14 Wm % LIBRARY OF THE University of California. Class HiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiHiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifliiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiillllllll J 'Tim 14 wm n LIBRARY OF THE University of California. Class iiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiifliiiniiniiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinilii IHI^^H...^ 14 imn n LIBRARY OF THE University of California. Class nimniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiimiiiniiiiiiiiiiiimiiiniiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllimillillilllllliliillllllllil J miiiinTiiinniiniiHiiiiiiiTiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiimiiiiiinminiiin Sunday-School Movements in America iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiwiniiiiiniiitimniiiniiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiirniiiiiiiimiiminiiM Sunday-School Movements in America BY MARIANNA C. BROWN New York Chicago Toronto Fleming H. Revell Company 1901 I miilr ' -^ — ^— \ 3/ SEHERM^, Copyright 1901 by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiuiiiiiiiniiiiiitiitiiiiiiiiililliiililllllilllilllilinillllllllllllllllllllltilllllil Preface It is not unusual for a student to enter college with more interest in his fellow-students than in his books, and it was this general interest in char- acter, rather than any especial concern about re- ligious matters, which led me to notice that la- mentable deficiency which Dr. Charles F. Thwing has so impressively described in his recent article entitled " Significant Ignorance About the Bible, as Shown Among College Students of Both Sexes." Observations among university students, and among those holding the highest degrees, showed that advanced scholars are also often de- plorably deficient in biblical knowledge. Men who have enjoyed the advantages, not only of study, but of travel, of Christian parentage, and of church membership, seem hardly ashamed to show ignorance as to who David was, or who was the earthly father of our Lord. This seems in- credible, but it is fact. After leaving college the Sunday-school at- tracted my attention. Here I found class after class of scholars, both boys and girls, of all ages from eight to over twenty, studying year after year, and not learning such fundamental matters 5 ISo^'i^v^ Preface as what the first four books of the New Testa- ment are about. Scholars who have grown up in Sunday-schools in the best part of New York City reach the Bible classes, and even consider themselves ready to leave Sunday-school or to teach younger classes, without being able to tell correctly the story of the Nativity or the circum- stances of the institution of the Lord's Supper. The contemplation of this ignorance should arouse intelligent Americans. Yet worse than ignorance is to be found in many, if not in most Sunday-schools. Teachers and officers come late, act irreverently during the most solemn parts of the service, make promises which they never carry out, and in innumerable ways teach the most pernicious habits. Sometimes these evils are the result of indifference, but probably they are more frequently the result of an entire lack of appre- ciation on the part of well-meaning workers. It was largely my growing interest in this sub- ject which led me to a special study of the phil- osophy of education. Before forming an opinion as to the causes or remedies for the present condi- tion of religious teaching, I also decided, at the suggestion of Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, to make a careful study of Sunday-school movements in America. Accordingly, eight chapters of this dis- sertation are given to the uncolored history and description of those movements. Some of the ma- terial having never been in print, I was obliged to obtain it from the notes and verbal statements of iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniimmmiiimitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiimiimiimi Preface 7 leading Sunday-school workers. In the conclu- sion detailed criticisms of the different move- ments have been omitted because it seemed more important at present to secure strong foundations for Sunday-school theory. My study of this subject, which is here pre- sented, was offered in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philoso- phy in the Faculty of Philosophy at Columbia University. nnniifiimimiiniiiitiniimiiuiiiiiiiUiiiiiiiiiiiiitimnmniiniiiitmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiinilllliilllllllllllil ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. EARLY AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOLS.. 17 New England colonists provided for relig- ious instruction without many Sunday- schools. The few Sunday-schools they had were for religious teaching. After the Revolution both religious and secular teaching were sadly neglected through- out the country. Sunday-schools on Robert Raikes' plan were then introduced. Before the end of the i8th century reaction began in favor of the present system of Sun- day-schools. IL THE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UN- ION 26 The movement introducing Sunday-school unions began at the close of the i8th century. The tendency towards cooperation culmi- nated in the formation of the American Sun- day-School Union, in 1824. The Union works chiefly to establish Sun- day-schools in needy places and to prepare suitable books for their use. It started the uniform lesson idea, publishes excellent periodicals, and introduced the Sun- day-school library feature. 9 lO Contents CHAPTER PAGt II. THE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UN- ION — (Continued) : Its missionary work is pursued with great vigor throughout the United States. One man organized over i,ooo Sunday-schools. A meeting of this Union was the occasion of the origin of our great National Sunday- School Conventions. The Union is now free from debt and ac- tively engaged in its sadly needed work. III. THE NATIONAL CONVENTION SYS- TEM 53 The First National Sunday- School Conven- tion was held in 1832. The second, held in 1833, was really an adjourned meeting of the first. The system grew from local organizations. Its aim is to reach every Sunday-school worker. The Third and Fourth National Conventions were held in 1859 and 1868, respectively, and were highly successful. At the Fifth National Convention, held in 1872, the Uniform or International Lesson System was inaugurated. International Conventions have been held every three years beginning with 1875. The system now includes a Primary Depart- ment, a Field Workers' Department, and a Home Department, besides the Lesson Com- mittee, the Executive Committee and the State Associations. IV. THE UNIFORM OR INTERNATIONAL SUND.\Y-SCHOOL LESSON SYSTEM.. 77 The American Simday- School Union took the first important steps in opposition to the iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiniiiiiiiiiminnuiiiniiiiHiaiiiiiiiniMiiitriiiiiiiniiiiilitlillllllllifi Contents 1 1 CHAPTER PACK IV. THE UNIFORM OR INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY-SCHOOL LESSON SYSTEM— (Continued): custom of unlimited memorizing, and in 1825 started the Limited Lesson Scheme. In 1865 the Rev. John H. Vincent brought the lessons practically to the present form. Mr. B. F. Jacobs led in efforts which re- sulted in the adoption of the Uniform Lesson System by the National Convention of 1872. Lesson Committees are appointed every six years. Their methods of work are simple and they have made but slight changes since the original plan. V. INSTITUTES AND THE CHAUTAUQUA MOVEMENT 91 Unitarians seem to have held Sunday-school institutes in New England before the general movement began. Leading Methodists urged the plan and in 1861 the first permanent Sunday-School Teachers' Institute was organized. The movement spread rapidly, but the bibli- cal museum feature waned. The First Chautauqua Assembly was a pro- tracted Sunday-school teachers' institute. The Chautauqua movement has developed into a unique system of education. Through these movements great impetus has been given to Sunday-school normal work. VI. THE CHURCH AND SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK 113 The Baptists attend to their Sunday-school interests in a variety of ways. They have 12 Contents CHAPTER PAfMfc VI. THE CHURCH AND SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK— (Continued) : played a prominent part in undenominational Sunday-school work, and a Baptist originated the first Infant Sunday-school. The Congregationalists have a distinct and energetic Sunday-school organization. They use chiefly the International lessons but offer an inductive series. They have an active Su- perintendents Union at Boston. The Episcopalians have only local Sunday- school associations. They offer and use a great variety of lessons, many of which are cate- chetical. They have high ideals of the Church's duty toward the young. The Friends have flourishing First-day schools and use a variety of lessons. The Hebrews differ among themselves in many ways, but they have a Sabbath-School Union and their schools require longer and more serious work than most Sunday-schools. The Latter Day Saints have from the first given Sunday-school instruction to the young. They have a Sunday-School Union, though Sunday-school work is remarkably well or- ganized under the State authorities. Much is done to direct and help the teachers. The Lutherans lay great stress on the Church nurture of the young, but have only recently given much attention to Sunday- schools. The Methodists have from the first been leaders in Sunday-school work. They have a large and progressive Sunday-School Union which gives especial attention to both mission- ary and normal work. Their General Con- uimmnnniiiiminiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiliiilllilllllllllinilllillllllllllllllllllllltllimilllllillllllilllllllllHUiniJ Contents 13 CHAPTER PACK VI. THE CHURCH AND SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK— (Cotitinued) : ference requires and encourages the religious instruction of the young. They were virtually the starters of the Sunday-School Teachers' Institute movement, and lead in the Church Kindergarten and Home Department move- ments. The Presbyterians work mostly in the unde- nominational Sunday-school movements. They teach chiefly the International lessons and the Westminster Catechism. The Reformed Church uses chiefly the In- ternational lessons and the Heidelberg Cate- chism. It has always charged itself with the Christian training of the young. Recently increased attention has been given to Sunday- schools. The Roman Catholics have some of the best attended and most carefully organized Sun- day-schools in the country. The work is mostly catechetical. Their teaching appeals to the child nature. The Unitarians were among the first to or- ganize a Sunday- School Society. They early introduced graded lessons. Their teaching is not limited to the Bible, but is of a high grade intellectually. The Universalists were prominent in the earliest Sunday-school movements. They orig- inated the custom of " Children's Sunday." They are active in many lines. VII. THE BIBLE STUDY UNION 153 The Bible Study Union originated in the practical Sunday-school work of the Rev. Mr. H Contents CHAPTER PAGE VII. THE BIBLE STUDY UNION — (Coti- tinued) : Blakeslee, and is based upon certain educa- tional theories. Its organization and business methods are simple. Its lesson system is complex and requires a fully graded Sunday-school. It has won the services of advanced scholars and has spread among many denominations and into distant lands. VIII. MISCELLANEOUS 164 The subject of Sunday-school books and periodicals would fill a volume. A number of organizations direct and en- courage home Bible study. The Foreign Sunday-School Association does not influence the American Sunday- school system, but it does a good work. IX. CONCLUSION 173 Part I. The Aim of the Sunday-School 173 The aim of the Sunday-school should no longer be intellectual and moral, but spirit- ual. School can not supply the spiritual need. Home alone can seldom fully supply the spiritual need. The aim of the Sunday-school stated. Part one of the aim expanded. Part two of the aim expanded. Part three of the aim expanded. Part II. The Ultimate Aim of Education 186 Present views. ..iniiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiHiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiminiiiiiiiimiiiililliniiiiiiiiiiiitll Contents 15 CHAPTER PAGE IX. CONCLUSION— fCowfiHMed;; False method of reaching them. A philosophical aim. The relation of the Sunday-school to such an aim. Part III. The Greatest Need of the Present Sunday-School 191 The statement. Four essential qualifications of the Sun- day-school superintendent. Neglect of these qualifications. Acquisition of these qualifications. Use of these qualifications needed in the music. Use of these qualifications needed in the prayers. Use of these qualifications needed in the general exercises. Use of these qualifications needed in help- ing the teachers. Part IV. The Second Great Need of the Sun- day-School 213 The statement. Three essential qualifications of the Sun- day-school teacher. Present lesson systems from this point of view. A pedagogical course of Bible study. The amount of time needed. Part V. The Final Problem 226 The statement. Can the State help the Church? Neglected opportunities of tlie Church. The problem demands the united efforts of both State and Church. 1 6 Contents CHAPTER PAGE APPENDICES 231 I. American Sunday- Schools before 1800. II. Statistical report to the International Sun- day-School Convention, 1899. III. Denominational representation of the Inter- national Lesson Committee. IV. Relative number of International Lessons assigned to the various books of the Bible. V. The basis of agreement for the formation of the Bible Study Union. VI. The Constitution of the Bible Study Union. BIBLIOGRAPHY ^46 UiiBliifiHUiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiminnifliiiniimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinmrnnnnmniiiir Sunday-School Movements in America CHAPTER I EABLY AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOLS Relig^oTis Instruction of tlie Early Settlers. The early New England settlers, unlike most of the settlers of the South, came to this country inspired with religious impulses. They had been influenced by the great Reformation movements; they lived in the time of the Thirty Years' War; and their ministers were men of ability, some of whom were vainly urged to return and take part in the work of the Westminster Assembly. It was to be expected that people such as they, even though surrounded by the necessary hardships of their newly found home, would not neglect the religious education of their children. Probably the most energetic colonists were those of Massachusetts Bay, who came to Amer- ica in 1630 and established Harvard College in 1636. With them we find the earliest provision for religious instruction, for an order of the General Court of Massachusetts, in 1642, and the Connecticut Code of 1650, provided: " That 17 1 8 Sunday-School Movements all masters of families do, once a week at least, catechise their children and servants in the grounds and principles of religion, and if any be unable to do so much, that then, at the least, they procure such children or apprentices to learn some short orthodox catechism, without book, that they may be able to answer the questions that shall be propounded to them out of such catechisms by their parents or masters, or any of the selectmen, when they shall have called them to a trial of what they have learned in this kind." ^ But the religious culture of the young was not left entirely to the masters of families. The " catechizing of youth " was found at that time among the common stipulations made with clergy- men. In different parishes and localities, how- ever, the ministers fulfilled this part of their du- ties in very different ways. In many cases relig- ious instruction was given to the children on the Sabbath, and in the church ; while in other cases, especially among the stricter Puritans, the chil- dren were gathered once a week, or once a month, at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon, to be cate- chised. As early as 1860^ the Pilgrim Church, at Plymouth, passed a vote in these words: " That the deacons be requested to assist the minister in teaching the children during the inter- mission on the Sabbath." ^ Sunday- Schools and the American Sunday-School Union, American Journal of Education, vol. XV, p. 705. "Historic View of Sabbath. Schools, E. H. Byington, Congregational Quarterly, vol. VII (1865), p. 21. ■UliUHUHUiiinHUtllllllllUHIIIIIItlUIHUtlllllllllllllllllfllllfllllflllllllllllllll Early American Sunday-Schools 19 Besides the excellent system of family and church religious teaching in vogue among the Puritans, the schools of those days did much to- ward the spiritual training of the children. Pub- lic schools were established by law in Massachu- setts in 1647,^ ^^^ soon after in other New Eng- land colonies. As there was little sectarianism, religious influence was freely carried into the schools. One who attended a representative school of those days makes the interesting state- ment that the teacher " constantly prayed with us, every day, and catechised us every week." Even the books used in the schools were mostly of a religious character. First Sunday-Schools. Consequently, the few Sunday-schools dating back to the seventeenth century whose names have come down to us be- long to an entirely different movement from the Sunday-schools started at the close of the eigh- teenth century. The earliest Sunday-school _^Qn_ record seems to be one at Plymouth,* m 1669, of which the Rev. T. Robbins, D. D., in his address at Williams College, says that he has seen an au- thentic account. It is also known^ that in 1674 a Sunday-school was established in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in the Congregational Church, at •History of Sunday- Schools and of Religious Educa- tion, Lewis G. Pray, 1847, p. 194-5- ' Historic View, p. 21. * Sunday-Schools and the American Sunday-School Union, p. 705. 10 Sunday-School Movements which the boys and girls were instructed after morning service by men and women respectively, in the catechism and scriptures. Still, we have rea- son to think, that such Sunday-schools were not usual. The noted Dr. Bellamy, who labored at Bethlehem, Connecticut, from 1740 until his death, was not following a general custom when he habitually met the youth of his congregation for the purpose of catechetical and biblical m- struction, and induced the members of his church to assist in the work. Such Sunday-schools were not only exceptional, but they were unlike those started a century later, both in being strictly re- ligious and in being a development of the New England educational system. The first Sunday-school outside of New Eng- land of which we have knowledge, and probably the only one of any account existing before the Revolution, was the Dunker Sunday-school, at Ephrata, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. It was established by Ludwig Thacker, or Stiebker, in 1740,® and was conducted by him till 1777, when it was discontinued in consequence of the occupa- tion of the buildings of that community for hospi- tal purposes after the Battle of Brandywine. Raikes' System Introduced. After the Revolu- tion we find entirely new conditions. Ignorance and infidelity seemed to prevail. The Church and • The Universalist Origin of American Sunday- Schools, Richard Eddy, Universalist Quarterly, Oct., 1882, p. 449- illlllMIIII t Itl'IIIII! Early American Sunday-Schools 21 the State had become separate. Sectarianism was increasing. In New England the practice of catechetical instruction by the clergy was almost entirely' abandoned. In the Middle and South- ern States, where there had never been much love for learning or ardor for piety, little had been done during the war for the education of the ris- ing generation. Accordingly, a new movement started, and it began in the place of greatest need, the Southern States. In 1786,^ Bishop Asbury organized a Sunday- school on Robert Raikes' plan, at the house of Mr. Thomas Crenshaw, in Hannover county, Virginia. Other Sunday-schools were soon started. (See Appendix I.) In 1787, a Method- ist preacher in Charleston, South Carolina, con- ducted a Sunday-school for the African children of that city. In 1793,^ a poor African woman, Katy Ferguson, knowing nothing of Raikes or of the Sunday-schools elsewhere, established one that was probably the first in New York City, for the benefit of the poor street children of the hum- ble quarter in which she lived. It is said that a school for secular instruction on Sunday was or- ganized in New York as early as 1791, and in- corporated in 1796. Between 1801 and 1804, Mrs. Isabella Graham and her daughter, wife of the late 'History of Sunday-Schools. Pray, p. 199. 'Yale Lectures on the Sunday-School, H. Clay Trum- bull, 1888, chap. 3, p. 122. ' American Cyclopaedia, article on Sunday- Schools, vol. XV, p. 190. 22 Sunday-School Movements Dr. Bethune, who had become familiar with the English Sunday-schools while traveling in Eu- rope, established three of these schools in New York at their own expense. Mr. Samuel Slater, father of the cotton manufacture in America, es- tablished a Sunday-school, in 1797, in a room in his factory at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for the benefit of his operatives. The Sunday-schools of this movement usually had paid teachers, and the children were mostly the very ignorant and often vicious children of the lowest classes. The principal books used were the spelling-book and the hymn-book. Clmrch Sunday-Schools. But while this was go- ing on, the churches had not entirely fallen asleep. In Washington, Connecticut, even in 1781, it was the custom for the elders of the church to gather the children around them upon the shaded green, in the summer Sabbath intermissions, and there instruct them in the Bible and the Assembly's cate- chism. Such schools existed in other sections of the country. In the Episcopal churches of Amer- ica the practice of giving religious instruction to the children, on Sunday, openly, in the church, has always been followed. John Wesley sympathized with the Sunday- school movement in Great Britain, and as early as 1784, in the first Discipline ^** we find, " Where " Growth of the Sunday- School Idea in Methodist Episcopal Church, J. M. Freeman, Methodist Quarterly Review, July, 1871, p. 400. MwimHwuHtmn nnwiii HW ll llllllli mi l llll i milllllllllllilH I Early American Sunday-Schools 13 there are ten children whose parents are in the society, meet them at least one hour every week." In addition to this, every Methodist preacher be- fore being received was required to solemnly promise that he would diligently instruct the chil- dren. In 1790. we find the question asked, " What can be done in order to instruct poor chil- dren, white and black, to read?" And the an- swer was. " Let us labor, as the heart and soul of one man, to establish Sunday-schools in or near the place of public worship. Let persons be ap- pointed by the Bishops, Deacons, or Preachers, to teach gratis all that will attend, and have ca- pacity to learn, from six o'clock in the morning till ten, and from two o'clock in the afternoon till six, when it does not interfere with public wor- ship. The Council shall compile a proper school- book to teach them learning and piety." So classes of one hour were formed for the children of parents able to teach them, and other instruc- tion provided for poor children. About this time, too, the Universalists and other denominations began to arouse themselves on the Sunday-school question. As a natural re- sult of the increasing interest which the churches took in the matter, early in the nineteenth century there was a general reaction from paid to volun- tary teachers, and from seailar to religious instruc- tion. This change, which has been attributed" " Sunday- Schools and the American Sunday-School Union, p. 707- 24 Sunday-School Movements to Wesley, commenced about 1809, and was simul- taneous with the transfer of the control of the schools from individuals to churches. Attendance of the Upper Classes. How an in- stitution, begun in the interests of the forlorn and uncared for, came early in this century to be not only patronized, but attended by the upper classes, remains an unsettled question. Dr. Lj-man Beecher thought perhaps he had had an import- ant hand in bringing about this change.^^ Hq told Mr. Pardee that he saw the tendency of American Sunday-schools to be stamped as only for children of the poor and middle classes, as were the English Sunday-schools. He resolved to overthrow that system. He induced a number of the most prominent people in his congregation to send their children to Sunday-school. He took his. " And we all," he said, " turned our labor and influence on the Sunday-school movement, and it gave an unheard-of impetus to our Sunday- school, and by means of the press and by letters and personal conversation the facts became known and met with almost uniform approval and adoption in our country, and the reform soon became complete." Rise of XJnioTis. Meanwhile, another great change had begun. The Sunday-school idea was to be spread, and its work improved, and this was "The Sabbath- School Index, R. G. Pardee, 1868, p. 18. HHUiiHUIinHtUtllllMlllllltilllDilllHWilll Early American Sunday-Schools 25 to be done more rapidly than individuals or even churches could do it. Accordingly, unions began to spring up, the earliest of importance being the " First-day or Sunday-School Society of Philadel- phia," organized January 11, 1791, for the pur- pose of establishing Sunday-schools. This was the forerunner of the great " American Sunday- School Union." CHAPTER II THE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION The First Sunday-School Association. Toward the close of the eighteenth century, some citizens of Philadelphia became impressed with the great need of a united effort to raise the condition and improve the lives of the boys of that city. There was in Philadelphia at that time no system of Free ^ schools. Accordingly, as a result of con- ferences between Bishop White of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Dr. Benjamin Rush, an avowed Universalist, and Matthew Carey, an eminent Roman Catholic, a meeting of the citizens of Philadelphia was held, December 19, 1790, " for the purpose of taking into consideration the establishment of Sunday-schools for that city." At a meeting on the twenty-sixth of that month, a constitution was adopted for " The First-Day or Sunday-School Society," the first permanent as- sociation for the promotion of Sunday-schools in the United States, of which we have any authen- tic 2 record. * The History of Sunday- Schools and of Religious Education, Pray, p. 205. ' Sunday-Schools and the American Sunday-School Union. American Journal of Education, vol. XV, p. 707. 26 BtfMiMii American Sunday-School Union 27 On the eleventh of January, 1791, the First- Day or Sunday-School Society was fully organ- ized. Bishop White was elected its first Presi- dent, and held the office until his decease. The object of the Society is stated as follows in the preamble to the Constitution : " Whereas, the good education of youth is of the first importance to society, and numbers of children^ the offspring of indigent parents, have not proper opportunities of instruction previous to their being apprenticed to trades ; and whereas, among the youth of every large city, various instances occur of the first day of the week, called Sunday, — a day which ought to be devoted to religious improvement, — being employed to the worst of purposes, the depravity of morals and manners : It is therefore the opin- ion of sundry persons, that the establishment of Sunday-schools in this city would be of essential advantage to the rising generation ; and for effect- ing that benevolent purpose they have formed themselves into a society." ' The constitution re- quired that the instruction given in the schools established by the organization, or receiving its aid, should be confined to " reading and writing from the Bible and such other moral and religious books as the Society may, from time to time direct." After petitioning the legislature in vain for the establishment of Sundav-schools as free schools, •The Schools, 453- Universalist Origin of American Sunday- Eddy, Universalist Quarterly, Oct., 1882, p. 28 Sunday-School Movements the Society raised the necessary funds for com- pensating the teachers, by voluntary contribu- tions, and three schools were opened during the first year, each with nearly two hundred scholars. By 1800 more than two thousand * pupils had been admitted. In 1707 the Society obtained an act of incorporation, under which it continued its work up to the year 1816, when Sunday-schools were established on the present voluntary system. From that time it has applied the income of the small fund it possessed to the purchasing of books for needy Sunday-schools in Philadelphia and its environs, and so still continues its usefuhiess. It is stated on good autliority, that many of the most worthy citizens of Philadelphia were indebted to this Society for most, if not all, of the education which they ever received.^ Other Early XTnions. During this time several less important societies of the kind were formed. Among them was the Evangelical Society, started 1808, for promoting Sabbath -evening schools in Philadelphia, with volunteer teachers.* In 1809 a systematic Sunday-school movement was organ- ized in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In 181 1, the Rev. Robert May, from London, gave a new start * Universalist Origin of American Sunday-Schools, p. 454- ' History of Sunday-Schools and of Religious Educa- tion, Pray. p. 207. 'Sunday-Schools, by E. W. Rice; Schaff-Herzog, Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. IV, p. 2265. luiHuiiiiiMlHHIillHiHHHitmH American Sunday-School Union 29 to Sunday-schools in Philadelphia, which proved the beginning of permanent progress. As a result of a Sunday-school started in New York City, 1814, by Mrs. Graham and her daugh- ter. Mrs. Divie Bethune, and of the suggestion of Mr. Eleazar Lord, who had observed the work- ing of the Sunday-school system in Philadelphia, " The Female Union Society, for the Promotion of Sabbath Schools," ^ was formed in New York by the benevolent ladies of several denominations. It convened by public invitation, January 24, 1816. A constitution was adopted, and schools for the instruction of females were immediately opened. In 1825, the Society had thirty-eight schools, five hundred and twenty-five teachers, and three thou- sand and fifty-two scholars, under its care. In February, 18 16, the gentlemen of New York held a public meeting in emulation of the ladies, and on the twenty-sixth of the same month the " New York Sunday-School Union " was instituted, and schools for boys were immediately put in opera- tion. During the first year more than sixteen hundred scholars entered their schools. In 1825 they had fifty-eight schools, six hundred and six- teen conductors, and forty-four hundred and thirty scholars. About the same time, in 1816, was organized the " Boston Society for the Moral and Religious Instruction of the Poor," under whose auspices ' History of Sunday-Schools and of Religious Educa- tion, Pray, p. 212. 