Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-21
PREACHING MISSION.
HELPS CHILDREN.
Episcopal Leader Discusses
Importance of Understand
ing Little Folk.

With public attention being focused
this week on child welfare through
President Hoover's conference, a work
of no less Importance in reaching an
understanding of the problems Of chill
dren Is being conducted through the
medium of the Diocesan Preaching
Mission OF the Episcopal Church of
Washington.
Special children's services are being
conducted at 4 o'clock daily at St
Stephens Church, Sixteenth and
Newton streets, In connection with the
Preaching Mission.
Very Rev. Raimun0o De OWES, dean
Of st. Philips Cathedral In Atlanta, Ga,
has charge of these services
Discussing the work that is being
done during the mission in administer
ing to children'S souls, Dean De OWES,
IN specially prepared statement for
The Star, said:
1.-THE church has always been in
terested in the child, and her work
among children has grown from the
beginning. It is necessary only to
examine the prayer book to see how
much provision has been made for the
nurture Of children in Christian living.
In fairly recent times, however, a special
effort has been made to reach the child
being used for adults and to dignity the
child's position by conducting services
and holding missions definitely and
specifically for children. Missioners now
go 10 various parishes to work among
the children exclusively. This plan is
all part of the awakened interest in
and study of the child that has taken
place during the last two decades in
both secular and religious spheres.
1Nm I'D L.
more than we often realize. The child'S
joys, sorrows, desires and ambitions are
exceedingly intense, though usually of
snort duration, because they 60 through
rapid processes of change Nevertheless,
they are worthy Of anybody's serious
consideration.
II was struck with the attitude of
Q mother some time ago who was lead
ing her child by the hand through a
shopping district, when the child DROP
ped her doll. The head of the doll
smashed in pieces and the little girl
Immediately burst into PASSIONATE weep
ing. Her face was picture Of grief and
bereavement. The mother snatched at
her hand and rebuked her sharply,
exclaiming: For heaven sakes, stop
that Squallingl / will take you in here
and get you another doll But the
child's grief was not appeased. What
the mother failed to realize was this:
That to the little child the injury to
her doll was as tragic and heart break
ing as the loss to that mother of the
child itself might have been. OF course,
the child probably forgot all about It
next day in the joy of possessing her
new doll. What We need to recognize
Is that that short lived grief was poig-
nant and would leave an indelible i'm
preston upon the child's memory and
character.
1.-THE difficulty in instructing chill
dren lies largely in the fact that the
child Is not philosophical, and of
course, not sophisticated. Truths must
be presented concretely and linked def
nitely with childs own experiences.
The type of illustrations used to iIIu-
inmate q truth and the method of IL
Illustrating are very different to what
we employ with adults. Yet, the child
manifests an astonishing faculty for
grasping even the greatest truths and
for making them still clearer to even
the teacher
"As an illustration, we employed re-
Gently Christian community large
board upon which were pinned sky
Scrapers, stores, churches, factories,
houses, schools, hospitals, etc. The OBJ
ject was to demonstrate the influence
Of Christianity in normal American
city or twon. The children were told
that we were going to take Christ and
His teaching out of the community
and that by doing 50 certain elements
Of the town must be removed in con-
sequence. They promptly clamored for
the removing Of the churches. That
was obvious. Then hospitals, then the
free schools; finally, one child said:
Take on the houses" The missioner
said: Not at all. Many places that
have not heard of Christ have lots and