New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08
A SUNDAY SCHOOL teacher
~ who can increase a class
K "a Of six young war workers

K "a Of six young war workers
to over two hundred en-
thusiastic members in its first year,
and then to over one thousand girls
in the second, is q personality, as
any one will admit, very much out of
the ordinary. A Sunday school
teacher who uses frequently, cor
rectly, and forcefully, such distinct
ly modern expressions as "spiz" and
pep" and "whizz" and "snap" and a
hundred others that, whether one
likes it or not, enrich the vocabulary
Of the up-to-date girl, must be the
very personification of her own
phrases.
There, in nutshell, you have the
secret Of Miss Jessie L. Burrall's
phenomenal success with the girls of
Calvary Baptist Sunday School in
Washington, D. C. Miss Burial is
all "pep" and "snap"-vital, radiant
energy, contagious enthusiasm and
unquenchable optimism. She believes
ardently in the average young
woman's natural craving for spir-
itual food, even when this real appe-
tite has been dulled and fiattened by
an unhealthy diet. Perhaps there
has been too much condinent and
pickles In the form of spicy enter
tainment, or too much indulgence in
the froth and whipped cream of
clothes interests.
Is Not Coody-Coody
Miss Burial believes that II she
first captures the attention of the
girl she wants to interest, she can
bring the spiritual element to the
top In no time-and hold It there.
And she does. The girls come first
because their friends tell them Miss
Burial IS neither slow nor goody-
goody, and there's something going
on all the time. They keep coming
because they can't resist the charm
of Miss Burrall's merry, lively per-
sonality, nor the inspiration Of her
talks direct from the shoulder. nor
the friendly fellowship with the
other girls.
One doesn't have to be q Baptist
to belong to Miss Burrall's class.
Girls Of every denomination, from
every state, who are interested in
churchwork and group activities for
girls are always welcome. At first
and until very recently-Miss
Burial was able to know every one
Of her girls individually-to learn
their troubles and their problems
and their point Of view. At every
informal gathering Of them she may
be seen going from one little knot to
another, just asking their names
and noting something to identify
them by. The task is not as easy as
it sounds. Since the first Of the
year the class has increased to
twelve hundred-the size Of q small
college-and this in spite Of a loss
of three hundred who have left
Washington. 1t was because of the
shifting nature of the Washington
population that Miss Burial had
people repeatedly predict she
couldn't hold her class together very
long; but figures are inescapable
proof, are they not?
The first thought as one grasps
the size of this extraordinary class
is naturally, But where can they
hold such big meeting?" And the
answer is as unexpected and uncon-
ventional as the class itself In a
movie theater!
There is a story about this When
they began, two years ago, to over
flow the Sunday school room of the
Calvary Baptist Church, Miss Bur-
rail- went to Tom Moore, who is
owner-manager of Moore's Rialto
Theater. When Mr.. Moore found
that the class was connected with
Calvary Baptist Church, Of which
the Rev. Samuel H. Greene is pastor,
he related how Mr.. Greene had be-
friended his mother and himself
thrcnrr his str-1orv1inr fa+boyIasc