3© Sunday-School Movements the cause of Sunday-schools was prosecuted with much vigor. The first school of this Society, started in 1817, was the Mason Street Sunday- school, which has always maintained a high repu- tation. Meantime, Watt, Fulton and Stephenson were at work, the " era of good feeling " in the United States was dawning, and the pendulum of Sun- day-school movements was destined to swing far beyond the line of local organizations. The pre- paratory step was the formation ^ on May 26, 1817, of the " Philadelphia Sunday and Adult School Union " with this leading design, to " cul- tivate unity and charity among those of different names, to ascertain the extent of gratuitous in- struction in Sunday and adult schools, to promote their establishment in the city and in the villages in the country, to give more effect to Christian exertion in general, and to encourage and strengthen each other in the cause of the Re- deemer." The Association embraced the members of the several Sunday and adult school societies of Philadelphia and other parts of the State of Pennsylvania. In 1821 it employed a missionary who organized upward of sixty schools, in six dif- ferent States. Later it employed two missionaries. It issued also a large number of Scripture tickets and such matter. • Sunday- Schools and the American Sunday-School Union, p. 708. American Sunday-School Union 31 Origin and Object of the American Sunday- School Union. Rapidly the tendency towards broad cooperation increased till, in 1820, the first public plea for a " general Sunday-School Union in the United States " was made by the New York Sunday-School Union, and printed in its Annual Report. The idea of a national society s©on engaged the thoughts of Sunday-school workers in the various parts of the country. A plan for such a society was outlined and distrib- uted for consideration. Delegates from various societies met in Philadelphia. December 11, 1823, and discussed and approved the plan, but referred action to the next annual meeting of the Philadel- phia Sunday and Adult School Union. This second meeting ^ " was largely attended by prom- inent ministers and laymen of several different denominations, and from fifteen to twenty States (there were only twenty-four States then) and, after able addresses by several representatives, the name and constitution of the ' American Sun- day-School Union ' were unanimously approved, May 25, 1824." The New York and Boston Unions became auxiliary to the American Union as the national and parent Society. This organ- ization has been and still is the most enterprising and widely beneficent of all the long list of such associations in America. Its objects, as stated in « History of the American Sunday- School Union, by E. W. Rice. Sunday-School Missionar>', June, 1899, p. 5- 32 Sunday-School Movements the constitution, quoted on the cover of the an- nual reports, and kept constantly in view, are " To concentrate the efforts of Sabbath-school societies in different portions of our country ... to disseminate useful information ; circulate moral and religious publications in every part of the land, and endeavor to plant a Sunday-school wherever there is a population." Management. The affairs and funds of the So- ciety are under the direction of a Board, consist- ing of a President, Vice-President, Corresponding Secretar}% Recording Secretary, Treasurer and about thirty ^** Managers. To avoid sectarian- ism, this Board is restricted to laymen and in- cludes members of the principal evangelical de- nominations of the country. As business increased it was found advisable to appoint special committees for the important branches of work, and at present there is a committee of twelve on Publication, one of eight on Missions, one of five on Finance, and an Executive Committee of three. Most of the members of these committees are from the Board. The general membership of the So- ciety consists of annual subscribers of three dol- lars or more, and life members who have sub- scribed thirty dollars at one time. Publications. From the outset, two distinct fields of labor opened before the Union, and were simultaneously entered upon, — the preparation of "Annual Reports (recent). American Sunday-School Union 23 suitable books and the establishment of schools. At the beginning of the century religious litera- ture for the young was generally unknown. President Humphrey, of Amherst College, and Dr. T. H. Gallaudet, who were likely to be best informed on this subject, declared that they did not know of a score of reading-books of any kind suitable for the young,^^ even when they counted in the short list such sketches as " Glass Slipper," " Goody Two-Shoes," " Bluebeard," and "Who Killed Cock Robin?", with "Pil- grim's Progress," " Robinson Crusoe," " Watt's Songs," and " ^Martyrdom of John Rogers." Sunday-school children were employed commit- ting to memory hjnins and passages of Scripture, and there was no attempt at explaining the Bible or helping them to understand it. The Philadel- phia Sunday and Adult School Union published twenty-one bound reading-books, which, at the time of its absorption in the American Sunday- School Union, were transferred to the new organ- ization, together with the funds which amounted to about $5,000. In the American Sunday-School Union, the finances of the publication department are kept entirely distinct from those of the missionary de- partment. The expenses here are defrayed from the proceeds of the books sold, but as the de- partment is for charitable, and not money-making " Bird's-eye- View, by E. W. Rice, Sundav-Schogl Missionary, Nov. 1895, p. 7. 34 Sunday-School Movements purposes, the price of books is as near as possible to the cost of publication, and often, thanks to donations, merely nominal. Where it seems ad- visable, books are even given gratuitously. The " Committee of Publications," at first con- sisting of only five members, now of twelve, is chosen from different evangelical denominations, and no publication is permitted that has not their unanimous approval. The work of this commit- tee has been most varied. For the use of some schools, elementary books were needed, such as primers, spelling-books, testaments and hymn books, which were furnished at the very low price of from two to eight cents ^^ each. Since the foundation of the American Bible Society, how- ever, the publication of Bibles and testaments has been relinquished, to avoid a complication of in- terests ; and for the same reason, upon the organ- ization of the American Tract Society, and at its request, the Union ceased the publication of re- ligious tracts, of which it had previously issued a large number. As early as 1826 the Society started a system of selected uniform lessons. The first step was the selection of a definite portion of Scripture for the whole school. Next, came a systematic series of selections from the Gospel history, in chrono- logical order, comprising forty-seven lessons of from ten to twenty verses each, printed upon " Sunday-Schools and the American Sunday- School Union, pp. 710 and 717. L American Sunday-School Union 35 cards. Then a series of question books was de- vised by Rev. Albert Judson, at this time agent of the New York Sunday-School Union. After this the number of question books for children published by the Society rapidly increased, nu- merous aids for teachers and scholars were added, and other societies soon began to use the same plan. At the head of the list of Sunday-school aids published by the Society to-day," is the well- known Sunday-School World, a monthly, which expands and illustrates the International Lessons, discusses manifold phases of Sunday-school work, suggests new and improved methods, and notes the literature of interest to those who would know what is being done by others. The Sunday-School World leads not only as a lesson help, but as a periodical of the Society. From the first year of the Union, when the Teach- ers' Magazine was started as a monthly, the Com- mittee has not ceased sending forth an interesting variety of periodicals, adapted to the demands of the times. Copies of many of these papers can still be seen at the Society's headquarters in Phila- delphia, and an impressive idea of the advance- ment of the age can be gained by contrasting any of the numerous current publications with one of seventy years ago,^* in one of the best of which we find the articles, " Native Indians," " Happy Death of a Sunday-School Scholar," " Sunday- " Annual Report, 1898, p. 12. "The Child's Magazine, July, 1828. 36 Sunday-School Movements School Anecdote," " The Robber's Daughter," and a " Scripture Question for July, ' How can you prove that God's providential care extends to all his creatures ? ' " Another excellent work has been accomplished by this Department, namely the introduction of the library feature into Sunday-schools. At first, as has been said, the number of books was extremely limited, not above thirty or forty from all sources, and many of these were reprints of English books. The demand which soon arose was one which manufacturers did not care to sup- ply, for the books had to be cheap and unsectarian. Such books the Society undertook to furnish. It circulated its price catalogues all over the land, and by 1827 had opened sixty-seven depositories at various points. At the annual meeting in 1837, the Board were instructed to prepare and furnish at the lowest price, a small select library for com- mon schools. A selection of one hundred and twenty-one volumes was accordingly made from the books of the Society, and no labor or expense spared to introduce them to the notice of parties interested. The selection, however, was generally objected to as too strictly religious, and was adopted in comparatively few instances, though regarded with favor by those who understood the design of the Society in preparing it. Since then more successful libraries have been furnished, among others, the present " Half-Price Home Library" issued monthly at $1.15 per year; and American Sunday-School Union 37 the total number of volumes published by the So- ciety has risen to the thousands. More and more attention has been given to the style as well as to the subjects of the books. The illustrations are not mere pictures to amuse chil- dren, but have often been prepared at great ex- pense, and are chiefly ^^ such cuts or engravings as give a notion of visible existences, such as the geography and natural history of the Bible. Much attention, too. has recently been given to biog- raphy, both biblical, as the lives of Moses. David. Daniel, Elijah, John the Baptist and Paul, and secular, as the lives of Washington, and sketches of Melancthon, Knox, Wishart, and Lady Jane Grey. Finally, for some years this Committee has caused ^* the free distribution of literature to hos- pitals, asylums, penitentiaries, and houses of de- tention in the United States, with gratifying re- sults. The chaplains and others in charge of these institutions have sent repeated thanks and reports of the helpful influences of this literature in re- forming the vicious and unfortunate classes. The total value of publications distributed by the So- ciety in its various lines of work has amounted to over $9,000,000." "Design. Character and Uses of the Books of the American Sunday-School Union (reprint), p. 8. "Annual Report, 1898, p. n. " Sunday- School Missionary, 1899; History of the American Sunday-School Union, by E. W. Rice, p. 32. 38 Sunday-School Movements Establishment of schools. The other, and even greater field of labor upon which this Union en- tered was that of establishing schools. The kind of Sunday-school contemplated was for religious instruction exclusively, and was to receive all classes of children and care for them alike. Even the First-Day or Sunday-School Society of Phila- delphia had in view the moral rather than the re- ligious instruction of children, so that for the new schools there was no precedent. During the first year of the Society, therefore, agents, or " missionaries," as they were called, both clerical and lay, were sent out to explore dis- tricts that were especially needy, and there open new schools or prepare the way for them as might be practicable, to visit and encourage schools al- ready existing, to organize auxiliary societies, and to solicit funds to defray their expenses. The compensation paid to such missionaries did not exceed, on an average, one dollar a day for the time actually expended. The total expenses of the missionary service for the first two or three years were defrayed ^^ by the voluntary contributions made at the monthly concerts of prayer for Sun- day-schools, and by the admission fees of mem- bers and auxiliaries. In the second year the missionary work was placed in charge of a special committee, and a gen- eral agent was employed to visit the different sec- " Sunday-Schools and the American Sunday-School Union, p. 710. xuiiuiiiituiuuiMuiiiiiitiiiuiHiiiaM American Sunday-School Union 39 tions of the country for the purpose of awaken- ing a more general interest in the Society, and to obtain contributions in the larger cities. The pe- cuniary results of this plan were small, but the Society was encouraged by the increased favor with which its labors were received, and by the new openings for more extended work. The re- ceipts ^^ of the Union, which had been $4,000 the first year, were $9,000 the second, $19,000 the third, and $58,000 the fourth, at the end of which year the debts of the Union were $35,000, and the effective capital was but $25,000. Opportunities for the organization of new schools in the West, however, were so many and favorable, and calls so urgent and incessant, that the Board were in- cited to more extended labors. A meeting of del- egates representing the Sunday-schools of four- teen different States, and held at Philadelphia in May, 1828, encouraged the Society in its endeav- ors by promises of cooperation and an immediate subscription of nearly $5,000. The Mississippi Valley Enterprise. In 1829 the first permanent agency in the Western States was established at Cincinnati, and that section was thoroughly explored with a view to a more sys- tematic missionary labor. At the anniversary of the Society in May, 1830, it was resolved, so far as practicable, to organize a Sunday-school, within " Sunday-Schools and the American Sunday-School Union, p. 713. 40 Sunday-School Movements two years, in every destitute place in the Valley of the ^Mississippi. This plan was received with great favor, and entered upon with zeal. Nearly $25,000 was subscribed and collected in Philadel- phia and New York within a few days, and ar- dent and enterprising missionaries were sent into the field. As this is one of the most important events in the history of Mission Sunday-schools in America, it is worthy of a somewhat detailed account. It created a wave of popular enthusiasm which swept over the whole country, and was felt even in Great Britain.^" Prominent ministers of all denominations, able statesmen, and noted mer- chants entered into the cause. Within two years, the contributions to the " Valley Fund " exceeded $60,000, perhaps not a large sum to-day, but princely gifts for 1830. Although the entire population of the Mississippi Valley was at that time hardly 3,000,000, it w-as rapidly increasing, and the persons who passed the resolution did not realize the magnitude of such an undertaking, nor how many years it would require to accomplish the desired result. The first missionary chosen w-as B. J. Seward, who enlisted two others. Among the hundreds of Sunday-schools formed by these earnest work- ers was one at Winchester, Illinois, where a little child, Mary Paxson by name, led her father and was the means of his conversion. This Mr. Pax- **A Fruitful Life, pp. 29-32 (note). zmuiiunutiuHMUM American Sunday-School Union 41 son soon became the greatest of the Mississippi Valley missionaries, and his life -^ shows the hard- ships as well as the successes of that occupation. As the salary offered by the Society was one dollar for every day of work, and Mr. Paxson had little else to depend upon, he moved his family from their pleasant home to a rude log cabin in a wilderness of Pike county, Illinois. From there he started out upon his journeys, and with horse and buggy traversed the places destitute of re- Hgious instruction. It was his business to visit all the people in a neighborhood where there was no Sunday-school ; to invite them to hold a meet- ing for the purpose of organization; to address them at this meeting ; to instruct them in the best methods of conducting a school, and to provide them with necessary books and papers. While awav on these trips Mr. Paxson could not hear from his home, as it was before railroads covered the West, and it was impossible for him to foretell his route. During his short home stays, reports had to be made out, letters written, and books or- dered for needy schools. It is but just to the Union to say that in 1854 Mr. Paxson's salar\' was raised and he moved his family to where they could have some educational advantages. Two years later he was called to the East to speak in behalf of the work of the Union before the cul- tured audiences of the great cities. Year after year he was asked to return to the East in the " A Fruitful Life, by B. Paxson Drury. 42 Sunday-School Movements winter, when he spoke every night in the week except Saturday, and from three to five times on Sunday. Later he gave much of his time to con- vention work, but his incessant toil told on his strength, and in 1868 the Society gave him the easier position of taking charge of a Book De- pository in St. Louis. By the end of his life, this extraordinary man, Stephen Paxson, had traveled from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains, from the Lakes to the Gulf; had organized 1,314 Sunday-schools, with 83,405 scholars and teach- ers, where no Sunday-schools had before existed, besides encouraging and aiding 1,747 other Sun- day-schools ; and had organized a large number of conventions. Methods of Reporting. After such a story it will be asked : Is there any way of testing such reports and statistics? Each missionary is re- quired not only to state the number of schools he has organized and aided every month, but also to give the location of each school, the day on which it was organized or aided, and the name and post- office address of each superintendent. These re- ports are carefully preserved in the office of the Secretary of Missions, at Philadelphia, and are open to the inspection of any contributor or friend of the Society. This system has been found by personal -- investigation to secure accurate and trustworthy statem.ents. " A Brief View of the Missionary Work of the Amer- ican Sunday-School Union (revised), p. 8. IIUUIIIUitlHIUUIIillllllllUlilltllUiHI American Sunday-School Union 43 Other Missionary Work. It is not intended in the above account to give the impression that Stephen Paxson far outshone all other missiona- ries of the Society, or that the Mississippi Valley scheme was the only enterprise of the kind under- taken. Other workers are not mentioned for the very fact that they are so numerous, and the other undertakings of the Union will need less descrip- tion because one has been given in some detail. The Society's field of labor, though it might seem under the constitution not to be limited, has al- ways been confined to the territory of the United States, and though repeatedly solicited, it has al- ways refused to extend its missionary work be- yond those limits. In 1833, however, an earnest appeal was made by the Board for Foreign Mis- sions for assistance in translating its works for the use of schools at foreign missionary stations, and an agency was created which raised over $3,000 for the purpose. From this fund appropria- tions ^^ were made to the missions in India, China, Greece, Persia, Turkey and the Sandwich Islands ; donations of books were also made to Ceylon and India missions, and for distribution in South America, Russia and Prussia, and a depository for the sale of its books was established at Cal- cutta. Various translations have been made of the Society's publications into French, German. Greek, Swedish, Portuguese, Bengalee, and some other Indian languages. ** Sunday-Schools and the American Sunday-School Union, p. 714. 44 Sunday-School Movements At the same time special attention was directed to the Southern States, and after a preliminary survey of the territory by the Rev. Robert Baird, D. D., the effort was made to supply the obviously existing want of Sunday-schools by missionary labor, as in the Mississippi Valley. But the at- tempt was met with suspicion and jealousy. Moreover, although $30,000 was contributed for the object, the appropriations to this field exceeded the donations by nearly $3,000. Since then the Society has thought it unwise to depend upon the temporary excitement of special enterprises, and has in the main ceased to work for such appro- priations. The missionary work, however, has steadily in- creased and to-day covers almost the entire terri- tory of the United States. The field is divided into eight or nine districts, the larger ones having each a special superintendent. The Southern Dis- trict contains a population of over sixteen million, nearly all living in small towns and rural tracts. It includes the destitute " poor whites " of the piney wood region, and illiterate colored people of the poorest kind; for which latter three colored missionaries are employed. The Central District confines its work chiefly to Michigan and Ohio. The Northwestern District is one of the largest and most active, giving especial attention to the frequent revisiting of schools. Here also, con- trary to the usual aim of the Society, some ener- getic city work has been accomplished, as at Coun- iltUUlHUiHUfl American Sunday-School Union 45 oil Bluffs, Iowa, where thousands of persons have been fed and clothed, hundreds given employ- ment, and many rescued from evil lives. In this quarter the " student work " has been most suc- cessful. The department of " student work " had been in operation from about 1850 to i860, but was dis- continued for want of funds, and was not re- newed until 1897. It gives an opportunity for Christian work to college or theological students during their vacation. Reports were received from only thirty-five of the eighty-four students commissioned bv the Union the first summer. These reported -* fifty-five Sunday-schools organ- ized, one hundred and eighty-nine teachers, and sixteen hundred and twenty-five scholars; six schools reorganized; three hundred and sixty- seven schools visited for the first time; twelve thousand three hundred and seventy-one visits made to families, of whom four hundred and eighty-six were without Bibles ; thirty-seven hun- dred and sixty-six books distributed. These mis- sionary students are advised to explain the work of the Union at the Gospel Meetings which they hold, and to take up an offering for it. The money so obtained must be reported to the So- ciety, but the student is authorized " to retain as his own, in compensation for his services, a sum •* Annual Report of 1898, p. 36. "Instructions for Student Missionaries of the Amer- ican Sunday- School Union, p. 6. 46 Sunday-School Movements not to exceed $30, for each month spent in the work. The Pacific Coast, Rocky Mountain, and South- western Districts have fewer workers than the Northwestern; ahhough their fields seem needy, and more schools are annually organized in the Southwestern District than in any other. The superintendent of this district believes that more people are reached by planting many schools than by "coddling" a few, and in fact one of the Southwestern schools ^^ which the missionary founder was never able to revisit, flourished until through its influence five other schools in adjoin- ing neighborhoods were established, which were not reported as the result of the missionary work of the Society. In the East the work is entirely diflFerent. Pennsylvania still has two missionaries. New York and New Jersey have a secretary, the mis- sionary work being now under the care of their state associations. The duty of this secretary seems to be chiefly to collect money for the sup- port of missionaries in the growing West and the needy South. New England also has a secretary, at Boston. Of late years, however, the movement of popula- tion from the country into the cities, which has greatly depleted the rural districts, has made it impossible to sustain the old-time services of re- ligion, and has left multitudes stranded without *' Sunday- School Missionary, Nov., 1895, p. 10. American Sunday-School Union 47 gospel privileges. To meet this need, five mis- sionaries, including the wife of the Vermont mis- sionary, are at work in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, respectively. Be- sides collecting funds for the South and West, the New England secretary has been successful in en- couraging ladies to send missionary boxes to the workers at distant posts. But the most striking feature of this district has been the employment by the Society of a native Chinese missionary. This missionary labors among those of his own nationality in Boston and other parts of New Eng- land. Character of the Schools. As a rule the Union does not work in the large cities. The Sunday- school missionary goes where sometimes he is the only pastor in the section, visiting the people in sickness, burying their dead, and counseling them in hours of perplexity. His chief purpose from the time he starts a school is to lead the people toward its ultimate support. They are free to have the school on the union plan, or to make it of any evangelical denomination the ma- jority may prefer. If the neighborhood is a growing one, the missionary desires and expects in time the formation of a church. In 1898, the organization of churches followed the establish- ment of Union Sunday-schools in eighty " cases. Among the reasons for establishing the school "^ Report for 1898, p. 17. 48 Sunday-School Movements before the church is the fact that in these rural communities there are seldom enough of one be- lief to form a church, and they will not unite ex- cept for the sake of the children. These schools become social and moral centres, and encourage intellectual life. Scores of young people gradu- ate from these little country Sunday-schools, to enter academies, seminaries and colleges. Conventions and Conferences. Apart from these two main lines of work, yet as an outgrowth of them, the American Sunday-School Union has been the cradle of the International work ; for not only is the International Lesson System the de- velopment of this Society's " Uniform lessons," but even the great International Conventions had their origin in the work of this Union. At a meeting ^* of the friends of Sunday- schools, held May 23, 1832, in Philadelphia, on the occasion of the anniversary of the American Sunday-School Union, and also of the meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, it was found that the workers present represented fifteen States. After some discussion it was re- solved to hold a national convention of persons actually engaged in Sunday-school work, in New York, on the first Wednesday of the following October. The object was to deliberate upon plans for promoting the usefulness of the system of re- " Report of the Eighth International Sunday- School Convention, 1896, p. 9. b» American Sunday-School Union 49 Hgious instruction, and to adopt, if possible, some means of rendering it more efficient. A commit- tee was appointed to prepare a series of interroga- tories for circulation over the land. They pre- pared seventy-eight questions on the following thirteen subjects: Schools (including infant schools), Organization, Discipline, Visiting, Modes of Instruction, Union Question-Books, Other Question-Books, Libraries, Other Means of Success, Superintendents, Bible-Classes, Adult Classes, jNIiscellaneous. Twenty-five hundred of these papers were distributed to superintendents and others in different parts of the country. About three hundred were answered ; some re- plies were very copious, and the whole collection, a quarto volume ^® of 2,400 pages, was submitted to the convention, and is still to be seen at the Union's quarters in Philadelphia. The conven- tion assembled October 3, 1832, and was the first of the " National Conventions " from which the " International Conventions " have grown. Besides these great gatherings, local confer- ences are held, at which the experience and obser- vations of the missionaries are compared with those of the managers. For example, the North- western District holds an annual conference at the Moody Bible Institute, in Chicago. In 1855 a particularly interesting and profitable convention of secretaries, agents and missionaries was held "Bound Volume of the " Sunday- School Teachers' Convention,"' 1833. I 50 Sunday-School Movements at Cincinnati. We have already seen that Stephen Paxson worked in conventions ; but Sunday- school conventions have been the special work of another organization. Incorporation and Finances. With all this in- creasing work how have the finances of the Union prospered? The cost of the publications which were given away, and the expense of sending out missionaries, had to be met by benevolent contri- butions, or, when the gifts were too small, the difference went to swell " borrowed money," soon making a burdensome debt. At an early date suit- able premises for the use of the Society were se- cured, at a total cost of over $40,000, of which one-third was contributed by the citizens of Phila- delphia, and the remainder secured by a mortgage. Soon after the Mississippi Valley effort the debt ^° was $47,000. This was alarming for those times ; a reduction in benevolent work and sharp cutting down of business followed, and the debt shrank one-half. But the financial crisis of 1837 crippled givers, business, and benevolences alike, and soon the " borrowed " funds rose to $90,000. The burden of reducing this debt again fell largely upon the business department. In 1845 the first legacy was received by the Society. This year, too, a charter was granted to the Union. More than fifteen years earlier the Society had become so extended that the Board •'The Sunday-School Missionary, Nov., 1895, p. 8. American Sunday-School Union 51 of Managers sought an act of incorporation em- powering them to hold a Hmited amount of prop- erty necessary for the carrying on of the business. But the apphcation for a charter met with such suspicion and gave rise to such a degree and kind of hostihty from the members of the Legislature as was wholly unexpected. The charter was de- nied and the application was not renewed till 1845. While the Society was still struggling with its debt a fresh gigantic effort was proposed, to found schools in the still destitute communities of the United States and the Canadas. The missionary treasury was overdrawn $76,000, by this fresh enterprise, and that sum had been added to the former " borrowed " money, when the financial crisis of 1857 crushed the country. The Union had hardly recovered from this when the Civil War cut off a large army of its friends. Millions of its publications were soon wanted and freely given to the armies in camp and hospital, special funds coming for the purpose. Then followed peace and the resumption of work in the great South, calling for increased gifts. The debts ac- cordingly grew, until the managers faced accumu- lated over-expenditures amounting to from $200,000 to $250,000. After several who favored the overdrafts had shrunk from any attempt to remove the debt, a plan was matured to clear it off without inter- fering with current benevolent work. Mr. Alex- ander Brown of Philadelphia gave $40,000, and 52 Sunday-School Movements in a few years not only was the entire amount paid, but from added bequests and gifts, especially by the $100,000 from the John C. Green estate, $50,000 from the John Crerar estate and $78,000 from the Mary Stuart bequests, the Society had income-bearing funds invested amounting to about $350,000. To-day, even after the past few years of de- pression beginning with 1893, the Union is clear from debt. It has organized an average of more than three Sunday-schools a day " for over sixty- five years ; and yet, if there was a call for the American Sunday-School Union in 1824, the call is far more urgent in 1901, for there are more than three times as many children unreached by Sunday-schools in the United States, as there were children in the nation in 1824. " A Brief View of the Missionary Work of the Amer- ican Sunday-School Union (revised edition), p. 8. db CHAPTER III THE NATIONAL CONVENTION SYSTEM Early Conventions. Early in this centun-, especially during the years between 1820 and 1830, local Sunday-school conventions were held^ in many of the Eastern and Middle States, For in- stance Hartford county, Connecticut, had a County Sunday-School Union ^ which held Sun- day-school conventions ; and the annual reports of the American Sunday-School Union from 1825 to 1830 show that there were about four hundred such local organizations in active operation at that time. It was the interest and profit derived from this local form of conference which led to the National Sunday-School Conventions of 1832 and 1833- First National Convention. As stated in the chapter on the American Sunday-School Union, at a meeting of the friends of Sunday-schools held May 23, 1832, in Philadelphia, on the occasion of the anniversary of that Union, and also of the meeting of the General Assembly of the Presby- * Sunday-Schools, article in Schaff-Herzog Encyclo- paedia of Religious Knowledge, 1891, by E. W. Rice, p. 2265. *A Fruitful Life, B. Paxson Drury, p. 42. 