the town and the class of boys
in the lurch because there is no other
star of his magnitude to take his place,
he declared that God did not intend his
work to be done by stars or he wouldn t
have made them twinkle at night 1t
is the business of all connected with
the church and Sunday school to work
The annual meeting of the Vermont
Bible society was held at 5 o clock with
brief, but interesting, reports by the
field secretary, Mrs. Edith Balch
Wright, and the treasurer, DIR. o. G.
Stickney.
Mrs. Wright s report showed that
total of | ,462 Bibles had been sold and
that there had been donated to the So
ciety and distributed 1913 Bibles.
The following officers were elected:
President, Rev. w. A. Dawson. d. D..
of Burlington; vice presidents. HI. w.
Varnum of Jeffersonville and Rev. Fl
B. Rankin of Newport; recording secre-
tary, Rev. James d. Sargent of North.
field; treasurer, DR.. o. g. Stickney of
Barre; auditor, H. G. Woodbury. of