53 54 Sunday-School Movements terian Church, it was found that the workers present represented fifteen States. After some discussion it was decided to call a national con- vention, to meet in New York in the fall of that year. Accordingly, a gathering which was the first of the great National Sunday-School Con- ventions assembled October 3, 1832, in what was called the Chatham Street Chapel. The Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, was chosen president, and about two hundred and twenty delegates were enrolled, representing fifteen states, more than one-half of the then Union. The body was an imposing and influential one, including many religious leaders, both clerical and lay. Its chief work seems to have been to re- ceive the answers to questions previously dis- tributed, to appoint committees to consider the more important topics, and to prepare an outline of such topics under the following heads: Infant Sunday-School Organization ; Discipline of Sun- day-schools, including Plans for Visiting and Sus- taining Sunday-schools ; Plan of Instruction ; Sunday-school Libraries ; Qualifying Scholars to become Teachers ; Duties of Superintendent and Teachers ; Organization of County and other Unions ; Propriety of having more than one ses- sion a day. This convention did not disband but adjourned to meet in Philadelphia the following spring. ^ "Historical Sketch, Report of gth (and also 8th) In- ternational Sunday- School Convention. b» HiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiDiiiiiiiiiiHitXHaiiiaMtfMi The National Convention System 55 Second National Convention. The Second Na- tional Convention, ' in reality the adjourned meet- ing of the first convention, met May 22, 1833, in the Cherry Street lecture-room, Philadelphia. The Hon. Willard Hall was chosen president. Only nine states were represented at this convention, the reassembling of the convention being imprac- ticable so soon after the other sessions. It is worthy of note, however, that this body adopted the recommendation of the American Sunday- School Union, " that a systematic and simultane- ous canvass of the entire country be made, to ob- tain scholars and enlist parents in the work, on the 4th of July following. " The various com- mittees made their reports, and after a few sessions of considerable interest, the convention adjourned. In the list of National Conventions this and the preceding are frequently counted as one. It appears to have been more than twenty years * after this before either a state or a national Sunday-school convention was again held in this country, unless some state gatherings immedi- ately followed the Second National Convention. Growth and Character of the System. In 1855, a state Sunday-school convention was held in Massachusetts ; but that was more for social stimulus than for organized work. It was during the early autumn of 1856 that the Sunday-school * The STindav-School Times, May 30 1896, p. 339, art. by H. C. Trumbull. 56 Sunday-School Movements teachers of Massachusetts, one thousand strong, paid a visit to the Crystal Palace and the Sunday- school teachers of New York. ^ They were re- ceived with great cordiality, and mingled de- lightedly with the Sunday-school teachers of New York and Brooklyn during two or three days, closing with a grand Farewell Meeting in Ply- mouth Church, Brooklyn. This proved so in- teresting and profitable that Massachusetts called a three-days State Sunday-school Convention in the city of Boston, later in the fall of the same year; and New York held its first State Sunday- school Convention, for three days, in the city of Albany, in January, 1857. Both conventions were highly profitable, and those states have held such meetings annually ever since. Con- necticut also held a State Convention in 1857. It was at this time that the plan of county secretaries for organized and systematic effort was inaugurated in those states. After this other states. East and West, followed with similar organizations, and there has since been no break in the course of organized work. Meanwhile the West had been stimulated by an- other force. Stephen Paxson, of Missouri, the great early missionary of the American Sunday- School Union, was enthusiastic over the conven- tion idea. He had succeeded in planting fifteen Sunday-schools in Scott county, Illinois. The •The Sabbath-School Index, by R. S. Pardee, 1868, p. 24. The National Convention System 57 need of cooperation, sympathy, and union soon began to be felt in this region, and he determined to call the schools together. They met in a two- days convention in the old Presbyterian Church in Winchester. This is often considered the first county convention ever organized in the United States. It was in 1846. He then predicted that the time would come when there vrould be a county convention in every county in the state of Illinois. He himself organized forty in that state. From this beginning, it is said,® the system of district, county and state conventions has sprung. Gradually the convention system has become more and more perfect, until to-day in most of the states the chain is complete. The international conventions take place every three years, com- posed of delegates from each state, territory and province. Once a year there is a state or provin- cial convention, composed of delegates from each county in the state or province. Next comes the county convention, composed of delegates from each township or district in the county ; and last, the township convention, that embraces every Sunday-school officer and teacher within its boundar\\ The international organization is the watch-tower from which the whole field is over- looked. ■^ The great cities containing from 250,000 to 1,000,000 people, and the single state of Nevada •A Fruitful Life. pp. 43, 164. 'Eighth International Sunday-School Convention Re- port, p. 44- 58 Sunday-School Movements present almost the only ® soil too hard or too arid for the seed of the International Sunday-School system. Tliird National Convention. The Third Na- tional Convention was held in Philadelphia, Feb- ruary 22 to 24, 1859. Ex-Gov. James J. Pollock, of Pennsylvania, was chosen president. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia were repre- sented, with one representative from Great Britain. The meetings were held in Jayne's Hall, and the interest in the exercises increased from session to session until that spacious audience room could not contain the people. A committee was ap- pointed to make arrangements for a " similar assemblage of the representatives of the evangeli- cal Sabbath-schools of America. " xA.fter this convention the Civil War interrupted the series of such gatherings contemplated by its managers. The Movement in Illinois. Meanwhile a fire was being kindled in Illinois. The first Illinois State Sunday-School Convention was held in 1859. It was not a large gathering, hardly a score of persons being present. Mr. E. C. Wilder, then of Chicago, and the Rev. S. G. Lathrop were leaders in the movement. The three following annual conventions were also poorly attended. But in 1864, at Springfield, the evening before the opening service, Mr. Moody said, " This • Ninth International Sunday-School Convention Re- port, pp. 97, 227. BiuiiiniiiuiiiHiuiiiiiitiiuiHiiniHllii The National Convention System 59 thing so far has been a dead failure ; we must do something to give it power." Beginning with a prayer-meeting, where perhaps half a dozen were present, within a day or two the whole city was moved. When the delegates went back to their homes they carried the spirit of the meeting over all the state. From that time Moody, Jacobs, Eggleston, Wilder, Reynolds, Alexander Tyng. J. V. Farwell, Major Whittle, P. P. Bliss and others were aflame with the one purpose to cover the state with suitably organized Sunday- schools. " FoTirth National Convention. In June, 1868, during the session of the International Convention of Young Men's Christian Associations, at De- troit, an informal meeting of Sunday-school workers was held and a plan was formed to call an international Sunday-school convention. A committee, with Rev. Edward Eggleston as chair- man, was appointed to further the project. This committee, having learned that the national com- mittee of the Philadelphia convention was still in existence, united with them and other prominent Sunday-school workers in issuing the call for the Fourth National Convention. This convention was held in Newark. New Jer- sey, April 28 to 30, 1869. Its main sessions took place in the First Baptist Church, which, though large, could not accommodate the crowds desiring •The Lesson System, by Simeon Gilbert, 1879, pp. 24, 25- 6o Sunday-School Movements to attend, so that other meetings were organized in other rooms. The convention was called to order by Mr. Eggleston. Mr. George H, Stuart, of Pennsylvania, was made president. H. Clay Trumbull, J. H. Vincent and B. F. Jacobs were secretaries. Twenty-eight states and one territory of the Union were represented in the membership of the convention, besides the Dominion of Canada, England, Ireland. Scotland, Egypt and South Africa. The whole number of delegates was five hundred and twenty-six. The entire attendance at the convention was estimated at between 2,500 and 3,000 persons. It was said by the reporter of the proceedings that, " The spirit and power of the exercises can only be faintly shadowed. . . . Never before had so many Sunday-school leaders of the land been brought face to face. Taken as a whole it was the most memorable Sunday-school gathering ever assembled in the United States, if not in the world. " Fifth National Convention.* The Fifth Nation- al Convention was held in Indianapolis, April 16 to 19, 1872; P. G. Gillett, LL. D., of Illinois, be- ing president. Although smaller than that of 1869, this convention has acquired a historical interest on account of its inauguration of the Uniform or International Lesson System. According to the editor of the Sunday-School Times, as quoted by the Reports, " After the earnest speech of Mr. B. F. Jacobs, who had been appointed to lead the * See chap. IV, p. 8. The National Convention System 6i discussion, and during the brief speeches for and against which followed, the scene was indiscrib- able. A quiver of eager desire seemed to thrill the whole body. . . . There was scarcely a corpo- ral's guard of opponents to the measure. Al- though in the morning when the question was broached, repeated cries of * question ' were made, the council of caution prevailed, and the measure was not rushed through in hot haste, but left for the afternoon session. The ardor of its advocates had not at all cooled by the delay, the final vote being almost unanimous, and its announcement being greeted by the convention rising to their feet and singing the long meter doxology." First International Convention. Since 1872, when the uniform lesson system was agreed upon, the conventions have met every three years, and have been called International. A new lesson com- mittee has been chosen at the alternate meetings, that is one in every six years. The First Inter- national Convention was held in Baltimore, May II to 13, 1875, the Rev. George A. Peltz, of New Jersey, being president. A cablegram of greeting was received from the Church of England Sun- day-school teachers assembled in Exeter Hall, London, to which the convention responded. Twenty Canadian representatives were present. Besides this great convention, twenty-one State Sunday-school conventions ^<* were held that year. •" Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature, M'Clintock & Stroi^. 1881, vel. X, p. 23. 62 Sunday-School Movements Second, Third and Fourth International Con- ventions. The next International Convention was held in Atlanta, Georgia, April 17 to 19, 1878, and was the first one held in the South. Gov. Alfred H. Colquitt, of Georgia, was chosen president. The convention was characterized by great en- thusiasm at all its sessions, and was the beginning of thorough organization in Sunday-school work in the Southern states. The Third International Convention was held in Toronto, Canada, June 22 to 24, 1881, the Hon. S. H. Blake of that city being chosen president. The Fourth International Convention is of especial interest as including a Primary Teachers' Institute, and as receiving the formal announce- ment ^^ of the existence of the National Union of Primary Sunday-School Teachers, organized the month before. The convention was held in Louis- ville, June II to 13, 1884, with the Hon. Thomas W. Bickwell, of Massachusetts, as president. National Primary Union. Primary work has now become a clearly defined department of the International Convention system. " The idea that a teacher of little children in the Sabbath school needed any special training origi- nated in the minds of a few teachers in the city of Newark, New Jersey, who held their first meeting for this purpose on February 18, 1870." ^- About " Primary Workers' Manual, Phil., 1897, p. 33. " International Primary Union, by Israel P. Black, in UlillllUlilHIUHIilllHIIHUItni The National Convention System 63 the first of February, 187 1, a Httle company of infant class teachers in New York ^^ met " for consultation as to what means could be adopted to prepare the teachers to meet their little ones, and how best to advance the interests of a class which . , . was seen to be one of import- ance. " A regular series of lessons for the Infant Class teachers was started at once. Miss Hattie Morris, of Brooklyn, was invited to teach the first model lesson, which she did to a class of little people from Olivet Chapel, on February eighth. About fifty teachers were present at this lesson, which was given at 15 Bible House. Various plans were afterwards tried for rendering these lessons profitable and interesting. Sometimes one teacher would give all the lessons for one quarter, and sometimes the changes would be more fre- quent. From February 1881 to June 1888, the lessons were taught almost exclusively by Mrs, Wilbur F. Crafts, under whose efficient manage- ment the Primary Class became, in 1881, the New York Primary Teachers' Union, and many of the memSers took up a regular course of normal study and received diplomas from the New York State Sunday-School Association. Meanwhile other primary teachers had united. The Philadelphia teachers were the first actually Report of 9th International Sun day- School Convention, p. 68. " Silver Anniversary of the New York Sunday-School Primary Union, 1896, pp. 4-7. 64 Sunday-School Movements to form a Primary Union, which they did on April 26, 1879. Washington followed in 1881, the same year the New York Union was formed. Before long a desire was expressed for a central organiza- tion, not merely as a bond of union and means of improvement, but to spread the idea in other places. To Mrs. Crafts belongs the honor of in- augurating the National Primary Union, which was organized on May 13, 1884, at the fifth anni- versary of the Philadelphia Union, and of which she was made the president. During the International Convention of 1887, the National Primary Union was changed into the International Primary Union of the United States and British Provinces. Its object according to the constitution is " Mutual helpfulness, for better work by correspondence, publishing, interchange of papers on practical topics and the formation of Local Primary Teachers' Unions. " For some years the work of the International Union was confined to encouraging the formation of Primary Unions, which was carried on by means of cor- respondence and monthly publications. Its official organ is the " Quarterly Bulletin. " By Septem- ber, 1 891, forty Unions had been formed, " which were mostly large Unions in important centers of the country. " At the convention of 1893 fifty Unions were reported, and at the convention of 1896 one hundred and ten Unions were reported. At this latter gathering, the International Primary Union was made auxiliary to the International lUllilllillliiHIItlilllliifli The National Convention System 65 Convention. Its constitution was amended to cover this new relation, and provision was made for a Primary Council consisting of a representa- tive from each state and province. This council held its first meeting in connection with the con- vention of 1899. There is also, according to pro- vision made in 1896, a Central Committee of the Council, appointed to act for the Council between the meetings of the International Conventions. In some states a primary secretary is employed to organize primary work and lecture on primary methods of instruction. All the teaching of this Union is supposed to be given in connection with the International Sunday-school lessons. The movement is rapidly spreading, and at the Conven- tion of 1899 over three hundred and ten Primary Unions were reported in good working order. Fifth and Sixth International Conventions. The Fifth International Convention was held in Bat- tery " D " Armory, Chicago, June i to 3, 1887. Mr. William Reynolds, of Illinois, was elected president. The session of the convention for primary workers was held in Farwell Hall, and was led by Mr. W. N. Hartshorn, of Massachu- setts. The Sixth International Convention was held in Pittsburg. Pa., June 24 to 27, 1890, Hon. John G, Harris, of Alabama, being president. The execu- tive committee submitted an exhaustive report of the work done in the field, the then present condi- 66 Sunday-School Movements tion as to organization, the importance of organi- zation, the need of more workers, Sunday-school statistics, financial plans, and other interesting matters. The reports from the field were hailed with delight, conveying, as they did, much en- couragement, and inspiring the Sunday-school workers to resolve to achieve greater triumphs be- fore the next convention. The Executive Committee and Field Workers. The executive committee and the lesson committee represent the two great departments of the work of the International Convention system. The latter will be described in a separate chapter. The execu- tive committee is composed of sixty members, one from each state and territory in the United States, and each province in Canada. These are recom- mended by the states, territories, or provinces, and elected for three years. During the interval be- tween the conventions, the work is directed by the executive committee, which meets annually, and by the central committee of the executive commit- tee, which is called by the chairman as often as is necessary.^* The executive committee employs a field superintendent, also several field workers, and a colored field superintendent who labors among his own people in the South. The work is conducted through the system of conventions and institutes held in the various states or provinces, counties, and townships or dis- " Work of the International Sunday- School Conven- tion, B. F. Jacobs, n. d. 1896 (?), p. i. The National Convention System 67 tricts. The design is to reach every Sunday-school and every teacher in the land. The local ingather- ing is done by house-to-house visitation, and the upbuilding is accomplished by normal classes. This work, together with that of the lesson com- mittee, is designed to cover " the entire range of Sunday-school work save the planting of schools, which is left to the several denominations and the Sunday-school unions." ^" In 1892 a number of field workers, who were invited in conference with the international execu- tive at Chautauqua, became deeply impressed with the significance of their work, and also with their limitations as individuals. Deeming that oppor- tunity for mutual contact and counsel would tend to strengthen and improve each field worker so privileged, they then and there organized a field workers' conference. For seven ^^ successive years evidence has continued to justify the wisdom of maintaining such a body, by the steady increase of membership and by the practical results to the work. Triennial conferences are held in connec- tion with the International Conventions, and other conferences in the intervals. The organization has also arranged for an exchange among its members of a large number of periodicals, besides other helpful and practical literature. The work of this "The Sunday-School Times, May 30, 1896, p. 343, article by William Reynolds. "Report of Field Workers' Department, Alfred Day; Report of 9th International Sunday-School Convention, 1899, p. 48. 68 Sunday-School Movements body owes much of its success and influence to the untiring labors of Mrs. M. H. Fergusson, who for six years acted as secretary. In 1899 the " Field Workers " were first honored by a distinctive place on the general programme of the International Convention. Seventh International Convention. The Seventh International Convention was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in connection with the Second World's Sunday-School Convention and the First Confer- ence of Field Workers, from August 30 to Sep- tember 5, inclusive, 1893. Hon. Lewis Miller, of Ohio, was chosen president. The chief discussion at this convention related to the international les- sons, and the system was approved. In connec- tion with the World's Sunday-School Convention a movement to introduce Sunday-school work into Japan was started, many persons contribut- ing one dollar apiece to begin a fund for the pur- pose. Also it was unanimously resolved by both bodies, " That it is the sense of this convention that the Home Class Department of the Sunday- school is a most practical and efficient method of Sunday-school work, and we do most heartily com- mend its adoption by all schools, and urge that all State and Provincial Associations make definite and systematic efforts to secure its general adop- tion. '' Home Class Department. The idea of the Home Class Department may, for practical purposes, be The National Convention System 69 said to have originated with W. A. Duncan, Ph. D., the same year that the Christian Endeavor movement was begun. Dr. Duncan says/^ " While attending a District Sunday-school con- vention in New York state in the spring of 1881, a woman who had a class which she held on a veranda, expressed to the writer her regret that her pastor showed no sympathy in her work. Living among those who did not and could not at- tend Sunday-school, she had gathered a class of students upon her porch for the study of the Sun- day-school lesson. It was her idea that she \vas doing the work of the Sunday-school fully as much as any teacher attending its sessions, and that her efiforts should receive the same recogni- tion and help accorded to other Sunday-school workers. . . . " Instantly the writer saw large possibilities in extending the boundaries of the Sunday-school to the furthest limit of the parish. This special case suggested to him the idea of the Home Class, or Home Department^ of the Sunday-school as a new and important feature of Sunday-school work. He immediately proposed a fundamental change in the basis of Sunday-school membership, a change so radical and important that when it was pre- sented to Bishop Vincent, he pronounced it the most valuable innovation in Sunday-school methods that had been proposed in one hundred " Report of oth International Sunday- School Conven- tion. 1899. pp. 103-115. yo Sunday-School Movements years. The suggested change was the extension of the privileges of Sunday-school membership, with all its rights and privileges of Sunday-school membership, with all its rights of religious and social fellowship, invitations to the regular church and Sunday-school services, and to all entertain- ments, picnics, etc., and the free use of Sunday- school helps and library books, to all students who could not, or would not, attend the regular Sun- day-school, but who were willing to study the lesson outside the school room, keep a record, and report the same to the superintendent of the main school. It was the application of the University Extension and C. L. S. C. methods of work to Bible study, and made the Sunday-school as broad as the parish. . . ." Early in 1882 Dr. Duncan devised the plan of appointing Sunday-school visitors, " who were to divide and canvass the parish for students, and exercise continuous visitation and supervision over the classes organized by them. " At first many superintendents and pastors opposed the plan of home classes, fearing that its successful operation would destroy the Sunday-schools. But experi- ence in New York state soon proved that through the work of the visitor the attendance at the regu- lar Sunday-school is increased. Home class work was commenced in Kansas in 1883, in Connecticut in 1884, in Vermont and New Jersey in 1885, and in other states soon after- The National Convention System 71 wards ; tliough on the whole it spread very slowly for the first ten or twelve years. Meanwhile others, not aware of this beginning, started work which diifered in some features, yet aimed at the same general end. The Congrega- tional Sunday-School and Publishing Society, about the year 1885, issued a circular-letter pre- pared in substance by the Rev. Samuel W. Dike, LL. D., for the purpose of introducing what they called the " Home Department of the Sunday- school. " This, like the Home Class, required the studying of the lesson for not less than a half-hour, and the filling out of pledge and report cards to be sent to the Sunday-school superintendent. It dif- fered, however, from Dr. Duncan's original idea in making the home, that is the family rather than the formal class, the unit. It enlisted individuals or members of a family directly in the school, and, avoiding even the word '" class, " sought to bring out the home idea at this time " when congrega- tions and classes of all sorts are drawing attention away from the home altogether too much." ^^ These two movements were before long united, and to-day the Home Department embraces the ideas of many earnest workers. It includes four kinds of " Home Classes " : — individual, family, neighborhood and correspondence. An interesting "The Sunday-School Time?, July 28. i8q4, p. 447. art. by S. VV. Dike; see also number for Oct. 30, 1897, p. 696. 72 Sunday-School Movements phase of the work is that carried on among rail- road men, pohcemen, firemen, street car men, com- mercial travelers and soldiers. Especial letters were sent to the United States army in connection with the late Spanish war. Home Departments are denominational, like most Sunday-schools, but there in an interde- nominational phase of cooperation in the canvass and supervision of large districts. In the state of New York, Home Department Unions or Town Associations were formed in the very earliest years of the movement. As a result of the resolutions adopted by the Seventh International Convention, in 1893, the Home Department has since that time been a regularly organized branch of interde- nominational Sunday-school work. Five years later, at the meeting of the International Sunday- School Executive Committee in Philadelphia, it was decided to add to the previous requirements for becoming a " banner " township, that of " mak- ing Home Department work one of its special features. " A " banner " township, county or state is one fully organized according to the na- tional plan. Indiana is now a banner state. Every- one of its ninety-two counties has adopted the Home Qass Department work, and each has a superintendent whose duty it is to push it. The statistics for the United States and Canada, pre- sented at the International Convention of 1899, show forty-eight states and districts as having undertaken this work, a total of five thousand The National Convention System 73 four hundred and ninety-seven Home Depart- ments, and a total membership of one hundred and eighty-three thousand, three hundred and ninety- seven. Eighth International Convention. The Eighth International Convention was held in Boston, Massachusetts, June 23 to 26, 1896. Hon. S. B. Capen, of Boston, was elected president. The sessions of the convention proper were held in the Auditorium of Tremont Temple. Two other halls of the same building were also used, besides Park Street Church which was used for committee meetings and for a special noonday service con- ducted by Mr. IMoody. Each day's work was be- gun with a devotional hour under ]Mr. ^Moody's direction. Ninth International Convention. The Ninth International Convention was held in Atlanta, Georgia, April 26 to 30, 1899, with the Hon. Hoke Smith, of Georgia, as president. The regular ses- sions were held in the Grand Opera House, while the meetings of the Field Workers' Conference and of the Primary Union were held in the First Methodist Episcopal Church. At the request of the International Executive Committee.^ and in order to be in close relation to the International Sunday-School Convention, the two above men- tioned organizations slightly modified their con- stitutions, and adopted the names of the Field Workers' Department of the International Sun- 74 Sunday-School Movements day-vSchool Convention and The Primary Depart- ment of the International Sunday-School Conven- tion, respectively. The two papers most strongly in cooperation with this great work are the Sun- day School Times, of Philadelphia, and the Inter- national Evangel, of St. Louis. The latter sent a special train of delegates to the convention ; and the former gave all the delegates a trolley ride over the principal thoroughfares of the city. On the whole the convention was considered " one of the largest, most harmonious and successful Sunday- school meetings ever held. It was remarkable for the fidelity with which the program was carried out, and the results accomplished. " State Associations. The work of the different states differs more or less in character as well as in completeness, but all seem to have *^he same end in view, and it is difficult to show in a short space the vast amount of time and labor devoted to this cause. In some of the most active states the entire organization seems to hang on one or two individuals, and the methods used are the expres- sion of personality rather than the reproduction of machinery. In Massachusetts, for example, the State Association may be said to have been begun in 1889, though some such organization existed before that time. Its life and success are largely due to the devoted interest and practical help of Mr. W. N. Hartshorn. At his suggestion Miss Bertha F. Vella, an accomplished Primary worker, The National Convention System 75 first began systematic organization. The state, consequently, is especially strong in Primary work. Unlike the other states, it is not organized by coun- ties and townships, but is divided into fifty-three districts, each district organization reaching the Sunday-schools and individual workers directly. The system is complete, and special maps are issued that all may understand its workings. Illinois, too, though one of the first states or- ganized, has by no means dropped into mere mechanical forms. Owing to Mr. B. F. Jacobs, Mr. W. B. Jacobs, and others, it is continually ad- vancing new methods. The Loyal Sunday-School Army is one of its special features. This " Army " aims to do, as well as to know, and holds up the model " On Time Every Time ; a Learned Lesson Every Time, and an Offering for Christ Every Time. " According to the system, simple records are to be kept, credits given, and rewards, usually certificates, presented to those who reach a fixed degree of excellence. Illinois is also especially strong in Normal work, hundreds of graduates receiving the State Sunday-School Association diplomas every year. Many County Normal Su- perintendents have been appointed, and post- graduate courses are encouraged. Lender exist- ing conditions " union " normal classes are still necessary in many places, but the aim is to have a teachers' training class in every Sunday-school.^' "39th Illinois State Sunday-School Convention Re- port, 1897, pp. 25-29. 76 Sunday-School Movements General. The object of this entire International Convention system is Organization for Evangeli- zation. A good summary is presented by the Sec- retary, Mr. M. D. Byers, in his Statistical Re- port 2" of 1899, where he says, " There are many signs of advance along the line. City Sunday- School Unions are springing up in the larger cities; special attention is being given to house visitation in large cities, counties and states, with a great degree of success. ' Great advance is evi- dent in the various departments of the work, es- pecially in the Normal, Home and Primary De- partments. We have at present fifty-seven States, Provinces and Territories organized, of which twenty-three . . . (see appendix II) "are considered thoroughly organized, fourteen . . . where the organization is considered good, and twenty . . . where the organization is fair, leaving but six unorganized. . . . " Field Workers, Missionaries and Secretaries are now employed in thirty-three States, Provinces and Territories, the total number being sixty- seven. Wherever paid workers are employed the results are good and the reports are always better. Much has been accomplished in a general way since the Boston Convention by our International Field Workers, especially by way of strengthening and upbuilding the State and Provincial organiza- tions. " '"9th International Convention Report, p. 255. CHAPTER IV THE UNIFORM OR INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY- SCHOOL LESSON SYSTEM Preparatory Movements. The American Sun- day-School Union, formed in 1824, ^ did much to accustom the minds of the people of our nation to the thought of popular, united Bible study, irre- spective of sectarian divisions. It also took the first steps towards improving the loose and care- less methods of Bible study practised early in this century. In 1825 - it inaugurated the " Limited Lesson Scheme, " a reaction against the then ex- isting custom of ceaseless memorizing. This scheme provided a five years' course including the principal parts of the Bible. It was in the form of text and questions and was widely adopted. ^ Rev. Albert Judson was engaged, in 1826, to pre- pare a monthly series of questions on the lessons for the use of teachers. * The following year Mr. ' American Journal of Education, vol. XV, Sunday- Schools, p. 708. ' The International Evangel, Massachusetts Edition, May, 1895, p. 21. ' Sunday- School Work, Pedagogical Seminary, June, 1896. p. 384. *The Lesson System, by S. Gilbert, 1879, p. 11 ff. 77 yS Sunday-School Movements Judson published a question book, designed as " a first annual course of instruction. " Two years later it was stated that " the Selected Lessons are now almost universally introduced " and the ad- vantage was claimed that every class was to re- ceive instruction on the same lesson at the same time. In 1832 the first National Sunday-School Con- vention was held. From that time conventions and institutes did much to mould sentiment in favor of plans to improve Sunday-school instruction and to increase interest in this line. Little advance, however, was made in the lesson system till 1864, when, at a convention in Springfield, Illinois, Mr. Moody inspired the delegates with new life and Mr. B. F. Jacobs, Mr. Eggleston and others re- turned to their homes aflame with zeal. Beginiungs. The " Sunday-School Teacher." In 1865 Rev. John H. Vincent, then a young Methodist preacher in Chicago, conceived the idea of the " Sunday-School Teachers' Quarterly, " since called the " National Sunday-School Teacher. " ^ He was supported in this by the " Chicago Sunday-School Union. " This society undertook to be responsible for the salary of Mr. Vincent, who gave his whole time to the services of the '* Union. " The leading idea of the Sunday- School Teachers' Quarterly is shown in the first number, where we find such introductory sen- ' The Lesson System, p. 25 flf. The International Lesson System 79 tences as " The teacher needs teaching. The problem that perplexes one, another is able to solve. " " The obscure school has its ingenious and successful superintendent who devises prac- ticable plans. There are a thousand schools in need of his suggestions. " A special feature of the Quarterly was its four optional series of lessons, one of them arranged from the London Sunday- School Union, and one prepared by the editor. At the beginning of the following year the Quar- terly became a monthly named " The Sunday- School Teacher. " Mr. Vincent's lesson scheme was called " Two Years with Jesus: A New System of Sunday- School Study. " It included twenty-four lessons for the year, two Sabbaths being given to each les- son. These lessons ware accompanied in the " Teacher " by analysis, notes, questions, maps, anecdotes and other illustrations of the lesson. Also in connection with each lesson was a single selection of Scripture to be memorized, called the " Golden Text " ; and " Home Readings " were appointed in much the same way as in modern leaflets. A " Plan of Analysis " was proposed and followed, designated by four P's and four D's: Parallel Passages, Persons, Places, Dates, Doings, Doctrines and Duties. Only slight improvements have been made upon that plan since then. Every feature was not new, but the completeness of the scheme was new, and it introduced a new era. It presented the first 8o Sunday-School Movements series of analytical lesson notes and scholars' papers ever periodically issued in the United States, if not in the world, and they were unde- nominational. A large number of schools in Chi- cago and vicinity at once adopted the system, and the first year four thousand copies of the " Teacher " and twenty thousand copies of the " Lesson Paper " were published. The plan was found to work admirably. But before the close of the first year the Rev. Mr. Vincent was convinced that providential indi- cations called him to labor in his own denomina- tion. He therefore severed his connection with the Chicago Union, May first, 1866, having been editor of the " Quarterly " one year, and of the " Monthly " four months ; and went to New York to serve in connection with the Methodist Episco- pal Sunday-School Union. He continued, how- ever, to prepare lessons for the " Sunday-School Teacher " throughout the year. He was suc- ceeded as editor by the Rev. H. L. Hammond, who occupied the position four months, and he in turn was succeeded by Mr. C. R. Blackall, who was editor five months. The " Teacher " then passed from the control of the Chicago Sunday-School Union to that of the firm of Adams, Blackmer, and Lyons. Fortunately the Rev. Edward Eggles- ton, also a young Methodist minister, at this time became editor. Under Mr. Eggleston the scheme came into wide repute and was changed in 1869 to the " National Sunday-School Teacher. " The International Lesson System 8i Within three or four, years " The Teacher " at- tained a monthly circulation of thirty-five thousand copies, and the " Scholars' Lesson Paper " a cir- culation of more than three hundred and fifty thousand. Efforts for National Uniformity. In the fall of 1865, at an institute held by the Chicago Union the question had been formally proposed by Mr. Vincent : Is it practicable to introduce a uniform system of lessons into all our schools ? Dr. Eggles- ton, on the other hand, stoutly opposed any scheme of general prescribed uniformity in Sun- day-schools, as being repressive of individuality and freedom. Meanwhile many denominational papers were allowed to copy the " Teachers' " les- sons. Rivalry and imitation increased the tend- ency toward uniformity, until finally Mr. B. F. Jacobs of Chicago conceived the idea of extending the benefit of uniformity to the whole country and so to the whole world. In 1868 he induced the " Standard," the Baptist paper of the West, pub- Ushed in Chicago, to begin the printing of weekly lesson notes prepared by himself. These were the first lesson notes published regularly by any weekly paper in this country.*^ Soon after, he visited the East and urged the adoption of his plan by editors there. Mr. Jacobs also began to agitate the subject be- fore Conventions and Sunday-school Associations, •The International Evangel, Massachusetts edition. May. 1895, p. 21. 82 Sunday-School Movements though not without strong opposition from many quarters. In 1869, having charge of the separate conference of superintendents, he reported to the National Convention in Newark, New Jersey, in favor of uniform lessons. At Mr. Jacobs' sug- gestion, too, representatives from twenty-nine religious publishing houses met, August 8, 1871, to consider the subject. This meeting finally resolved to try the experiment, and appointed a committee of five to select a series of lessons for 1872. The five appointed were Drs. Eg- gleston, Vincent and Newton, Rev. H. C. Mc- Cook and Mr. B. F. Jacobs. Three of this committee in the absence of the two others, decided it could not be done then, and sent a notice to the papers headed " Uniform Lessons — The Failure. " By Mr. Jacobs' persistence, how- ever, the decision was reversed the next morning, the card to the public recalled, and a notice pub- lished that a series of lessons would soon be forth- coming. At first, not a single denomination '^ was, as a denomination, in favor of the International Lesson plan. Nearly every great religious publishing house was opposed to it ; nor could any one of these houses adopt it without rendering useless valuable plates and copyrights of series of lesson helps. Dr. Eggleston himself wished his lessons to be adopted rather than a union series formed. Nevertheless, ^ Yale Lectures on the Sunday-School, by H. C. Trumbull, chap. 3, p. 137. The International Lesson System 83 difficulties were overcome and the first series of uniform lessons was that prepared for 1872 by Mr. Jacobs and his committee. Inauguration of the Lesson System. The Fifth National Sunday-School Convention was held * at Indianapolis, Indiana, in April, 1872. Twenty-two states and one territory of the Union were repre- sented by two hundred and fifty-four delegates au- thorized according to the terms of the call, and by eighty-four representatives without such authori- zation. Representatives were also present from Canada, Great Britain, and India. The interest of this convention culminated, as was expected, in tlie uniform lesson question. Earnest speeches were made both for and against the measure, and an intensity of feeling was exhibited that is rarely seen in a public assembly. When at last the ques- tion was put, the measure was carried by a strong majority. In accordance with the vote, the first committee, — consisting of five clergymen and five laymen from the United States, and one clergyman and one layman from Canada, — was appointed to select the lessons for the first seven years' course, from 1873 to 1879. History of the lesson Committee. The original command laid upon the committee was merely as far as possible to embrace a general study of the whole Bible, alternating between the Old and New * Report of 8th International Sunday- School Conven- tion, 1896, pp. II, 12. 84 Sunday-School Movements Testaments semi-annually or quarterly, as they deemed best. Every six years, or at every second International Convention, a new committee has been appointed. At the Atlanta Convention in 1878 the number of persons on the committee was increased from twelve to fourteen, beside two members of the Sunday-School Union of London, England, to act as corresponding members. Six members of the first committee were appointed on the second committee. At the Louisville Conven- tion, in 1884, eight members of the second com- mittee were appointed on the third. The fourth committee, formed at the Pittsburg Convention in 1890, was of fifteen members beside the English corresponding members and a corre- sponding member in France. Thirteen members of the third committee were appointed on this, four having served from the beginning. This com- mittee was instructed to provide a Temperance Lesson once in each quarter, in the regular order, if possible, and if not then, at the end of the quarter. At the St. Louis Convention, in 1893, all restrictions except the Temperance Lesson were withdrawn, leaving the committee at liberty to depart from the course previously selected, if a better plan was found. At this time, too, the course of study was shortened from seven years to six. The period of seven years had been chosen as rep- resenting the length of time an average child at- tends Sunday-school. It will be seen that owing to the previous arrangement of lessons lasting for The International Lesson System 85 seven years and committees holding office only six years, this fourth committee, which was elected in 1890 to hold office till 1896, prepared lessons to be used from 1893 to 1899. At the Convention in Boston, in 1896, a new committee of fifteen, beside the corresponding members, was formed. Eight of the last com- mittee were re-elected, and no new instructions were given. Methods of Work. These lesson committees are not formed at random or by nominations from the floor. The members are most carefully chosen with reference to denominational and territorial representation, as well as to personal qualifications. (For denominational representation, see appen- dix III.) The meetings are held in widely distant cities, and usually six or eight times during each period of six years.^ The traveling expenses of the committee are paid by the leading publishers of the International Lesson Helps, and no other ex- penses have been incurred. Time and thought have been freely given for love of the cause. The method of selecting the lessons is for the American Committee to first arrange and agree upon an outline for the entire term, and second, to select the lessons, usually a dozen or so verses each, with the Titles and Golden Texts for one year. This selection is then sent to the correspond- • Report of 8th International Sunday-School Conven- tion, 1896, p. 168. 86 Sunday-School Movements ing members of the committee, and carefully considered by them. After three or four months it is returned to the American Committee with such changes or modifications as the corresponding members think best to make. At the next meeting of the American Committee the work is carefully reviewed and revised, the suggestions from abroad are accepted or declined, as is thought best, and in some instances new changes are made. The les- sons as revised are then sent to the press. The development of the lessons is left absolutely to each denomination or publisher. Principles and Advantages. The fundamental principles " that govern this system are : — First, a uniform lesson for all grades in all schools. This enables the publishing houses by cooperation, and incites them by competition, to employ the best talent available. Twenty-five years ago, when the system was started, the ad- vantage in this line was no small consideration. This uniformity also increases the usefulness of teachers' meetings for the study of the lessons ; it enables people in different grades, perhaps mem- bers of the same family, to more easily help each other and feel in unity ; and it facilitates the chang- ing of a scholar from one school to another. Second, substantially the whole of the Old and New Testaments to be covered by the lessons in equal proportions. This is to prevent the neglect " The Sunday- School and Its Work. The Independent, Feb. 4, 1897, A. F. Schauffler, D.D. The International Lesson System gy of large portions of the Bible, as is apt to be the case when less systematic work is required. A glance at the relative number of lessons assigned to the various books of the Bible from 1873 ^o 1899 will show how the lessons have been dis- tributed. (See appendix I\'.) More than one- third of the lessons have been from the Gospels. Third, the course to be completed in six years. As the average child was found to attend Sun- day-school for seven years, he will thus have cov- ered the entire ground of the Bible. Fourth, a temperance lesson to be chosen in each quarter of each year. Primary Adaptation. For some years the ques- tion of having separate lessons for the primary has been agitated. At the St. Louis Convention, ^^ in 1893, the lesson committee formally asked " Is it 3'our judgment that we would better hereafter have a separate series of lessons for the Primary Department ? or, do you still adhere to the plan of uniform lessons for all classes and in all the schools?" This question was discussed in the Primary Workers' Conference, held in the Second Presbyterian Church in St. Louis during the Con- vention. No such meeting of primary workers had ever before been held. The results reached were embodied in a resolution earnestly desiring that the old plan be continued ; and after the report of this conference was presented to the Conven- " Report of Sth International Sunday-School Conven- tion, 1896, pp. 169-170. 88 Sunday-School Movements tion, not a voice was there raised in opposition to the decision. Nevertheless, at the meeting of the lesson com- mittee, held in Philadelphia in the fall of 1894, a large body of primary workers met it with peti- tions for a separate primary course. Among the petitioners were many of the most influential workers for whom the convention exists, and they assured the committee that the best interests of the common cause would be served by the course sug- gested. The committee took the facts laid before them into most careful consideration. Though still in favor of uniformity, the committee deter- mined to try the experiment. They received help from persons who had made a special study of the child-mind, and selected a course of optional pri- mary lessons, for one year. The special lesson list first appeared in the Sunday School Times of the twenty-eighth of September, 1895. Recent Measures. With the exception of the optional primary lessons, the committee has so far worked purely chronologically through the Bible, with no educational ideals. The recent lessons, however, have shown a tendency to keep to one subject, as the Life of Christ, or the Acts and Epistles, for a continuous year. It was urged, too, at the Boston Convention, 1896, that it was not wise to have four temperance lessons a year. But as some wanted twelve temperance lessons a year, no change was made. The International Lesson System 89 The new committee, whose lessons began with 1900, have planned ^^ to make a course of study giving two and a half years to the Old Testament, and three and a half to the New Testament, in- cluding a year and a half of continuous study of the Life of Christ, by the use of a harmony of the four Gospels. The course has begun with the lessons on the Life of Christ. Prominence is to be given to biography ; selections from the Proph- ets and Epistles are to be studied in chrono- logical sequence in connection with the historical parts ; and parallel and related passages are to re- ceive greater attention than heretofore. The lesson committee appointed a sub-commit- tee to consider the matter of a separate primary course, the one offered by the last committee hav- ing been given up after a trial of one year. Many communications and suggestions were received from both America and Great Britain, but after extended investigation the committee decided that " it could not at present unite on any separate plan of lessons for primary classes which would be generally acceptable in connection with the Inter- national Lesson System." On the whole the committee has decided to " keep most prominently in mind those who most need its help, that is, those least able to select a fit course of lessons for themselves." This suggests to those better prepared for Sunday-school teach- " Report of 9th International Sunday-School Conven- tion, 1899, pp. 51-53. saaaa^ po Sunday-School Movements ing the need of care, lest they measure themselves by low standards. At present Sunday-school work is beset with problems, but strong hands are grap- pling with the difficulties, and time alone can show what advances will be made in the new century. CHAPTER V INSTITUTES AND THE CHAUTAUQUA MOVE- MENT The Institute Idea. As early as 1833, ^^• Channing said, " Higher ability is required for the office of an educator of the young, than for that of a statesman." He frequently dwelt on this thought and sought to inspire others with an ap-. preciation of the teacher's high office. In 1837 he said : " One of the surest signs of the regeneration of society will be the elevation of the art of teach- ing to the highest rank in the community. . . . Socrates is now regarded the greatest man in an age of great men. The name king has grown dim before that of apostle. To teach, whether by word or action, is the highest function on earth." He pleaded for an institution in which teachers should be professionally trained. That same year he preached his great sermon on Sunday-schools at the meeting of the Unitarian Sunday-School Society where, after describing the importance of knowledge and skill on the part of the teacher, he said, " Like all schools, the Sunday-school must owe its influence to its teachers. I would, there- fore, close this discourse with saying, that the 91 g2 Sunday-School Movements most gifted of our congregation cannot find a wor- thier field of labor than the Sunday-school. . ." Since 1837, institutes for the improvement of teachers and methods in the public schools have been frequently held. Mr. Barnard, who was prominent in originating and conducting these gatherings said:^ "A Teachers' Institute is a gathering of teachers — old and young, experienced and inexperienced, of both sexes, and of different grades — in such number as will develop the sym- pathies and power of a common pursuit, and yet not so large as to exclude the freedom of individ- ual action ; for a period of time long enough to admit of a systematic plan of operations, and yet not so protracted as to prove a burdensome ex- pense, or an interruption to other engagements; under the direction of men whose only claim to respect and continued attention must be their ex- perience and acknowledged success in the sub- jects assigned them, and in a course of instruction at once theoretical and practical, combined with opportunities of inquiry, discussion and familiar conversation." Beginnings. Before long Sunday-school work- ers began to feel the desirability of this form of instruction, and to see its appropriateness for Sun- day-school teachers. Even before this movement, as long ago as 1827, the New York Sunday-School ' The Lesson System, by Simeon Gilbert, 1879, pp. 18-20. The Chautauqua Movement 93 Union, ^ in its Eleventh Annual Report, had par- ticularly recommended this plan " of a school for the training of Sabbath-school teachers." But the recommendation appears not to have been car- ried out. The Unitarians, perhaps owing to Dr. Channing's influence, seem to have adopted the plan earlier and with less effort than other Sun- day-school bodies. The Rev. Henry G. Spaul- ding, when secretary of the Unitarian Sunday- School Society, spoke ^ of a Sunday-school teach- ers' institute held by that society in 1854, as though there was nothing unusual in such a gathering. Possibly these institutes were but slightly differ- ent from what other workers held under the name of " conventions." However this may be, the wide-spread national movement was not an out- growth of this Unitarian beginning. In 1847, the Rev. Dr. D. P. Kidder, correspond- ing secretary of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday- School Union, suggested that the teachers' insti- tute, so profitable to public school teachers, would be of use in improving the haphazard methods of Sunday-school work then in vogue. He strongly urged the formation of " Normal Sunday- Schools." The next year he renewed his appeal, but expressed his discouragement in the words " We confess, however, that we fear the day is 'The Sabbath- School Index, by R. G. Pardee, 1868, P- 32. * Sixty Years of the Unitarian Sunday-School So- ciety, Henry G. Spaulding, 1887, p. 12. 94 Sunday-School Movements distant when the Church will take as high ground on this subject as that already assumed by several states of this Union." The First Permanent Institute. In 1857, Rev. John H. Vincent, then pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Joliet, Illinois, organized what he called a " Normal Class " in his church. This was very successful. At the Rock River Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, held in Chicago, in October, i860, the Conference Sunday-School Committee, at the sug- gestion of ]\Ir. Vincent, reported — " The import- ance of Teachers' Institutes to the educational in- terests of our country cannot have escaped your attention. May we not profitably introduce some- thing similar among us? Such an institute, con- ducted by our ablest Sunday-school educators, could not fail to elevate our standard, and im- prove our system of religious culture." This re- port was unanimously adopted by the Conference. At the Galena District Convention, held the fol- lowing year, on April 16 and 17, in Freeport, Illinois, the question was proposed and discussed, " How may we carry out the suggestion of our Conference Sunday-School Committee, relative to the Sunday-School Teachers' Institute ? " A con- stitution was adopted, the fourth article of which read,, " A meeting of the Institute shall be held during each convention of the District. Each Sub- District shall hold an Institute at such time as the President, resident Vice-President, and resident ■m The Chautauqua Movement 95 Secretary shall determine." On Wednesday, the second day of the Convention, an excellent insti- tute program was carried out under the direction of Mr. Vincent, who was made president. This was probably the first regularly organized and permanent Sunday-School Teachers' Institute in the country. Other Early Institutes. The district was sub- divided, and sub-district institutes were held that year at Council Hill, Mount Carroll, Warren and Freeport.* Practical normal drills were given, and the good attendance and great enthusiasm were most gratifying. On June 25 and 26, 1861, the Detroit District held the first of the semi-an- nual meetings of its permanent Methodist Episco- pal Sunday-School Institute. The session was held in Detroit, with the Rev. M. Hickey as presi- dent. The following year three more districts organized institutes. On November 17, 1864, an elaborate paper was read by Mr. Vincent before the Cook County Sunday-School Teachers' Con- vention, in Chicago, urging " A permanent Sun- day-School Teachers' Institute for the North- west." The Chicago workers took the suggestion, and that same year a " winter course " of institute lectures and other exercises was carried through. A great variety of maps, pictures, and panoramic views adorned the walls ; three or four tables were filled with curiosities from the Holy Land ; one * Sunday-School Institutes and Normal Classes, J. H. Vincent, 1872, p. 66. g6 Sunday-School Movements evening was devoted to the study of Jerusalem ; and many other means were adopted to make the sessions interesting and profitable. Quite independently of this movement in the West, a similar line of work was started in the East. During the years 1863 and 1864, some east- ern convention leaders observed ° that, the Sun- day-school conventions which were once interest- ing were in danger of losing their power. They had fallen into a routine, and had begun to be mo- notonous to the regular attendants, because they were not sufficiently practical and profitable. The question was therefore forced upon the leaders, " What must be done ? " Deliberation and con- sultation brought the answer : " We need more mstniction." In the State Sunday-School Con- vention at Buffalo, New York, in 1864, the Rev. W. A. Niles suggested to Mr. Pardee the idea of a Sunday-school institute. On November 22, of the same year, a program was issued, and on De- cember 6, Mr. R. G. Pardee and Mr. Ralph Wells held their first regular Sunday-School Institute. The experiment proved successful, and from that time Mr. Pardee and Mr. Wells devoted their energies to this kind of service. Mr. Vincent, too, had by this time given himself, with the utmost enthusiasm, to aggressive institute work, both east and west, and within ten years after the first Illi- nois Sunday-School Teachers' Institute the plan • Sabbath -School Index, p. 92. The Chautauqua Movement 97 had been widely adopted throughout the United States. Biblical Museums. In 1866, at the request of Dr. Wise, ]Mr. \'incent had been appointed Gen- eral Agent of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday- School Union, to travel throughout the country holding institutes, and furthering all the interests of the Society. This he had done with such ac- tivity and success, that in 1868 the General Con- ference created a Department of Sunday-School Instruction, making Dr. Vincent the superintend- ent.*^ In October, 1869, at what has been called the " Anniversary Institute " of the Sunday- School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, held in Columbus, Ohio, the Normal Department of the Union opened its Biblical Museum. This large and valuable collection of Oriental antiqui- ties comprises more than one hundred and fifty of the photographs of the Palestine Exploration, two hundred highly colored diagrams, illustra- tive of Eastern manners and customs, antiqui- ties of Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, and Greece, and the beautiful photographs of the Ord- nance Survey of Jerusalem. It includes models of Eastern objects of interest, — a model of the Temple of Solomon, a model of the Jewish Taber- nacle, a model of an Eastern khan, or inn, and • Growth of the Sunday-School Idea in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Quarterly Review, July, 1871, by J. M. Freeman, p. 410. 98 Sunday-School Movements one of the city of Jerusalem and its surrounding country. It includes also complete Eastern cos- tumes; and valuable relics, as lamps, bottles, and shells ; and many other objects " designed to teach and unfold Scripture truth by way of suggestion and of visible illustration." After this, other biblical museums were started. The Methodist Sunday-school of Akron organ- ized one which was geological, historical and archaeological.'' Mr. A. O. Van Lennep, of New York, made one of the largest collections of pic- tures, maps, models, Sunday-school requisites, specimens, and Oriental curiosities in the United States, and used them to illustrate popular lectures which he gave before conventions, institutes, nor- mal classes, and Sunday-schools. This collection is now in the possession of Rev. Dr. J. S. Ostran- der, of Brooklyn, but is little used. A Mrs. L. Von F. Mountford, a native of Jerusalem, also has an interesting Oriental collection, of which she would like to make use. But whatever the ex- planation may be, there seems to be little demand for instruction and help of this kind. Makers and publishers of Sunday-school supplies do not offer such objects for sale, nor help to rouse a desire for them. The average Sunday-school teacher of to- day could not, if he would, secure a model of Palestine or Jerusalem. In short, this particular ' The Modern Sunday- School, John H. Vincent, 1887, pp. 135- 301. MiiiiHiiiniini The Chautauqua Movement 99 movement, desirable as it seems, is not progress- ing. Growth. Sunday-school Institutes, however, have spread all over the Christian world. Many men are employed to organize and conduct them. It has become part of the International Sunday- School System that every state or province should have a state or provincial institute, and that where practicable, the counties and smaller divisions should also have institutes. From its earliest years, the Normal Department of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday-School Union, under the direc- tion of Dr. Vincent and a standing normal com- mittee, prepared courses of study, conducted ex- aminations, and issued diplomas.® This normal work, too, has spread, until to-day some states and some denominations look for a normal class in every Sunday-school. The First Chautauqua Assembly. Under a char- ter granted by the Legislature of the State of New York, in 1871, a body of Methodists held a num- ber of camp-meetings at Fair Point, Chautauqua. During the fourth of these meetings, held in Au- gust, 1873, Dr. Vincent and Mr. Miller visited the place, and selected it for an " Assembly " to be held the following year. This Chautauqua Sunday-School Assembly was formally instituted by the board of managers of the Sunday-School • The Normal Qass, J. L. Hurlbut, n. d., p. i. lOO Sunday-School Movements Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church at their regular meeting in October, 1873, when the fol- lowing resolution was adopted : ^ " Resolved, That we approve the project of a Sunday-school teachers' assembly in August, 1874, on the Chau- tauqua Lake camp-ground, and that we refer the whole matter, with full power to order and ar- range, to the committee of this board in charge of the normal department." This action was in response to a request from the executive commit- tee of the Chautauqua Lake Camp-Ground Asso- ciation. Immediately after the adjournment of the board a meeting of the norm.al committee was held. The design of the assembly was decided to be ® sub- stantially as follov.-s : " To hold a prolonged insti- tute, or normal class, occupying from ten to fif- teen days, for the completion of the course of normal study prescribed by the department (see Hand-book, 1872, pp. 48-53) ; to secure the pres- ence of as many pastors, superintendents, and other officers and teachers, as possible, that a new and general interest may be awakened throughout the Church on the subject of normal training for Sunday-school workers ; to command as far as practicable the best talent in the country to assist in the conduct of this assembly ; to utilize the gen- eral demand for summer rest by uniting daily study with healthful recreation, and thus render •The Chautauqua Movement, J. H. Vincent, 1886, pp. 23-25. The Chautauqua Movement lOi the occasion one of pleasure and instruction com- bined. The name, " The Sunday-school Teachers' Assembly ' was adopted. Lewis Miller, Esq., of Akron, Ohio, was elected president. Rev. Dr. J. H. Vincent superintendent of instruction, Rev. Henry M. Simpson secretary. The committee is- sued an announcement urging all pastors and su- perintendents to organize normal classes at once in their several churches, that before August i, 1874, there might be a large number of teachers ready to begin with the second or junior course of normal study. The committee at the same meet- ing passed the following resolution : ' Whereas this course of study is in substantial agreement with that adopted by the normal departments of the Baptist. Presbyterian, and American Sunday- school Union boards, and as the leading workers in these and other branches of the Christian Church will be at the assembly to assist by their experience and counsels, and as it is our purpose to make the occasion one of the largest catholicity, the committee cordially invite workers of all de- nominations to attend, and to participate in the services of the assembly.' " The assembly was widely advertised, and for a whole year efficient committees worked hard. On Tuesday evening, August 4, 1874, the first Chautauqua Assembly opened. It was not a " camp-meeting " in any sense, except that it was held in the woods, and most of the members lived in tents. No " evangelistic " services were held. p abtui^ ' ia I02 Sunday-School Movements It was a Sunday-school institute protracted to the length of two weeks. The work may be sum- marized as follows : ^^ " Twenty-two lectures on the Sunday-school work, — theory and practice. Seven lectures on Bible history, geography, evi- dences, etc. Sectional Meetings: nine primary; six intermediate; one senior; one superintend- ents'; four pastors' and superintendents'. Eight normal-class and institute-conductors' conver- sazioni. Normal sections A, B, C, and D, six each. Three teachers' meetings for the prepara- tion of the lesson; two specimen Sunday-school sessions; four Bible-readings; three praise serv- ices ; two children's meetings ; and six sermons. " All the leading Protestant denominations were represented. Persons were present from twenty- five States; also from Ontario, Montreal, Nova Scotia, Ireland, Scotland, and India." The " Vesper Service " was considered one of the most beautiful and impressive features of the occasion. Besides the more serious aspect, there were recrea- tive features such as concerts, fireworks, and hu- morous lectures. The crowning work of the De- partment of Recreation was a Park of Palestine, about seventy-five by one hundred and twenty feet, presenting accurately the outline of the coun- try, the principal hills and valleys, the water- courses, and the cities. Expansion and Character of the Chautauqua Movement. Since this first session of the Chau- "The Chautauqua Movement, p. 262. The Chautauqna Movement 103 tauqiia Assembly, similar meetings have been held at Chautauqua every summer. While of Method- ist origin, they have from the first been of a broad and catholic nature. Nearly all the leading de- nominations are represented on the faculty. All churches have opportunity to meet in their several centres for prayer and conference, and on one day every season, a denominational congress is held. The utmost good feeling has always prevailed. Breadth of view is also characteristic of Chau- tauqua in educational matters. Mr. Miller and Dr. Vincent both believe in " work-day power." They hold that " life is one. and that religion be- longs everywhere. Our people, young and old, should consider educational advantages as so many religious opportunities. Every day should be sacred. . . Kitchen work, farm work, shop work, as well as school work, are divine. The proper study of the Divine Word leads to and requires the more careful study of the Divine works. The Author of the Book is the Creator of the universe, and the Ruler of the race." Ac- cordingly, while the exercises of the first season were devoted to the Sunday-school, since then a great variety of secular studies have been gradu- ally introduced. Practical causes have helped to bring this about. The theory of Sunday-school work was still simple, or little understood, so that the workers were not content with the discussion of the same old questions year after year. Again, it was thought possible to insist upon too many I04 Sunday-School Movements hours of Bible study each day. Many people came who were not interested in Sunday-school discus- sion or in biblical studies. These needed the As- sembly because they needed the awakening which comes from great ideas, and the Assembly needed them because of the financial support which they gave to the organization. Not only have the subsequent programs of the Assembly differed from the first, but entire new departments and " schools " have been added. In 1879, the Chautauqua Teachers' Retreat, for secu- lar teachers, and the School of Languages were organized. Since then schools of Literature, Science, Psychology and Pedagogy, Music, Prac- tical Arts, and even Physical Training, have been added. Moreover, a College of Liberal Arts, and a School of Theology have been formed. Char- tered by the State of New York, Chautauqua has the right ^^ to foster learning of a grade equal to that of the full-orbed university, and to confer all university degrees. Nor does the work of Chautauqua end with the camp limits. Chautauqua pleads for a universal education, and seeks to give to people out of school opportunities for intellectual progress. One of its chief and characteristic features is the Chau- tauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, organized at the Chautauqua Summer Assembly in 1878. Its purpose is " to provide a systematic course of reading in history, literature, science and art, thus " The Chautauqua Movement, pp. 36, 182. The Chautauqua Movement lO^ securing to those who have been denied college opportunities, something of the college student's general outlook upon the world and life, and to give college graduates an opportunity to review the studies of earlier years." The course is for four years, and may be pursued by individual readers at home, or by local circles. At the end of the four years' course the reader is entitled to a certificate, upon which seals are put for v.-ritten review work and for extra reading. Religion does not enter into this work, except in the two mottoes *• We study the Word and the Works of God " and " Let us keep our Heavenly Father in the Midst." Since its organization the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle has enrolled ^- more than 250,000 members, of whom nearly 50,000 have graduated from the four years' course. The Chautauqua College of Liberal Arts is on much the same plan as the reading circle, only that study is required instead of reading, theses must be submitted, and on every part of the college cur- riculum the students must pass written examina- tions in the presence of eye-witnesses. As might be expected, the movement at Chau- tauqua soon brought into existence similar assem- blies, other " Chautauquas." With all its depart- ments, Chautauqua, at Chautauqua Lake, as Presi- dent Harper of the L'niversity of Chicago said,*' "The Chautauqua Reading Circle (leaflet). iSgg. p. 2. " American Giurcb Histor}', vc!. V, by J. M. Buckley, p. 672. io6 Sunday-School Movements " is something small and insignificant when com- pared with the world-wide Chautauqua. When we recall the scores of Chautauqua assemblies throughout the United States, the Oxford summer meeting established on the basis of the Chautau- qua idea, the hundreds of thousands of readers who have been connected with the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, the tens of thou- sands of homes into which a new light has pene- trated as a result of the Chautauqua idea, the hun- dreds of thousands of books which have been bought and read by those who were eager for a learning which had been denied them, we obtain a faint conception of the meaning and significance of the term ' Chautauqua.' " Development of Sunday-School Normal Work. Interesting as the entire movement is, it only con- cerns us as a setting for the Sunday-School Nor- mal Department, and the more recent Chautauqua Normal Union. These include not only the stimu- lating exercises of the summer sessions at Chau- tauqua proper, but the work of other " Chautau- qua " assemblies, and the local and home work of the members of the Union. It should be re- membered that the first Chautauqua Assembly, in 1874, was held under the auspices of the Nonnal Department of the Sunday-School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For several years the normal diplomas of Chautauqua were awarded The Chautauqua Movement 107 in the name of that Union, ^* and a close connec- tion has always been maintained between the two organizations. The nonnal courses for both Unions are identical. At the Chautauqua Assembly in 1876, a com- mittee on a '■ Course of Normal Class Lessons " was appointed. The members represented ten dif- ferent denominations of Christians. They made a report, which was unanimously adopted at a meeting of persons of all denominations interested in Sunday-school normal work. The report in- cluded the following : — " That the course com- prise forty lessons, to be called the ' Chautauqua Course of Sabbath-school Normal Lessons ; ' the time of each lesson to be divided between the con- sideration of the ' Bible and its contents,' and the ' theory and practice of teaching.' " The Chautauqua Course of Sabbath-school Normal Lessons may be adopted and used by any church, society, union, association, or institution of learning. . . . " Normal classes who desire to issue diplomas may obtain them from the Chautauqua Commit- tee, with the heading ' Chautauqua Sabbath- school Nonnal Class Diploma,' and upon which may be placed the stamp or name of the church, society, union, association, or institution of learn- ing, with which the class is connected ; these diplo- "The Normal Class (a leaflet), by Jesse L. Hurlbut, D. D., n. d., p. I. io8 Sunday-School Movements mas to be signed by the local committee of in- struction." This system required '' Normal Praxes," or in other words, written exercises on the different pro- cesses of the teacher's work, as, thinking, memo- rizing, finding central and root thoughts, word- picturing, analogies, collecting illustrations, lines of approach and map-drawing. The books to be read were : Fitch on Questioning; Freeman on Illustration; Trumbull on Reviews; Fitch on At- tention; Vincent's Helpful Hints; Chautauqua Text-Books, No. i, Hoiv to Study the Bible; No. 8, What Noted Men Think of the Bible; No. lo, What is Education? No. ii, Socrates; No. 12, Pestalo::zi; No. 15;, Froebel; No. 18, Christian Evidences; No. 19, The Book of Books. Adapta- tions of these lessons were made for pupils of all grades. There were also " Teachers' Union " and " post- graduate " courses provided. The post-graduate course, as announced in the Hand-book for 1880, required the following books to be studied : Out- lines of Church History, Dr. Hurst; Short His- tory of English Bible, Dr. Freeman ; Companion to the Bible, Dr. Barrow ; The Church School, Dr. Vincent ; Christological Studies, Dr. Buck. Each candidate for a certificate w^as expected to present two papers containing not less than one thousand words each, one on a biblical, the other on a Sun- day-school theme. Candidates were also required miiiiiiiiiuuiiii The Chautauqua Movement 109 to answer in writing a series of fifty questions, based upon the above books. The Assembly Normal Union. In 1880, at the Sunday-School Centennial, in London, at Dr. Vin- cent's suggestion, a committee was appointed to prepare an international course of study. ^^ This International Sunday-School Normal Committee, as it was called, was composed of workers in Eng- land, America and France. The lessons were at first used by comparatively few.^*^ When the first series of books was issued by the committee, an association of assembly conductors and teachers of normal classes was formed in America, for the purpose of bringing the normal Sunday-school work throughout the country to a common stand- ard. This was in 1884. The association was called the Assembly Normal Union. Outline les- sons were prepared and a course of reading ar- ranged in connection with them, including the books of the International Normal Committee. The Chautauqua Normal Union. In the sum- mer of 1886, a reorganization was efifected, by which the Assembly Normal Union became a de- partment of the Chautauqua University, under the name of the Chautauqua Normal Union. Its Board of Counsel holds an annual meeting at "The Chautauqua Normal Union (a leaflet), J. L. Hurlbut, 1897 (?), pp. 4. 5- ""The Study," No. for Jan., 1885, p. 2. no Sunday-School Movements Chautauqua. The course, according to the cur- rent circular, includes studies in the Bible and in Sunday-school work, to be carried on through four years. Each year's work, however, is sepa- rate, and is recognized by a separate certificate of postal-card size, awarded to all who complete it and pass the requisite examination. When four such certificates have been obtained upon dif- ferent annual courses, they entitle the person whose name they bear, to the full diploma of the Chau- tauqua Normal Union, upon payment of the di- ploma fee of twenty-five cents. The courses for the last four years were as follows, the first book of each course to be studied, the second to be read: Course of 1897, — Studies in the Book of Acts, B. B. Loomis ; The Life of St. Paul, James Stalker. Course of 1898, — Studies in the Four Gospels, J. L. Hurlbut ; The Book Divine, J. E. Price. Course of 1899, — Studies in Old Testament His- tory, J. L. Hurlbut ; Teaching and Teachers, H. C. Trumbull. Course of 1900, — Revised Normal Lessons, J. L. Hurlbut; The Modern Sunday- School, J. H. Vincent. The courses may be taken up in any order which the student chooses. There is also a Junior Department of the Chau- tauqua Normal Union, for children and young people. The courses of this department are strictly biblical and not normal. They are divided into two grades, — the Junior, or Children's grade, in general for those under twelve years of age, and the Intermediate, or Young People's grade, for The Chaurauqua Movement iii those between twelve and eighteen years of age. Diplomas are given to those who attain seventy per cent, in the examinations of a first course, and seals are given for equal results in subsequent courses. The juniors and intermediates have dif- ferent diplomas, though in some cases they may take the same courses.^'' The influence of this Chautauqua Normal Union is by no means limited to the hundreds who Work for Chautauqua honors. Many individuals, and even organizations throughout the country, use the books recommended by it. Yet with all this effort it must be acknowledged that the great majority of Sunday-school teachers are still prac- tically untouched by the Chautauqua movement. Sunday-School Normal Work in other Institu- tions of Learning. Some effort has been made to introduce preparation for Sunday-school work into other organizations. As early as 1872. Dr. Vincent says ^* that in the Northwestern Female College, Evanston, 111. ; the Cincinnati Wesleyan Female College ; the Baldwin University, in Ohio ; Cornell College, Iowa; Dickinson College, Penn., and in other institutions of learning, regular Sun- day-school normal classes had been started. Nevertheless, the work has not spread widely among secular institutions. On the other hand, " Junior Department of the Chautauqua Normal Un- ion (leaflet). Jesse L. Hurlbut (?), n. d. " Sunday-School Institutes and Normal Classes, J. H. Vincent, 1872, p. 135. 112 Sunday-School Movements many training schools for Christian workers are giving considerable attention to Sunday-school teaching. The New York Training School for Deaconesses, in connection with the Episcopal Church, gives not only excellent Bible work, but careful and thoroughly pedagogical personal training in the Art of Teaching. The Moody In- stitute in Chicago, and the Bible Normal College in Springfield, Mass., give so much attention to Sunday-school work that they are sometimes called training schools for Sunday-school workers. Apart from this movement, yet of the greatest possible service to it as well as to the Qiristian world in general, is the present movement, intro- ducing into our colleges and academies courses of Bible study, conducted by specialists, and com- manding the same earnest application and high respect that is given to the most modern subjects. ■UIIIIIIIIHUIIIHKinilll CHAPTER VI THE CHURCH AND SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK Although it became necessary to form great unions and associations which undertake much of the Sunday-school work in America, and solve many of the perplexing problems that develop, the Church has not forgotten its duty toward the young. These organizations have been the serv- ants, not the supplanters of the Church in this matter. For the sake of convenience and to keep near the sources of information, it seems well to discuss the work of the Church under denomina- tional sub-heads, but our object is not a compari- son of the denominations. Indeed especial care must be taken with regard to making such com- parisons in this connection, for whole branches of Church work which affect the Sunday-school must be left undescribed. In the case of the Mora- vians, for instance, there seem to be no distin- guishing features of Sunday-school work import- ant enough for us to note, and yet during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there was probably no body of Christians that gave as much attention to Bible schools and early Church train- ing as they. If the question of religious teaching in the home and in the week-day school was to 113 114 Sunday-School Movements be included, certainly the denomination which Comenius loved and labored for could not be so lightly passed by. It must be understood, then, that our point of view is both national and limited. Statistics are not of much value here, and there will be no at- tempt even to mention all of the one hundred and forty-five denominations, with their subdivisions, of which the United States census gives a list. Looking back to colonial days, we found that the Puritans of New England had their ministers, once a week in some towns and once a month in others, gather the children and youth of the par- ishes at two o'clock on Saturday afternoons to catechise them. This system was a very thorough one, involving careful home instruction. It con- tinued in New England for more than a hundred years. Also some denominations, among which the Roman Catholic Church leads, hold that re- ligious instruction is an essential part of all educa- tion, and accordingly, before the rise of our great public school system, they had little need for the Sunday-school. The Episcopal denomination, however, is said to have always in this country followed the practice of giving religious instruc- tion to the children, on the Sabbath, openly, in the church.^ Baptist. The Congregational churches, both Trinitarian and Unitarian, together vyith the great * Historic View of Sabbath-Schools, Congregational Quarterly, vol. VII, p. 20, E. H. Byington, The Church and Sunday-School Work 1 1 5 denomination of Baptists, represent intense inde- pendency. The churches of these denominations are not bound together by the recognized author- ity of ecclesiastical bodies. They may form groups by habit of association, and they may in a general way hold to more or less distinguishing doctrines, yet they lack that denominational unity and exclusiveness which would lead them as de- nominations to make conspicuous advances in Sun- day-school work. Owing to this lack of strong central organization, there is among the Baptists an increase of local efforts. The size of the de- nomination makes some of these local bodies equal if not superior, to the numerical strength of some other entire denominations. The Massachusetts Baptist Sunday-School Association,- organized in 1885. and incorporated in 1892, for example, is no small, inactive affair. Moreover, like the Methodists, the Baptists have been prominent in undenominational lines, especially in the great " International Lesson ^lovement." Although the Baptists have no national Sunday- school union or association, they have two bodies which attend to Sunday-school interests. In Feb- ruary, 1824,^ Noah Davis, a zealous young min- ister, addressed a communication to J. D. Knowles, then editor of " The Columbia Star," which led " " Massachusetts Baptist Anniversaries," annual re- ports. •American Church History, vol. II (Baptists) , by A. H. Newman, 1894, p. 426. J Ii6 Sunday-School Movements to the calhng of a meeting and the organization of the Baptist General Tract Society, with its headquarters at Washington. This became one of the most important and successful of the de- nominational enterprises. The receipts, which were for the first year, $373.80, amounted to $20,803.78, for the year ending in April, 1845. As early as 1826, owing to great inconveniences and loss from being at a distance from a publish- ing and distributing center, the Society removed its headquarters to Philadelphia. In 1840 a re- vised constitution was adopted, and the name of the Society changed to the American Baptist Pub- lication Society. Sunday-school work is distinctly recognized in the new constitution, and has, since 1840, been pushed with great vigor. The Society is said to have been the first in America to engage in colportage. Its missionary department has sent colporteurs the length and breadth of the land dis- tributing literature, preaching in destitute places, and establishing Sunday-schools. Its publication department issues a number of Sunday-school pe- riodicals. The International lessons are used al- most exclusively, though the Society publishes a primary course entitled * " Two Years With Jesus." In 1 89 1 the Convention appointed a Sunday- school Board, whose chief function is to supply periodicals, song-books, Bibles, Testaments, cards, * " Two Years With Jesiis," by Miss Juliet E. Dimock, teachers' edition and scholars' edition. The Church and Sunday-School Work 1 17 maps, and other requisites for Sunday-schools. The Board has its headquarters at Nashville. Before leaving the Baptists, it will be interest- ing to note a change which, though hardly a de- nominational movement, was instigated by a Baptist. Henry J. Rowland " is entitled to the distinction of having originated the first Infant Sunday-school, so far as is known, ^ in this coun- try or any other." In 1829, when only an appren- tice boy nineteen years of age, at the suggestion of his sister, he obtained leave of absence to in- vestigate a certain school for the care of young children whose parents were obliged to be away from home at their work. He saw and heard enough to satisfy himself that the religious part of the exercises there could be usefully adapted for a number of small children who frequented the Sunday-school of the First Baptist Church of Boston, but who had no place in any of the classes. He explained the work at a meeting of the Sun- day-school teachers, proposing that an infant class be formed, and suggesting that one of the lady teachers should take charge. This resulted in the formation of such a class with young Mr. How- land as teacher. Besides the teaching and singing of hymns, he prepared Bible pictures to interest the children, and worked out the lessons on the catechetical plan, using the Bible for his answers, and instilling into the minds of the children the '"The Watchman," May 6, 1897 (vol. 78, No. 18), p. 20. ii8 Sunday-School Movements Scripture language. He published the first book of lessons for the primary department. His heart was in the work and his school was a great suc- cess. Till the year of his death, 1897, he was an active and prominent Sunday-school worker. Congregational. The Congregational (Trini- tarian) Church, like the Unitarian, has a distinct Sunday-school organization of considerable na- tional importance. This Congregational Sunday- School and Publishing Society, is the result of the combination of two independent movements. In j\Iay, 1825, the Massachusetts Sabbath-School Union was organized, and was auxiliary to the American Sunday-School Union, formed the pre- ceding year. In 1826, forty of the fifty-five Sun- day-schools thus associated were Congregational, the rest Baptist. In 1832, it was thought best for the two denominations to divide, one-third of the assets going to the Baptists, and two-thirds to the Congregationalists.^ The Massachusetts Sab- bath-School Society had its origin in this way and remained auxiliary to the American Sunday- School Union till 1839. ^^ was incorporated in 1840. During its first seven years it published 352 books, of which 203 were for libraries, 17 were question books, and 3 were singing-books. The Wellspring was first issued in 1844. I" 1853, one ' A Brief Historic Sketch of the Congregational Sun- day-School and Publishing Society, n. n., 1894. The Church and Sunday-School Work 119 of its books was called by the now popular name, " The Inductive Question Book." By 1868 it had issued 750 publications, of which 700 were for Sunday-school libraries. The Society also car- ried on missionary- work, aiding both Presbyterian and Congregational Sunday-schools until the plan of union was given up. Xo special missionary agents were employed until 1853, when the West- ern Sabbath-School Agency was formed. Within six years eleven different missionaries were em- ployed in Xew York, Ohio. Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. During the Civil War this work was broken up and the Society addressed its publications and its distributing work largely to the boys in camp and hospital, and to the " contrabands " and freedmen. ■Meanwhile, the Congregational Board of Pub- lication, the second movement referred to above, had developed. On jMarch 9, 1868, the Massachu- setts Sabbath-School Society, and the Congrega- tional Board of Publication, at the request of both organizations, were consolidated by act of Legis- lature into The Congregational Sabbath-School and Publishing Society. The object of the new Society was to " explain. . . . and support the Congregational faith and polity," and to promote Sabbath-school organization and education. In 1870 the name was changed for convenience to The Congregational Publishing Society. Its busi- ness meanwhile rapidly increased. At this time a society called The Society for the Promotion of lao Sunday-School Movements Christian Knowledge disbanded and gave it $5,000, the annual income to be used in the dis- tribution of books. In accordance with the advice of the National Council, in 1874, on April i, 1876, the missionary work was transferred to the .•\merican Home ^lis- sionary Society. This change was against the judgment of the officers of both societies. In- terest in the Sunday-school work decreased ; and the amount contributed for it diminished from $12,224, in 1873, the year before the change was proposed, to $1,464, in 1879. In May, 1882, this work was restored to the Publishing Society and the next year the name of the Society was changed to " The Congregational Sunday-School and Pub- lishing Society," that it might correspond with the work which was again assumed. The organization has steadily grown till of re- cent years it has kept about thirty-five Sunday- school missionaries in the field, starting hundreds of new schools annually and holding hundreds of local institutes and conventions. Under the name of the " Pilgrim Press " it issues literature that spreads far beyond the denominational lines. It presents two systems of lessons, the International and an inductive series on the Life of Christ and the History of Israel, so that schools or classes can take their choice. There is also an energetic Congregational Sun- day-School Superintendents' Union of Boston and Vicinity, with a membership of between one and The Church and Sunday-School Work 121 two hundred. This was organized in November, 1879, pursuant to a call which originated with sev- eral of the Congregational Delegates to a Sunday- school convention at Worcester a few days before. The Union meets once a month to discuss practi- cal subjects such as " How to Reach and Hold Young Men in our Sunday-schools," the " Object and Work of the Training School for Christian Workers, in Springfield, " and " What may the Sabbath-school learn from the Public School ? " Sunday-school institutes and conventions have been held at its suggestion, and its influence has been felt by every ^ Congregational Sunday- school in Boston and vicinity. Episcopal. The Episcopal Church, as has been said above, has always given attention to the re- ligious instruction of children on Sunday. It has not succeeded, however, in maintaining a national Sunday-school union. One was organized in New York early m the centur>'. but it never secured a strong support from the church in whose interests it was founded and whose name it bore. It acted for a time as a publication society and after some years of rather languid existence, its interests were sold to a private bookseller.* On the other hand, the denomination has active local Sunday-school associations, of which the ^ Congregational Sunday-School Superintendents' Un- ion, n. n., 1896, p. 7. ' Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature, article Sunday- Schools, by D. P. K., vol. X, p. 25. 122 Sunday-School Movements most influential is that of the Diocese of Pennsyl- vania, organized February 15, 1870. ^ The first meeting of this Association was called by a circu- lar issued to the Sunday-schools of Philadelphia by a committee of the Teachers Association of the Church of the Holy Apostles. For several years after its organization the Association held monthly meetings in the various city parishes. At these meetings a special topic was always presented by a leading clergyman or layman, and then briefly discussed by others. In a year or two this method was changed and a course of special monthly lec- tures was delivered by leading bishops and clergy- men. This course lasted about two years. The first Sunday-School Convention of the Association was held in the Church of the Epiphany in 1875, and was well attended. The first Sunday-School Institute was held in Grace Church on January 16, 1883, and a Sunday-School Conference was held at the Church of the Epiphany in October, 1883, during the session of the General Convention which was then meeting in that city. This was very largely attended, and not less than twelve bishops made addresses. The American Church Sunday-School Institute was formed through the influence of this Association in October, 1884, and the weekly meetings for the study of the Sun- day-school lessons were begun in April, 1885. When the International Series of lessons began ' The American Church Sunday- School Magazine, Feb., 1895, p. 126. The Church and Sunday-School Work 123 to attract attention they were used in many Epis- copal schools, but they were so incongruous with the Church year that although several attempts were made to adapt them, it was found to be im- possible. A meeting was therefore held in Grace Church, New York, in 1874, at which the com- mittee known as the Joint Diocesan Committee was inaugurated. The members of this committee are appointed by the bishops of the several dioceses and include delegates representing the Brother- hood of St. Andrew and the American Church Sunday-School Institute. The regular meetings take place twice a year, each course of lessons be- ing for six months. The methods of work are practically the same as those of the International Lesson Committee. In 1897 an effort was made to decide on a course of study for five years, from 1899 to 1904. The object of the Committee is to put forth instruction in accordance with the prin- ciples of the Episcopal Church or the Church year ; to secure thorough familiarity with the Church catechism, a portion being set forth in each lesson ; to make everybody familiar with the leading doc- trines of Christianity as they are associated with the Church year ; to call frequent attention to the prayer book and its devotional uses ; and to bring before the minds of all the methods and obliga- tions of Christian work in its different branches, especially the missionary operations. The number of teachers and pupils using these lessons is over four hundred thousand in the United States and 124 Sunday-School Movements Canada.^'' There are a number of publishers who employ editors to prepare the lesson papers, the two most popular of these courses being the Whit- taker and the Jacobs series. Other lesson series, as the International and the Bible Study Union, are used in many Episcopal Sunday-schools. In addition to these periodical papers, a single denominational publishing house in New York City can supply nearly a hundred different Episcopal manuals for Sunday-school instruction. These are mostly catechetical and many of them are in graded courses carefully pre- pared to lead the child through studies in the Bible, doctrines, and Church history. Church music and church forms of worship are usually used in the Sunday-schools, and a special church service for children, in tone with the older services, is a regular appointment in many parishes. Conferences, conventions and institutes are be- coming more frequent and more serious in this de- nomination, and great effort is being made, with the aid of leading scholars in the philosophy and art of education, to solve the pressing problem of the Church's duty in the matter of national re- ligious training. Friend. Prominent in the history of Pennsyl- vania are "the Friends and their First-day schools, often called by them Bible or Scripture-schools. '"Dictation from a member of the committee (Dr. Shinn). The Church and Sunday-School Work 12^ They formed a Bible Society in Philadelphia in 1830 " About the same time, Hannah C. Black- house, of England, visited America in company with her husband, Jonathan Blackhouse, who was a minister. She found to her sorrow, much neg- lect of the Bible among American Friends, and established the first Bible schools among them. The movement was not rapid at first, but for many years now such schools have been almost universal in the orthodox branch of the Society. Most of the schools use the International Lessons, and all of the " Yearly Meetings " except one have stand- ing committees whose duty it is to encourage and help the schools in the various localities. The minutes of a recent Iowa " Yearly Meeting " have a remarkable record in the relatively large num- bers in Bible-schools, and in the large proportion of families that have some defined religious home training. The Hicksite body of Friends have flourishing First-day schools, some of which have adopted the International Lessons. Others use a series of les- sons selected and prepared by a Central Committee of their own body. These schools are not all con- fined to Bible lessons, ^^ but deal sometimes with ethical or humanitarian subjects. For instance, "American Church History, vol. XII, Thomas & Thomas, p. 281. " Sunday-Schools, United States Bureau of Educa- tion, Report of Commissioner of Education for 1896-97, p. 389. 126 Sunday-School Movements one book which they use is " American Charities : A Study in Philanthropy and Economics,"' by Amos G. Warner. Also a " Book of Devotional Poems," and " Selections from Whittier's Poem;^," are considerably used. The Hicksites tend to make much of literature, and in some places, especially in New York, they circulate traveling libraries among the country schools. Hebrew. The Hebrew Sunday-schools are, in general, of two kinds, Orthodox and Reformed. The Orthodox differ very little from schools in vogue before Christ.^ ^ The Reformed vary, and it is not easy to make general statements regard- ing them. Each congregation is a voluntary as- sociation governed by its own rules and responsi- ble to no other association, except through its own pledges.^* In 1872 the Jews at Cincinnati made an effort to form a union of congregations, " the object of which should be, — First, to establish a Jewish theological faculty ; second, to furnish proper books for our Sabbath schools ; third, to adopt a code of laws defining Judaism. " Out of this movement grew the Union of American Hebrew Congregations ; the Hebrew Union College in Cin- cinnati ; and the Hebrew Sabbath-School Union. To make the Sabbath-school work more efficient, " Sunday-School Work, Ellis, Pedagogical Seminary, June, 1896, p. 393. " Sunday-Schools, United States Bureau of Educa- tion, 1896-97, p. 405. The Church and Sunday-School Work 127 prizes were offered for the best biblical history, the best post-biblical histor}-, and the best cate- chism. In 1878 a prize was offered for the best hymn-book for Sabbath-schools. The Hebrew Sabbath-School Union, formed in 1886 by a Sabbath-school convention in Cincin- nati, adopted a constitution which included the following from article VII, section i : The execu- tive committee shall prepare plans to carry into effect the unification of the work of the Hebrew Sabbath-schools as specified in the following sec- tions: (a) Instruction in the principles, doctrines, and precepts of Judaism, (b) Instruction in the reading of the Bible in the vernacular, (c) In- struction in the Hebrew language at least to the extent of understanding the Hebrew prayers and appropriate portions of the Bible, (d) Instruc- tion in Jewish history covering the biblical and post-biblical periods, (e) Instruction in music, with a view to prepare children to participate in the service. Section 2. In addition to the fore- going, which shall constitute a six years' course, including a one year's course for confirmation, the executive committee shall also provide for a two vears* course of instruction for a post-confirmation class and a complete course of study for normal classes. Most Hebrew Sabbath-schools have sessions on Sunday morning from nine o'clock to eleven or half-past eleven. Some have an additional ses- sion on Saturday from nine to ten a. m. The rabbi laS Sunday-School Movements is the superintendent, or where there is no rabbi, a layman has charge of the school. A considera- ble proportion of the teachers are paid. Probably the best Hebrew Sunday-school in America is that at the Temple Emanuel, on Fifth Avenue, New York, described by Mr. Ellis. The school meets every Sunday morning, but follows completely the principles and methods of the public schools. Children must obtain permission from the educational committee of the church in order to enter the school. After the opening exercises of devotion, the school divides into five grades, each grade going into an entirely separate room, and each studying one of the five grades of Katz- enberg's Biblical History. There is also oppor- tunity to study a post-biblical history, by Hecht. Latter-Day Saint. Besides those branches of the Church which trace their ancestry back across the Atlantic, there is, in the western part of our land a younger, yet large and rapidly growing body, — the Latter-Day Saints. Fifty years ago, the " Saints, " after being driven from their homes on the banks of the Mississippi, settled in Utah. Here in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains, amidst ad- verse circumstances, Richard Ballantyne saw and felt the need of religious instruction for the young. Accordingly, in May, 1849, he formed the purpose of starting a Sunday-school to train the youth in the principles of the Gospel and knowledge of the Mormon scriptures. By the second Sunday of the The Church and Sunday-School Work 129 following December he had built a suitable house for the purpose, and he, with his wife and babe, and the members of the school were gathered there. The Sunday-school numbered about fifty pupils. They furnished their own books, and the lessons were from the New Testament, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. The study of the New Testament predominated. The school began at eight o'clock in the morning, and closed in time for those who wished to attend the general meeting of the " Saints. " ''^ In succeeding years, others, inspired with an interest in the education of the children, became pioneers or leaders in Sunday-school work in other wards and setlements. On the fourth of Novem- ber, 1867, a meeting of those interested in the Sunday-schools of the " Saints " was held at the Thirteenth Ward Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, for the purpose of organizing a Sunday-School Union. This was the first meeting held for that purpose. At an adjourned meeting on the eleventh of that month, the first steps were taken toward a permanent organization, and Elder George Q. Cannon was elected president, with a recording secretary and two corresponding secretaries. A committee of three was also appointed to examine and decide upon books suitable for use in the Sun- day-schools. It was not till 1872 that the Union assumed a "Juvenile Instructor, vol, XXXIV, Nov. i, 1899, PP- 667-674. 130 Sunday-School Movements compact and definite shape. From that time the efforts and labors of the Union became more prac- tical. Monthly meetings of the teachers and su- perintendents were held in Salt Lake City with great regularity, and continued to grow in propor- tions and interest until they were among the most popular and most largely attended of any of the assemblies of the people of Zion. The Sunday- school books published by the Union are now widely used. They are carefully adapted to the various sub-divisions of the work. The Stake or- ganizations are one means by which the influence of the Union is extended. Stake Superintendents of Sunday-schools are now almost invariably ap- pointed when the organization of a stake is per- fected. In every stake of Zion there is a Stake Superintendent of Sunday-schools, subject to the President of the Stake, with assistant officers to look after and care for the Sunday-school interests of that stake. In 1884 the general monthly meet- ings were put in charge of the stake Sunday- school authorities and the general meetings of the Union were appointed to be held twice a year at the times of the General Conferences of the Church. In 1887 a new feature was introduced into the services of the Sunday-schools, by direction of the First Presidency of the Church, namely the ad- ministration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Sup- per. All children who are more than eight years The Church and Sunday-School Work 131 of age, if baptized, or if " willing and anxious to be baptized " are to partake. ^' Great care is given to the matter of music. The Deseret Sunday-School Musical Union, organized in 1875, was of short duration; nevertheless, both individuals, and the Sunday-School Union, have accomplished much by their efforts to promote the musical interests of the Sunday-schools, It is also interesting to note that there are nearly forty per cent, more male teachers and officers in the Sunday-schools than female. Much is done to direct and help the work of the teachers, and there are even Normal Sunday-school training classes in the academy at Provo. ^^ Some of the principal events ^^ of recent years have been : the holding of an annual Sunday-school Conference in each stake; the more thorough grading of the pupils into different departments ; the establishment of Nickel Day, on which all members of the Sunday-schools are invited to con- tribute at least one nickel to aid the Sunday-school cause ; the observance of Humane Day, on which special efforts are made to inculcate the principles and practice of kindness and mercy to animals; the preparation of lessons on the Bible, the Book " Proceedings of the First Sunday-School Convention of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, 1899, p. 75- " Sunday-Schools, United States Bureau of Educa- tion, 1896-97, p. 416. "Juvenile Instructor, p. 671. 132 Sunday-School Movements of Mormon and history of the Church, in leaflet form ; and the holding of a Sunday-school Conven- tion in November, 1898, which was well attended by delegates from the different schools and stakes extending from Canada to Mexico, and which proved to be a great success. Lutheran. The Lutherans have, during recent years, been turning their attention to Sunday- school questions. In 1830 a Sunday-school Union had been formed, of which Rev. C. F. Heyer was agent. During the first year he traveled nearly five thousand miles, preached in three hundred places, and established a large number of Sunday- schools. ^® From twelve to fifteen thousand Sun- day-school books and tracts were sold and dis- tributed. After this, however, no important steps seem to have been taken till the formation of a Council lesson system, four years ago. This is largely owing to the maintenance of parochial day-schools in which religious instruction is given. Both the Lutheran and the Protestant Episcopal Churches generally have catechetical classes, or some form of special instruction, for weeks and often months previous to Easter or the time of confirmation. Many Lutheran Sunday-schools hold two sessions. In New York, for instance, nearly, if not all of the schools, have a morning session before service and another in the afternoon. '* Lutherans, by H. E. Jacobs ; American Church His- tory, vol. IV, p. 374. The Church and Sunday-School Work IJ3 Great stress is laid on the service and hymns of the church in the Sunday-school. Dr. Trabert voices the general opinion of his denomination when he says : " It is of the greatest importance that the children early learn to appreciate the church's magnificent treasures in her matchless hymns and unrivaled service. The Sunday-school must lead into the inner sanctuary by acquainting the children with and awakening a love for the full service of the sanctuary. To this end the matin and vesper services are peculiarly adapted. " The Lutheran Church Review of October, 1896, is almost wholly devoted to the subject of Sunday- schools. Conferences are being held on the sub- ject, and there are many signs of advanced thought and methods which would be suggestive to other denominations. Methodist. The most prominent people in Sun- day-school work are the Methodists. In the con- ference of 1779, five years before the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the question was asked. " What shall be done with the chil- dren ? " The answer was given, " Meet them once a fortnight, and examine the parents with regard to their conduct toward them. " In the first Dis- cipline, 1784, we find, " Where there are ten chil- dren whose parents are in the society, meet them at least one hour every week.-° " Growth of the Sunday-School Idea in the Methodist Episcopal Church, J. M. Freeman, Meth. Q. Rev., July, 1871, p. 400. 134 Sunday-School Movements John Wesley, it is claimed,*^ instituted Sunday- schools as early as 1737, in Savannah, Georgia. However this may be, he no sooner heard of Robert Raikes' Sunday-schools than he approved of them. He published an account of them in the American Magazine for January, 1785, and ex- horted his Societies to imitate this laudable ex- ample. They took his advice.^^ Bishop Asbury, at that time " Superintendent of the Methodist Church in America," also encouraged and assisted the establishment of Sunday-schools. Unlike some other Sunday-schools of those times, the Methodist schools included the three important ideas of gratuitous instruction, religious instruction, and books " to teach learning and piety," which ideas were, in 1790, officially in- corporated in the Discipline. Two kinds of Sun- day-schools were organized by the early Metho- dists. Both are frequently referred to in the Discipline. First, there were classes of one hour a week for children whose parents were able to teach them. Especial directions were given by the Conference of 1787 for the formation of such classes, and the children were to " graduate into the Church. " Second, the question was asked in 1790, " What can be done in order to instruct poor " The Rise and Progress of Sunday-Schools, John Carroll Power, 1863, p. 22. " Annual Report of the Sunday-School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 185 1, p. 93. The Church and Sunday-School Work 135 children, white and black, to read? " The answer was given, " Let us labor, as the heart and soul of one man, to establish Sunday-schools in or near the place of public worship " which shall give in- struction " from six o'clock in the morning till ten, and from two o'clock in the afternoon till six, " and such schools were established. From this time the Sunday-school idea grew slowly and steadily. In 1824 the General Confer- ence passed three resolutions on Sunday-schools. It was made " tlie duty of each traveling preacher in our connection to encourage the establishment of Sunday-schools " ; arrangements were made for the compilation of a catechism for Sunday-school children ; and the book agents were instructed " to provide and keep on hand a good assortment of books suitable for the use of Sunday-schools. " On April second, 1827, the Sunday-School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in New York City, this location being chosen because of " the facilities afforded by our Book Concern for printing and circulating books. " The objects of the Union were " to promote the formation, and to concentrate the efforts of Sab- bath-schools connected with the Congregations of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and all others that may become auxiliary ; to aid in the instruc- tion of the rising generation, particularly in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and in the serv- ice and worship of God. This Society flourished 136 Sunday-School Movements until 1833,23 when it was merged with the Bible and Tract Society. The new organization was dis- solved after three years. In 1840 the Sunday- School Union was reorganized and it put forth new life which has not since languished. In 1872, however, a change was affected making the Board of Managers to be appointed by the Church through its representative body, the General Con- ference. This necessitated a new charter, and the objects of the Corporation were stated to be " charitable and religious, designed to advance the interests and promote the cause of Sabbath-schools in connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and elsewhere. " The work of this large and progressive Society falls under three departments. The Department of Instruction prepares lesson books, papers and practical helps of various kinds for both scholars and teachers. It also has a well-defined system of Normal Instruction, comprising the use of text- books, prepared especially for the purpose, and the holding of Normal Classes, Institutes, Assemblies,- and other meetings for recreation and instruction. The Department of Publication works in coopera- tion with the Book Concern. It both edits publica- tions connected with Sunday-school work and purchases supplies from the Book Concern for needy schools. The Department of Benevolence seeks to organize and sustain Sunday-schools in " The Sunday-School Union of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, J. M. Freeman, p. 3. The Church and Sunday-School Work 137 destitute places, both here and in foreign lands, and to furnish books and requisites for the schools when the people are unable to pay for them. The Union does a large and useful work among the colored people of the South, among the Indians, and especially among the immigrants, thousands and thousands of whom are gathered into its Sun- day-schools. It also has thousands of schools in foreign lands. The same year that the Union was reorganized, the General Conference "* made it the duty of the Presiding Elder carefully to inquire at each quar- terly conference if the rules for the instruction of children had been faithfully observed. These rules were entirely remodeled and enlarged, covering more than two pages of the Discipline. Also the Preacher in charge was required " to visit the schools as often as practicable, to preach on the subject of Sunday-schools and religious instruc- tion in each congregation at least once in six months, " and to form Bible classes for the in- struction of older members. In 1852 male superintendents who were mem- bers of the Church, were admitted to the quarterly conferences, with the right to speak and vote on questions relating to the Sunday-schools. Four years later such superintendents were made full members of the quarterly conference, with the one proviso that the quarterly conference shall first ap- " Growth of the Sunday- School Idea in the Methodist Episcopal Church, J. M. Freeman, M. Q. R., p. 404. 136 Sunday-School Movements until i833,=3 when it was merged with the Bible and Tract Society. The new organization was dis- solved after three years. In 1840 the Sunday- School Union was reorganized and it put forth new Hfe which has not since languished. In 1872, however, a change was affected making the Board of Managers to be appointed by the Church through its representative body, the General Con- ference. This necessitated a new charter, and the objects of the Corporation were stated to be " charitable and religious, designed to advance the interests and promote the cause of Sabbath-schools in connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and elsewhere. " The work of this large and progressive Society falls under three departments. The Department of Instruction prepares lesson books, papers and practical helps of various kinds for both scholars and teachers. It also has a well-defined system of Kormal Instruction, comprising the use of text- books, prepared especially for the purpose, and the holding of Normal Classes, Institutes, Assemblies,- and other meetings for recreation and instruction. The Department of Publication works in coopera- tion with the Book Concern. It both edits publica- tions connected with Sunday-school work and purchases supplies from the Book Concern for needy schools. The Department of Benevolence seeks to organize and sustain Sunday-schools in "The Sunday-School Union of the Methodist Episco- pal Church. J. M. Freeman, p. 3. The Church and Sunday-School Work 137 destitute places, both here and in foreign lands, and to furnish books and requisites for the schools when the people are unable to pay for them. The Union does a large and useful work among the colored people of the South, among the Indians, and especially among the immigrants, thousands and thousands of whom are gathered into its Sun- day-schools. It also has thousands of schools in foreign lands. The same year that the Union was reorganized, the General Conference '* made it the duty of the Presiding Elder carefully to inquire at each quar- terly conference if the rules for the instruction of children had been faithfully observed. These rules were entirely remodeled and enlarged, covering more than two pages of the Discipline. Also the Preacher in charge was required " to visit the schools as often as practicable, to preach on the subject of Sunday-schools and religious instruc- tion in each congregation at least once in six months, " and to form Bible classes for the in- struction of older members. In 1852 male superintendents who were mem- bers of the Church, were admitted to the quarterly conferences, with the right to speak and vote on questions relating to the Sunday-schools. Four years later such superintendents were made full members of the quarterly conference, with the one proviso that the quarterly conference shall first ap- ** Growth of the Sunday-School Idea in the Methodist Episcopal Church, J. M. Freeman, M. Q. R., p. 404. 140 Sunday-School Movements Vincent, in 1874, founded the great educational system known as the Chautauqua Movement.* It is difficult to estimate the extent of the influ- ence of these great advances, especially as we lose the perspective in drawing nearer the present. Two more points, however, deserve at least to be mentioned. One is the Methodist kindergarten of the Church, which has for its purpose " to intro- duce the principles of the kindergarten into the primary department of the Sunday-school ; also to recommend that there be five sessions for this department during the week in addition to the one on Sunday. " The other is the Home Depart- ment of the Sunday-School Union, on the same plan as other home departments, and numbering, in 1897, when it was first recognized in the Sun- day-school system of the Methodist Episcopal Church, more than seventy-seven thousand mem- bers. Presbyterian. In Sunday-school work the Pres- byterians have done perhaps more as individuals than as a branch of the Church, but it is as the latter that we must here consider them. In colonial days Presbyterian ministers were ex- pected to meet and catechise the children of their charges every week on Wednesday or on Sunday, with the help of some of the elders, or, if she were a notable woman, of the pastor's wife. The West- * For fuller account of Institutes and the Chautauqua Movement, see chapter on the same. The Church and Sunday-School Work 141 minster Shorter Catechism was taught in the Pres- byterian day-schools, especially in Pennsylvania. If a child of a Lutheran or Methodist family was in the school, he went through the whole curricu- lum, and his parents were glad to have it so.^^ After mastering the headings in the spellmg-book and some primer, the only other reading book was the Bible. The New Testament was read by the junior class, and the Old Testament by the seniors. With the introduction of Sunday-schools at the beginning of the century, this work declined and the Presbyterians gave large support ^° to the ex- tension of the Sunday-school system. The Board of Publication also changed after a while from employing agents merely to carry on the sale of its books, to directing its agents to seek to establish Sunday-schools in neglected districts. For this reason in 1887 the General Assembly enlarged the title of the Board to include this work, and ap- pointed a secretary to take charge of it. It also has placed the statistics of Sunday-school mem- bership and contributions on the same footing as those of the congregations. ^^ There is no Presbyterian Sunday-School Union. The Cumberland Presbyterians issue, through their Board of Publication, the usual Sunday- " United Presbyteria Church of North America, by Scouller, American Church History, vol. XI, p. 240. " Presbyterians, by Thompson. American Church His- tory, vol. VI, p. 131- ** Presbyterians, by Thompson, p. 200. 1412 Sunday-School Movements school literature. This Board was organized in 1867 and located at Nashville. The Southern Presbyterians have laid upon their Committee of Publication the general oversight of all the Sun- day-school interests and the advancement of the work in all practicable ways. Among all branches of Presbyterians the Inter- national Lessons and the Westminster Catechisms are widely used, the former being presented in a variety of quarterlies and helps. In the line of music there is little that the Presbyterians have not attempted, either as to instruments or hymn- books. Eeformed. The Reformed Church is Calvinistic like the Presbyterian. It uses chiefly the Interna- tional Lessons, as issued by the German Reformed Church in the Heidelberg series, and the Heidel- berg Catechism. The Sunday-School Board of the Reformed Church in the United States, some times called the German Reformed Church, was first incorporated in 1897, though it had carried on an active work for years. In 1898 the Board of Publication of the Reformed Church in America, colloquially called Dutch Reformed, made a con- tract with the above Board of the German Re- formed Church, ^^ according to which the Dutch Board has an editorial representative on the Ger- man Board and receives its own imprint on the publications, some slight changes being made. ** Triennial Report of the Sunday-School Board of the Reformed Church in the United States, 1899, p. 24. The Church and Sunday-School Work 143 From the first, a marked characteristic of the Reformed Dutch Church, and perhaps hardly less of the entire Reformed Church, has been her care for the instruction of the young. Christian nur- ture was regarded as the chief means of perpet- uating the Church. Qiristian parents were ex- pected to present their children for baptism; to train them for God, and to expect covenanted grace for them, so that at a suitable age they would be led to make a sincere profession of their faith in Christ." The Synod of Dort said much on this subject. It was required of every minister that the sermon on Sunday afternoon should be explanatory of one of the " Lord's Days " of the Heidelberg Catechism, so that the whole catechism might be expounded in the course of the year. The ministers are still required by the Constitu- tion and by their calls to do this work, but are al- lowed four years in which to cover the catechism. In 1839, the Board of Sabbath-School Union was formed, the object of which was to increase interest in the Sunday-schools and to secure, as far as possible, the teaching of the catechisms of the Church in them. The power of the Board was ad- visory, though it also did some publishing, estab- lished new schools, and aided and encouraged feeble ones. It was abolished by the General Synod in 1862. Recently, in all departments of the Reformed "The Reformed Church in America, 4th edit., 1889, by David D. Dcmarest, p. 156. 144 Sunday-School Movements Church, there has been a tendency toward more complete organization. Sunday-schools have re- ceived much attention. In the German Reformed Church a general secretary has been appointed to direct this important interest. ^* In the Dutch Reformed Church, the Sunday-school Committee reported in 1899 that " with the exception of the Classis of Raritan all the classes of the Church have appointed permanent Sunday-school Com- mittees, and through these the Sunday-school work has a care and oversight such as it never had be- fore. The vast responsibility of the work is urged upon pastors, superintendents and teachers, and the study of methods of work is earnestly com- mended. " Normal classes are formed in an increasing number of the schools. Young people's work, especially in a missionary line, is prominent in the Sunday-schools and is considered to have edu- cational results. Roman Catholic. Since the Roman Catholic Church insists upon daily religious instruction, the Sunday-school has not been so prominent in that Church as a dependence upon it for religious teaching would make it. Within recent years the number of children who attend public schools, and the conditions regarding these schools, have ap- parently prompted greater attention to Sunday- »* Reformed Church, German, by Dubbs, American Church History, vol. VIII, p. 420. The Church and Sundav-School Work 145 schools. They have now some of die best attended and most carefully organized Sunday-schools in America. The work is kept under ecclesiastical supervi- sion and direction. The Church has a number of brotherhoods and sisterhoods devoted to teaching, for which the members are carefully trained, and there are summer professional schools which even experienced teachers attend annually. Some priest, chosen for his fitness, has the responsible supervi- sion. The gradation in the schools is more or less formal, according to circumstances, and ranges from the youngest class in a catechism of elemen- tary faith and duty to adult classes with text-books in Bible or Church history. The celebration of the mass is in many instances the preparatory service for the Sunday-school, and often includes the exposition of the Scripture lesson for the day. Some churches have also Saturday morning classes for pupils of the public schools.^' In most Roman Catholic schools little is taught save a series of catechisms, containing the Church doctrines. Of these catechisms there is a great variety, and there are several authors whose works are used in the study of Bible and Church history. No national uniformity in lessons exists, though all the various catechisms contain about the same matter. A priest or publishing house prepares a catechism, obtains its approval by some bishop, •* Sunday- Schools, United States Bureau of Educa- tion, 1896-97, pp. 413 and 353. 146 Sunday-School Movements and any school may use it. A catechism was pre- pared and enjoined by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, in 1885, ^^i liope of bring- ing about uniformity in this country, but it was not satisfactory from a pedagogical standpoint and therefore not universally used. The school of the Paulist Fathers, ^® Fifty-ninth Street, New York, represents probably the most advanced methods and ideas among the Roman Catholics, and is far superior to the average school. It meets at nine on Sunday morning with about eighteen hundred people from three to thirty years of age, of all social classes. The large as- sembly hall is hung with pictures and mottoes and furnished with images. Mass is said and the children use the " Sunday-School Manual " pre- pared for them by the director, simplifying the whole, appending a collection of spirited hymns to be interjected, and adapting it to children. Then folding doors separate the departments and the regular lessons are taken up by the teachers. The smallest children are put through kindergarten movements, listen to legends and some Bible facts, and are taught to make the sign of the cross and say various short prayers of the Church, and to repeat the Apostles Creed. Above this there are five more grades each using catechetical instruc- tion of increasing fullness concerning the Chris- tian life and duties and the Roman Catholic doc- " Sunday-School Work, Pedagogical Seminary, June. 1896, Ellis. The Church and Sunday-School Work 147 trine. This school meets on Wednesday as well as on Sunday. The parents are required by the laws of the church to teach the catechism to their children at home during the week. The school has a regular series of examinations, and a certificate of graduation is granted to those passing the first examination. It offers a gold medal for the best paper and makes full use of rewards and the stimulus of rivalry. The course is so arranged as to take advantage of the great incitement afforded by a sense of mastery of something. The direc- tors and teachers show earnestness, enthusiasm, personal interest and sympathy with the children and a pedagogical insight. They go from the known to the unknown. The service of mass with a decorated altar, the solemn music and the united singing, the robed priests and acolytes, are all most aptly chosen to appeal to the soul of the child and to create a sense of reverence. ^° TJnitarian. The Unitarians were among the first to start a denominational Sunday-school Society. This was organized in Boston, April 18, 1827, under the name of the Boston Sunday-School Society. Its members were pastors, teachers, and officers from the ten Unitarian Sunday-schools in the city.^'' The first Unitarian Sunday-school in Boston, formed in 1824, had met with strong dis- approval, lest the important work of the religious " Sixty Years of the Unitarian Sunday- School Soci- ety, 1887. by H. G. Spaulding. 148 Sunday-School Movements instruction of the young should be taken out of the mother's hand; but this opposition was soon proved a mistake. The Society met once in three months, with an annual meeting in December, and debated important questions. In the second year of its existence, an arrangement was made with the infant American Unitarian Association, whereby certain text-books should be published, bearing the imprint of the two Societies. It was not till 1884, however, that the first attempt was made to instruct young people by a manual of Unitarian belief. In 183 1 the Society dropped the word " Boston " from its name. The influence of this society can be better appreciated by look- ing at the names of those who addressed its meet- ings, among which are found those of Horace Mann, Dr. Channing, and others of almost equal eminence. In 1852 an important forward step was taken by the publication of a series of eight graded manuals written by leading ministers. Two years later the Unitarian Sunday- School Society was reorgan- ized, and the same year a Sunday-school teachers' institute held, at which Edward H. Clarke, M. D., urged the consideration of the laws of the soul's growth, and earnestly advocated a graded system of studies. This institute, though perhaps less characteristic, permanent and widely influential, was seven years earlier than the famous Meth- odist institute of 1861. In 1866 the Ladies' Commission was formed as The Church and Sunday-School Work 149 a volunteer auxiliary to the Society, its chief work being the preparation of carefully sifted Hsts of books suitable for Unitarian Sunday-school libra- ries. On the fifteenth of October, 1873, the Western Unitarian Sunday-School Society was organized at Chicago, and since then a number of Unitarian Societies and Unions have risen. It is interesting to note that the Unitarian Sunday-School Union of the Pacific Coast, organized November, 1891, pledges itself to work in cooperation with the " Unitarian Sunday-School Society. " ^® For more than fifteen years the Unitarian Sun- day-School Society has been aiding feeble schools and giving special attention to practical helps for teachers. The first summer assembly held by the Society was in July, 1890. Beginning with 1892 the Society issued annually a One-Topic Graded Course on such subjects as the Old Testament or Story of Israel, Great Thoughts of Israel, the Life of Jesus, Teachings of Jesus, and the Beginnings of Christianity. The Primar>' Grade papers of this series contain some of the best illustrations supplied for Sunday-school children. The Uni- tarians are among those who do not limit their work to the Bible. One of their most prized series is entitled " Noble Lives and Noble Deeds " and embraces a wide variety of subjects. It would be a lengthy task to describe the publications of each "Directors' Annual Report of the Unitarian Sunday- School Society, 1892, p. 20. 150 Sunday -School Movements denomination, but it should be observed that the Unitarians rank among the foremost of those who, incited by a marked difference of belief, have at- tempted to supply their children and youth with helps to religious study. TJniversalist. The Rev. Richard Eddy claims great credit for the Universalists in the origin of the American Sunday-school. In 1790, the Phila- delphia Convention of Universalists adopted a regulation for the institution of church schools in which children should be instructed in the Bible. At this time Dr. Benjamin Rush was among the avowed Universalists in Philadelphia. As a result of conferences which he held with Bishop White of the Episcopal Church, and Matthew Cary of the Roman Catholic, they united with him ^^ in a call for a meeting of the citizens of Philadelphia for the purpose of taking into consideration the estab- lishment of Sunday-schools for that city. This re- sulted in the organization of the well-known " First-day or Sunday-School Society " of Phila- delphia, the earliest Sunday-School Society in this country. Also, in April, 1791, Oliver Wellington Lane, a school-teacher in Boston, and a deacon of the Universalist Church, opened a Sunday-school in his school-room. This was according to Raikes' plan, and there is little doubt that it was the first "The Universalist Origin of American Sunday- Schools, Rev. Richard Eddy, Univ. Q., Oct., 1882. p. 453. The Church and Sunday-School Work 151 Sunday-school on that plan set up in New Eng- land. *'<' In many other ways the Universalists have shown their care for children. Not believing in the baptism of children, they instituted a rite of Dedication for them. This was probably started as early as 1780 by the Rev. Mr. Murray. *^ On the second Sunday in June, 1856, C. H. Leonard, D. D., then pastor of the church at Chelsea. ^.lass., instituted " Children's Sunday. " a day for the special observance of this rite, and for services par- ticularly adapted to the capacity, needs and enjoy- ment of the children of the Sunday-schools. The service has been annually observed in that church ever since, and was soon taken up in other Uni- versalist churches. In 1867 the General Conven- tion held in Baltimore commended the observance to all. At the session held in Providence, in 1868, the following resolution was adopted: Rcsoh'cd, That while it may be proper to dedicate children on any day of the year, uniformity of action is desirable in this a? in all other matters, and we recommend that the second Sunday in June, of each year, be named and set apart as " Children's Sunday. " At the session held in Gloucester, in 1870, the following was adopted among the Laws of the Universalist Church: It shall be the duty *■ American Church History, vol. X. The Universal- ists, R. Eddy, p. 483. " American Church History, vol. X, The Universal- ivts, R. Eddy, p. 484. 152 Sunday-School Movements of every Parish to set apart at least one Sunday in each year to be denominated Children's Sunday — in all cases where practicable the second Sunday in June, or as near thereto as possible, and parents and guardians shall be encouraged and invited to bring their children to the altar on that day for baptism or dedication to the service of the Lord. " Children's Sunday " is now very generally ob- served, and has been so designated and used by other Protestant Churches, especially by the Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists, who find it a valuable means of connecting the children of the Sunday-school with the Church. The Universalists, besides using the unde- nominational lesson series, have their own Sun- day-school periodicals, catechisms and other les- son books. In many of the states they hold regular Sunday-school conventions, in some states they have local Sunday-school Unions, and even the Sunday-school institute is not untried by them. General. On the whole the denominations profit but little by each other's experiences. In most of the denominations each separate school lives its own life with only a chance knowledge of other schools, denominations, or Sunday-school organi- zations. Nevertheless, the Church militant has come to realize the importance of training her young soldiers, and in these days of rapid com- munication it cannot be long before the better methods spread. CHAPTER VII THE BIBLE STUDY UNTON Origin. It is usual when ministers give Bible lectures, or even Bible lessons, for them to follow some plan of their own, thus giving life and per- sonality to the course. So the Rev. Erastus Blakes- lee prepared his own lessons when he undertook to lead a young people's week day Bible class in the church of which he was pastor in Spencer, Massachusetts. The work began in 1888 and re- sulted in the preparation of some lessons which proved eminently successful. Early in 1890 Mr. Blakeslee attempted to apply his methods to the International Sunday-School Lessons, publishing leaflets on them for the months of April and May. ^ But this combination was impossible. The reason can be easily seen by noting Mr. Blakeslee's funda- mental theories. The Fundamental Theories. He considers first that the aim of Sunday-schools should be to in- struct the children and youth of our congregations in the facts, teachings and practical truths of the Bible. Thus far the International Sunday-school ' Report of Meeting for the Organization of Bible Study Union, pp. 5, 6. 153 154 Sunday-School Movements Lesson Committee might agree with him. His second theory is that a comprehensive general ac- quaintance with the Bible as a whole, especially in its relation to the person and work of Christ, should precede the minute and thorough study of its individual parts. Third, that after this general study has been completed, it should be followed by the most exhaustive possible study of individual books or subjects. Fourth, that as the doctrine of redemption is the principal theme in the Scrip- tures, the Bible should be studied first with refer- ence to this fact ; and therefore our Sunday-school study as a system should begin with the study of the Life of Christ, and this not from any one Gospel, but from them all and as a whole. This should be followed by a similarly comprehensive study of the results of His work, as given in the rest of the New Testament. Then should come the Old Testament with special reference to the origin and progress of the Messianic idea. Fifth, that this comprehensive study of the whole Bible should be carried through a graded series of les- sons which should present to each grade such facts and truths as are suited to it, so that the child should go through the Bible once in four or five years, each time in a different grade. Sixth, that these graded courses of study should be looked upon as a definite and characteristic portion of Sunday-school Bible study; that they should be so arranged that if begun in childhood they will be completed at maturity, or if taken up later, will The Bible Study Union 155 be completed in from four to eight years ; and that their completion should mark the time of gradua- tion from the Sunday-school into the Bible class, properly so called. Seventh, that it should be al- ways kept in mind that these Comprehensive Out- line Studies are intended to provide a broad and firm foundation for subsequent minute and ex- haustive study. ' Early Steps. It is clear that the graded school is essential to the carrying out of most of these ideas. This alone so conflicted with the principle of uniformity which underlies the International Lesson system as to make any combination im- possible. Accordingly, Mr. Blakeslee. not wiUing to withdraw from what seemed to him a much needed work, began the preparation of an inde- pendent course of lessons. In October, 1890, he published an abstract of a series of lessons on The Life of Christ, designed for treatment by his methods. The favor with which this outline was received led to the publication of lessons based upon it, in January, 189 1. In July of the same year The Bible Study Publishing Company in Bos- ton began the issue of Sunday-school lessons,' and the plan was started of forming a Union to prepare and introduce a system of graded Bible study. The first step was to issue a circular dated * An Advance Step in Sunday-School Bible Study. Oct.. 1891 ' Report of the Meeting for Organization, pp. 5, 6, I 156 Sunday-School Movements September 24, 1891, setting forth a basis of organi- zation. The names of a number of persons joining the Union on that basis were pubHshed in con- nection with the lessons. In 1892 a course of lessons on The ApostoHc Church was published. Organization. In April, 1892, a conference of certain gentlemen connected with the Union was held in Boston. This conference issued a minute (see appendix V), which was unanimously adopted and which was made the basis of agreement for the formation of The Bible Study Union. Noth- ing further, however, was done in the line of or- ganization till the fall of 1893 when a meeting of The Bible Study Union was held at the Collegiate Reformed (Dutch) Church, Fifth Avenue, corner Forty-eighth Street, New York City, on Novem- ber twenty-third, for the purpose of making a permanent organization.* The call to this meeting was signed by over four hundred persons, in- cluding such as Dr. George P. Fisher, Dr. Charles F. Thwing and Dr. WilHam J. Tucker, who be- came the original members of the Union. At the meeting the constitution (see appendix VI) was formed and the officers elected, Rev. David H. Greer, D.D., rector of St. Bartholomew's Church, New York City, being made president. Business Methods. The methods of working in this Union have been largely the result of cir- cumstances. Two important standing committees exist — the Executive and the Lesson Committee. * Report of the Meeting for the Organization, pp. yi- The Bible Study Union 157 The latter, besides seven elected members, has two " office editors " from the Executive, a num- ber of " Special Editors " who do perhaps most of the course and lesson planning, and two " De- nominational Editors " who are Episcopal min- isters and adapt a set of the lessons to the Epis- copal Church Year and other denominational re- quirements. This committee does not meet at appointed times, but on call ; and since most of the members are business men from different cities, it is called as seldom as possible. The leading mem- bers, however, meet frequently in New York. They then send accounts of their work to the other members whose advice is asked. This method is thought to give more time for developing plans. The Original Lesson System. The Lesson Com- mittee held its first meeting in Boston, February 27, 1894.^ It was there decided that the system of study should be known as " The Bible Study Union Graded Lesson System, " or more briefly, " The Union Graded Lessons. " Since the out- line of courses then planned still underlies the more complicated recent developments, it will be well to consider it carefully. The system was divided into four scries : First, for Children, second. Historical, third. Doctrinal, and fourth, Bible Class. Each of the first three of these series was again divided into three courses, each course covering one year. These courses • Statement of the Lesson Committee of The BiWe Study Union, 1894, pp. 1-4- 158 Sunday-School Movements were to be published in different grades. The courses in the Children's Series were to be in two grades: Primary Leaflets with Kindergarten Cards for the youngest children, and a simple Quarterly for those who are beginning to read and write. The courses in the Historical series were also to be in two grades: Intermediate, for the younger classes in the main body of the Sunday- school, and Progressive for those wHo are older. The courses in the Doctrinal Series were to be in the Senior grade, for adults. The Bible Class Series has an indefinite number of courses all of a Bible Class grade. The subjects of the courses were to be as fol- lows: In the Children's Series, one course on the Gospels, one on the rest of the New Testament, and one on the Old Testament; treated to give the most important stories, facts and truths of the Bible. In the Historical Series, one on the Gos- pels, one on the Apostolic Church, and one on the Old Testament; treated to give a comprehensive and connected view in outhne of the historical ma- terial of the Bible. In the Doctrinal Series, one on the Teachings of Our Lord, one on the Teach- ings of the Apostles, and one on the Teachings of the Old Testament, especially on Messianic proph- ecy. In the Bible Class Series, the courses would be on the Gospels, the Epistles, the Prophets, other books of Scripture, Doctrines and Duties, Biblical Theolog>', the Ethics of the Bible, the Poetry of the Bible, and other such subjects. The Bible Study Union 159 The idea seems to have been that a child enter- ing the kindergarten or infant class at the age of five would spend about six years in the Child's department, taking all three courses first in the lowest grade and then again in the next grade. This would bring him to the Historical Series at about eleven or twelve years of age. In the same way he would spend about six years in this depart- ment, which would form the main body of the Sunday-school ; and enter the Senior grade for the Doctrinal Series at about seventeen or eighteen. This Series being in only one grade, he would reach the Bible class at twenty or twenty-one. It will be seen that not only is adaptation to each stage of the child's development possible by this system, but that any school using these courses can be studying in all its departments a given por- tion of Scripture, as, for instance the Gospels ; but each department would be studying according to its own ability and needs. Other courses were to be issued as might from time to time seem best. All the courses are to be revised as often as may be necessary to embody in them the results of scholarship and experience, so that they may become text-books for permanent use. Like ordinary school books, the lessons are undated ; though, like most Sunday-school books, they may be had in the form of small periodicals. Each course is to be accompanied by " The Bible Study Manual, " which will give such help as teachers need. i6o Sunday-School Movements The Present Lesson System. Since the original outline of courses was planned, in 1894, a number of changes have taken place. Without tracing the development, a brief description of the present system may serve to show the results of the last six years' growth. The term " series " is now applied not to the four largest divisions of grad- ing, but to subject-matter. ^ There are six series, three biographical, namely, The Life of Christ series, the Peter, Paul and John series, and the Great Men of Israel series ; and three historical, namely, the Gospel History series, the History of the Apostolic Church series, and the Outline of Old Testament History series. Each of these series is in seven grades, w^ith Helper and Manual for Teachers. A child in Sunday-school is not expected to take all the six series of a grade before passing to the next grade. The course of a single child might be something as follows: Primary Depart- ment. The Main School. And so First Grade Primary cards Second Grade Primary Monthly Third Grade Child's Monthly Fourth Grade Junior Quar- terly Fifth Grade Intermediate Quarterly on with the oth Gospel Stories j Stories about Apostles ( Biographical Old Testament Heroes ) A Year with Jesus 1 A Year with the Apos- I Historical ties [Series. Old Testament Stories J Life of Christ Three Great Apostles Great Men of Israel Gospel History " History Apostolic ! Church OldTes^tament History i Biographical Series. , Historical |- Series. er Quarterlies. •Graded Lessons, 1899, p. 4 (no name). The Bible Study Union i6i This plan would keep a child six years in the Primary Department : — two years in the first grade or infant class, two years in the second grade, and two in the third grade. Then he would pass to the Main School, and so on. Other Characteristics. Perhaps the most laud- able characteristic of this Union is its success in obtaining and embodying the results of the latest and best scholarship in its line. An illustration of this was the revision in 1893 ^ of the lessons on the Life of Christ, in order to base them upon more recent investigation. * An Analytical Outline of the Life of Christ ^ was carefully prepared by William Arnold Stevens, D. D., Professor of New Testament Interpretation in the Rochester The- ological Seminary, and Ernest De Witt Burton, Professor of New Testament Interpretation in the University of Chicago. This outline is in reality an analysis of the steps of progress in the Life of Christ, and is divided into appropriate parts, chapters and sections. It includes the entire ma- terial of the Four Gospels. Upon this work are based all the Gospel courses of the Bible Study Union, from those suited to the infant class to those worthy of Bible classes and college students. ' The Gospel History of Jesus Christ, Progressive Grade, Preface. ' The Bible Study Manual, Life of Christ Series, Ap- pendix, p. i. Also Adaptation versus Uniformity, p. 14. ° An Outline Handbook of the Life of Christ, Stevens & Burton, Second Edition, Revised, pp. 6-18. iK l62 Sunday-School Movements And not only is the subject matter carefully treated but child study is also considered. Miss Lucy Wheelock, instructor in Kindergarten Methods, ChauncyHall School, Boston, ;Massa- chusetts, has prepared most interesting sets of Bible Stories " adapted especially for the Httle ones and illustrated with sewing or drawing cards according to the grade. The sewing card is the infant class form of home work, and the home work feature runs through all the grades. One means of securing work is the fact that the lesson does not consist of a dozen or so verses that may be skimmed over after reaching school. The lesson is a subject, requiring each student, above the grades where the teacher tells the story, to turn to the different parts of the Bible where the given event or truth may be treated. The lesson is built up by each member of the class, and home written work shows the development of the topic. One other trait seems especially worthy of men- tion, namely, the attitudes towards different re- ligious denominations. The Union is for Bible study. How should it treat denominational peculiarities? Any one set of lessons appeals as little to people of different beliefs as to people of different ages. The Union, true to its theory of adaptation, agrees to differ, and welcomes the edit- '"See Children's Courses of The Bible Study Union, as " A Year with Jesus Primary Lessons and Cards, Primary' Monthly, Child's Quarterly. The Bible Study Union 163 ing of its series with denominational modifications. It publishes already not only special Qiristmas, Easter, Missionary, and Temperance Lessons, and examination papers, but even a Protestant Epicopal Church Edition of its different courses, prepared and edited by the Rev. D. H. Greer and the Rev. Geo. H. McGrew. Perhaps it is largely due to this breadth of feeling that the lessons so rapidly spread among the different denominations and out to the missionary fields of Turkey, Persia, India, Burma, China, Japan and Africa. CHAPTER VIII MISCELLANEOUS Sunday-school Books and Periodicals. Beside the great national Sunday-school movements al- ready described, there have been many smaller, and many collateral movements. The smaller ones have been put aside as too numerous to be dis- cussed here, though many of them are most ex- cellent. The collateral movements have been cut off somewhat arbitrarily. For instance, the sub- ject of Sunday-school libraries and Sunday-school periodicals has been hardly more than touched upon, and that only when the discussion of other subjects has made it seem necessary. Yet not only has the American Sunday-School Union done a great work in introducing and building up the Sunday-school library, but other organizations and other forces have affected this movement. The subject could fill more than one volume. As early as 1850 nearly all the larger denominations had publishing houses and by 1869 thirty-six houses Avere engaged in publishing books for Sunday- schools, employing a capital of over five million dollars.^ In the early seventies a number of pub- * The Sunday-School Library, A. E. Dunning, 1883, pp. 19-27. 164 Miscellaneous 165 lishers offered premiums, in some instances as high as $1,000, for the best manuscripts without regard to subject. Prizes were also offered for the best books on particular subjects. Under such condi- tions the writing of Sunday-school books soon be- came a profession, and great quantities of more or less profitable books for children were produced. Of recent years the condition of Sunday-school libraries has provoked considerable comment. Some Sunday-schools admit all kinds of secular literature, with more or less effort to have it " standard," while others admit only Bible helps. Comparatively few Sunday-schools now have libraries composed of religious stories written for the purpose. In fact the object of the Sunday- school library seems to have changed, if indeed Sunday-school workers are at all clear or agreed as to what the object is. Besides Sunday-school library books, there are innumerable Sunday-school periodicals, sometimes subscribed to in large numbers by entire schools, and sometime singly by individuals or families. These are usually especially attractive to children on account of their illustrations. Among those of interest to older Sunday-school workers, the Sunday-School Times and the International Evangel lead. Nearly every State in the Union has a State Sunday-school paper devoted exclu- sively to Sunday-school work. In some cases these State papers are special editions of the Evangel. There are also a great variety of de- 1 66 Sunday-School Movements nominational periodicals for children and young people. The United States Bureau of Education ^ mentions over seventy in its " partial list." In addition to all these there are the publications of the American Sunday-school Union, of smaller organizations, and of private parties. Sunday- school literature has unmistakably become a force whose moulding influence should not be left to chance. The subject deserves separate and careful investigation, and the serious attention of educa- tors. The International Bible Reading Asaociation. Another line of work that is more or less con- nected with the Sunday-school, is home studying or reading of the Bible apart from the Sunday- school lesson. A number of organizations seek to encourage and direct such work. Of these the International Bible Reading Association is in closest touch with the Sunday-school. It was or- ganized in England in 1882, but has branches in every part of the world. ^ Its object is to promote the daily study of the Bible by Sunday-school teachers, scholars, and others, combining with such study, preparation for the International Sun- day-School Lesson. Each day's reading consists of about ten verses having some relation to the lesson for the following Sunday. Circular letters ' Report of the United States Commissioner of Educa- tion. 1896-97, p. 422. » The Study, April, 1885, p. 64. Miscellaneous 167 containing hints on the daily readings are sent each quarter. The American Institute of Sacred Literature, The American Institute of Sacred Literature is not intended as a Sunday-school movement, though its Outline Club Course is used in some Sunday-school classes. The courses of the Insti- tute are not divided on the seven-day basis, but on the basis of months. The aim of the organization is to bring into closer cooperation those who de- sire to promote the study of the Bible from the historical standpoint and the study of other sacred literature as related to it; to induce properly qualified persons to undertake this work ; and to extend an acquaintance with right methods of Bible study and their results. The work of the Institute is controlled and directed by a body of representative biblical teachers called the Council of Seventy, of whom Dr. John Henry Barrows is President, and Dr. William R. Harper, Principal. The direct management is intrusted to a Senate composed of the officers of the Council. The work of the Council, or in other words of the Institute, may be described under five heads, as follows: i. Correspondence Courses in Hebrew, New Testa- ment Greek, and the English Bible. 2. Reading Courses, including (i) The Outline Bible Club Course for Christian Organizations, (2) The Bible Student's Reading Guild. 3. Summer Scliools held independently or in connection with Institutes and Assemblies. 4. Lectures in Exten- 1 68 Sunday-School Movements sion courses, at Colleges and Local " Institutes," at Conventions, and under independent auspices. 5. Examinations (i) in Hebrew, New Testament Greek, and the English Bible, open to College Stu- dents, (2) upon the International Sunday-School Lessons, open to every one. The American Society of Religious Education. A third organization promoting Bible Study, is the American Society of Religious Education. This Society was started in Indiana, in 1889, but reorganized in 1894, and its headquarters removed to Washington. Its object is " to awaken in- creased interest in the subject of religious educa- tion; to engage scholars in the study of man's spiritual nature ; to devise improved methods of Bible study and teaching for the home, the Sun- day-school, the public school, and the college ; to collect and preserve at the National Capitol, in- formation of all systems of religious instruction." The first* work undertaken was the training of Sunday-school teachers. For the purpose a two years' course of study was prepared, to be be- gun at any time and in any place, by individuals or classes. By the first of January, 1896, nearly ten thousand ^ teachers had pursued the course in whole or in part, and on that day the Sunday Teachers' Normal College was organized, adopt- * Journal of Religious Education. Dec, 1897, p. 10. Also Normal Lesson Manuals, etc. ° American Society of Religious Education, Annual for 1896, p. 10. Miscellaneous 169 ing the same course of study, but providing some new features. The Society has eight other depart- ments, among which are the Bible Readers' Union, Home Child Culture, Conventions, the Bible in College, and Sunday-School Extension. The af- fairs of the Society are managed by a board of twenty-one regents, all residents of Washington, assisted by councillors, or educators from the dif- ferent states. There is also a board of trustees to hold property and administer bequests. Al- though this work appears to have begun with the idea of training Sunday-school teachers, it has presented so little that was new to Sunday-school work, and has undertaken so many other branches of religious enterprise, especially those clustering around the daily reading of the Bible, that a de- tailed description o- it hardly seems in place here. The Foreign Sunday-School Association. Per- haps the most interesting work omitted as col- lateral is that of the Foreign Sunday-School As- sociation. It would be given a separate chapter except that, while its headquarters are in Amer- ica, its work does not appreciably influence the American Sunday-school system. Albert Wood- ruff, the founder of the Association, was born in the little town of Sardinsfield, Massachusetts, among the Berkshire Hills, in 1807.* He started in business early, but continued his studies with the hope of entering college. At the age of twenty • Sunday-Schools Abroad, article reprinted from The Independent, n. n., n. d., p. i. lyo Sunday-School Movements he gave up his college hopes and went to New York, where he entered the fish and salt business in partnership with his brother. In 1844 he re- moved to Brooklyn where he was one of the orig- inal members who organized the Church of the Pilgrims, and was the first superintendent of its Sunday-school. In 1856, while enjoying a holiday trip abroad, Mr. Woodruff was stirred by the prevalent dese- cration of Sunday, particularly in Paris. Being convinced that the best hope of the evangelization of the world was in voluntary lay effort, it now occurred to him that in Europe the Sabbath could be best redeemed to Christian uses by the estab- lishment of Sunday-schools. A few Sunday- schools already existed in Paris and on other parts of the Continent, but their influence upon European religious life was very slight. Mr. Woodruff began by improving the condition of the Sunday-schools in Paris. A committee was then formed under the Rev. H. Paumier for the pro- motion of similar work throughout France. The Rev. J. P. Cook became the first Sunday-school missionary on the Continent, and Switzerland as well as Southern France, showed the results of his labor. The success of this work so impressed i\Ir. Woodruff with its importance, that in i860 he withdrew from active business and devoted the rest of his life to its advancement. The Association was incorporated in 1878.'' ' Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature, 1881, vol. X, p. 25. Miscellaneous 171 The work is one of love, no officer or member of the society receiving any salary. It is divided among four committees of correspondence, each committee taking the name of the country- in which originally most ^ of its schools existed. The work now reaches far beyond the boundaries of Europe. The method of work is simple. The address of any reliable Christian who is engaged, or can be induced to engage, in Sunday-school work, is se- cured from any trustworthy source. A printed circular in a language likely to be understood, is mailed, describing a simple method of organizing and conducting a Sunday-school. With this is sent a letter of " warm Christian sympathy, inquir- ing the condition and prospects of Sunday-school work in his vicinity." This correspondence is con- tinued as long as help is needed, and sometimes results in warm friendships. Nor is advice the only kind of aid given. Many of these schools are in need of such simple aids as Bibles, hymn-books, and suitable religious reading for children. These the Association helps them to obtain. It has started illustrated papers for children in a number of languages; such a paper begun in Germany having now not only reached self-support, but be- come a source of revenue for the German Sunday- school committee in Berlin. The Association has also translated a number of Sunday-school library books into from one to eighteen languages each, and distributed many thousands of the volumes. • See Annual Reports. 172 Sunday-School Movements These books and papers are highly valued aids, since they help to attract the children into the schools, and to secure their regularity. From both China and Madagascar, tidings have come of con- versions ^ attributed to the reading of these books. It may be interesting to note that the first trans- lated, and the most widely used is Christie's Old Organ, or " Home, Sweet Home," by Mrs. Wal- ton, a pathetic little story of the conversion and hardships of a poor homeless boy. Since the death of Mr. Albert Woodruff, some years ago, his son, the Rev. Henry Collins Wood- ruff has served as President of the Foreign Sun- day-school Association. The organization ener- getically continues its work, but does not present statistical reports, since it does not aim to keep Sunday-schools under its control. It has not been distracted by the usual pride in organization and numbers, but still looks away from itself to the needs of others. • Report of the 8th International Sunday-School Con- vention, '96, p. 313. CHAPTER IX CONCLUSION Parti A century ago it was the function of the Sun- day-school to teach reading and morahty. A large proportion of the children of that day had no in- tellectual training apart from that given in the Sunday-school. !Most of those who had other edu- cational opportunities considered themselves above joining with their less fortunate neighbors, ex- cept in the more formal church services. The Sunday-school was a sort of mission school among the illiterate. To-day the scene is changed. The American child is expected to read from the time he is eight, or at most nine, years of age. The boards and teachers of the secular schools discuss with great earnestness the best methods for pro- moting morality and virtue, and those who are obliged to leave school at an early age are pro- vided for by clubs, evening schools and extension lectures. The Sunday-schools are attended by rich and poor alike, by the student preparing for col- lege as well as by the child compelled to work as early as the law permits. What now is the object of the Sunday-school? Is it time for it to be abolished, or has it still in this age of intensity 1/3 174 Sunday-School Movements and struggle a mission worthy of the expendi- ture of money, thought and energy necessary for its Hfe and growth ? Since general learning and morality are being more properly and thoroughly provided for in the secular school system, it seems evident that the fu- ture work of the Sunday-school is not to be in that line. Let us be firm in this decision. Neverthe- less, there is a need for which, as yet, no other adequate provision has been made. It is the spir- itual. Two other means are suggested, but let us consider to what extent they are effective. One is the day-school. Many educators hold that school work should not only give opportunity for strong moral training, but also for the highest spiritual development. The teacher, with unsec- tarian, spiritual insight, should see the Divine Hand through science, and history, and economics, and should constantly, though unobtrusively, point the child upward. In addition to this, which could be made a wonderful force, the more spiritual and least controverted parts of the Bible could be read and taught, and short devotional exercises could be daily held ; exercises carefully planned to lead the child to the Deity without introducing ques- tioned doctrines. Such schools, as a matter of fact, exist. That is, they exist so far as any ideals can be expected to be actually realized. Why not increase their number, leave minor doctrinal teaching to the par- ents and homes, and so settle the entire question? Conclusion 175 Because such a compromise, desirable as it may be from some points of view, in reality satisfies very few. The religious enthusiasts with good reason object to the child having excellent specialists in every other subject and in this most vital matter only secular teachers. Let the school principal be a minister and the conditions might be better bal- anced. On the other hand, many do not wish any spiritual influences mixed with the compulsory in- tellectual schooling. Again, from the child-study point of view, the child, like the race, must ordi- narily pass through more elementary stages of spir- itual growth. The small boy who, in his troubles, looks up at night to the deep and starry firmament and wonders about the Being he dimly pictures beyond, is fed by the more concrete, imaginative and symbolical stories which attach themselves to specific creeds. In the school, nature-study comes before science, and distinct branches of science before philosophy. So in the spiritual world, the child should have his concrete creed and stories before he can expand to a vital conception of the all-pervading God. In this connection it would be well to consider the harm that may be done^ and is done in some schools, by teaching children Bible stories from too philosophical a point of view. Bible stories admit of many interpretations. Even adult students dif- fer in their attitudes towards them, some leaning towards poetical and allegorical interpretations, and others seeking scientific and historical ex- 176 Sunday-School Movements planations. Be ready to give the child all the ex- planations he wants ; but remember that his imag- ination is more ready than his reason. He has not learned to trace cause and effect in history. He can not see the development of races nor the progress of the ages. When the teacher has, with ingenious skill and delicate conscience eliminated all narrow or sectarian mterpretations from the Bible lessons, and pointed only to the laws of science and the hand of an abstract Providence, he has left the child's plane of contact. If the child thinks of Providence at all it is with cold joy. To teach the Bible in this way is to take the charm from the child's best story-book. When the child is a little older the result is even worse. There comes a time when the young person catches the trick of looking for a scientific cause for every- thing. This habit can be easily exaggerated, and is sometimes even carried to the extent of arrest- ing the development at this stage. The Bible can, at this period, be made one of the strongest means of preventing this arrest. But alas, the method used in some schools, simply intensifies the analy- tical tendency, and robs that holy fountain of its life-giving power. The other means suggested for the supply of spiritual needs is the home. Here again, how- ever, is in most cases the lack of a specialist. Ministers' families are fortunate in having the specialist among them, and some other families succeed in giving the child far more than the Conclusion 177 Sunday-school ever can. But these are excep- tions. Although the sweetest spiritual influence should always be that of the home, it is not ra- tional to expect the man of the world, or the woman of ceaseless household cares to be always so aglow with spiritual thoughts or so in touch with the child's " nascent periods " as to equal the teacher of other special branches. As the un- sectarian school tends to be too cold and advanced in its religious teaching, so too many homes tend to hang behind the child and the age. Only gen- iuses pass beyond, or even reach, their teachers. Human nature falls below its ideals. To intrust the religious teaching of children to those of the preceding generation who have made no special study either of the subject-matter, or of the art of teaching, would be to let it steadily degenerate. Moreover, the child is a social being and needs the psychological stimulus of other children, and other people along his spiritual path, as well as along his intellectual one. In the American home this can be but slight. DiflFerences of creed among friends, relatives and even among members of the same family, reduce religious beliefs, out of cour- tesy, almost entirely to silent, secret thoughts. The child should express his inner life. Let the Sunday-school of the parent's choice supplement the home in opportunities for the child's spiritual self-expression and social stimulus, as well as in supplying religious specialists to lead the young soul onward. lyS Sunday-School Movements From this point of view the aim of the Sunday- school can be more definitely fixed. Let it be to quicken spiritual life and insight, and to give knowledge and understanding of the means of spiritual growth, as the Bible and the Church. To accept such an object in practice as well as in theory would settle many of the present difficulties of the Sunday-school. Think of the time and worry spent by so many conscientious Sunday- school teachers in pointing morals and hoping and praying that the children may put theni in practice through the week, or at least be moved by them at some future time. True the mission school teacher must still concern himself with the moral training of his scholars, and no teacher should be forgetful of moral habits and principles ; yet the day has passed when the teacher of children from intelligent homes and proper week-day schools should need to shorten the fleeting Sun- day hour with digressions or expansions on moral- ity. Let the teacher mostly limit his open sug- gestions to such as can be put in practice in the Sunday-school. Children who have not already had considerable moral training, and acquired more moral force than many grown people, can hardly be expected to carry out moral principles, or form moral habits, unless those who have given the theoretical side of the matter, can start them in the practice. Too many Sunday-school teach- ers seem deplorably unconscious of the harm that may be done by training a child to hear every Conclusion 179 week moral principles which he hardly ever at- tempts to practise. It is not intended by this to undervalue the im- portance of actions and moral habits. Certainly the character, and the real inner Hfe is expressed in every outward deed ; yes, in every motion. The child whose religious teaching is not shown in daily life has not made much progress. It is rather because of the great and fundamental im- portance of moral habits, and of the hourly oppor- tunities the child has for turning one way or the other, that the teacher who has the child for an hour or so each week should not attempt much direct influence in that line. The Sunday-school has a vitally important work to do, but that is the very reason why the home and the school should assume all that circumstances do not force upon the Sunday-school. All three institutions must cooperate. Fortunately the schools are realizing this and giving increasing attention to questions of character and morality, so that the Sunday- school can restrict its work to what is more exclu- sively spiritual. The child's spiritual life, according to the above aim of the Sunday-school, is to be quickened. This is to be done more by the atmosphere of the school than by any other means. Not that there should be anything intentionally emotional about the Sunday-school, but rather that the inherent social nature of the child should be allowed to join with others in spiritual self-expression. Hymns, re- i8o Sunday-School Movements sponsive prayers, and free discussion in small classes are natural means. Kindness, promptness, and similar habits should be insisted upon, for if moral habits of self-expression are slighted in the Sunday-school, what can be expected of the week- day life? Yet the directly spiritual is the chief aim of the Sunday-school. The early Church lived and grew partly because " All that believed were together, and had all things in common." Each individual was stimulated by the others to do everything unto the Lord. They broke bread daily together, and according to some, every meal was a Eucharist. If the mixed creeds in America prevent us from the daily social expression of our religious faith, we must take especial care that this lack is balanced for the tender child. This brings us to the question of spiritual in- sight. The elimination of religious expression from daily social life makes it exceedingly diffi- cult for the child to understand what is meant by " doing all things unto the Lord," What is the connection between play, school, and other daily occupations and the spiritual life of which the young person is conscious on Sunday, and a few other occasions ? Does he not need some unifying principle? Truly the influence of the day-school can do much to help the child to find this. Herbart and others have tried to unite the school work of the child around a single core. That certainly was a great advance from the ex- treme disconnection that had almost insulated Conclusion i8i every separate subject of study. Indeed a life without some underlying core of unity is " unstable in all its ways." More recent writers, however, have seen that complete unity about a single core in school work was not as profitable to the child as had been expected, but resulted in destroying the force of certain subjects. Therefore some educators propose that several comparatively dis- tinct cores be adopted, as the '' humanity," the scientific and the economic cores. Now, most nat- urally, the specialist in religious training thinks his line the true uniting core. But in the first place religion is not to be prominent in American schools, and in the second place, only after one has passed through the school stage of independent causes, and the college stage of systems of causes, and has reached the philosophical stage of seeking and seeing the ultimate and unifying Cause, can one expect to know the force of religion as the true core of unity. Accordingly, one great func- tion of the Sunday-school is to give dogmatically some high principle of unity to lives unable, from youth or other cause, to work out such a principle, and to help all to gain such spiritual insight that they may understand and form such unifying prin- ciples for themselves. For this reason it is of vital importance that the Sunday-school teacher should have himself reached the highest stage of insight. If he has never studied nor read what his scholars are study- ing and reading through the week, how can he 1 82 Sunday-School Movements expect to show them the relation of that work to the spiritual hfe and rehgious core? If he has never thought out and lived out the daily prob- lems of life in the light of his philosophical and religious system, how can he hope to make that system more than a set of formulae, to the active child or youth? If the Sunday-school is to do the work we are describing it is absolutely neces- sary that it should have a far greater number of teachers who have reached this philosophical stage of insight. On the other hand, with the child's entire life, as with his school life, too much attention to this principle of unity is unpedagogical. The little child neither sees nor wishes to see the connection between his different occupations. Diversity and frequent transitions are his delight. He hears you say that there is a connection and an object in view, but only as his mind grows older does he begin to know the advantage of such unity of pur- pose and take an interest in it. Even at this older stage his unifying principle is mostly theoretical. In reality he feels rather, as has often been said, that he lives in a city of inheritances ; that through the southern gates enter the " humanities " and art ; through the northern gates, science ; through the western gates, economics and the social scien- ces ; and through the eastern gates, philosophy and religion. He knows that to close any of these gates is to forfeit a part of his birthright and to narrow his life. Well is it for him if his teach- Conclusion 183 ers can incite him to keep them all open until Ills theoretical principle of unity becomes a con- stant and practical reality. For this reason far more must be demanded of the Sunday-school than merely that it should offer opportunity for spiritual self-expression and seek- to quicken spiritual insight. That alone would be sufficient reason for the continuance and improve- ment of that much neglected institution ; but when we think how many bright minds and strong na- tures deliberately close their eastern gates because of the poverty and wretchedness of the importa- tions, do we not see the importance of some radi- cal changes? To be sure, some of the eastern inheritance has been divested of its characteristic beauty and value, and smuggled in through the other gates. The Church has misused its power as an instrument for freeing man from sin, for lifting him to commun- ion with the unseen and spiritual world, and for making him a co-worker with the Creator. Men have lost their respect for this holy institution, yet there still lurks a half-conscious intuition that there was some great good to be had from it. Ac- cordingly its social functions are increased and dis- torted, and if, attracted by these, the church-goer happens to be half as much edified by the sermon as he might be by a week-day lecture, he flatters himself that his religious inheritance is prosper- ing worthily. The same with that extraordinary product of the East, the Bible. Its power to in- 184 Sunday-School Movements fluence character has been first abused, and then, as a natural consequence, reduced to a minimum. Still the intellectual world, conscious of the pe- culiar force and value of these eastern writings, urges that they be allowed some influence as his- tory and as literature ; in other words, that they be allowed to slip in through the southern gates. Now it is the work of the Sunday-school, as an educational institution, to make known to the youth of America the character and value of this eastern inheritance, and to keep the eastern gates open till the young lives have become mature. Yet how many of our Sunday-schools are almost entirely in the hands of superintendents whose week-day lives are devoted to business, or law, or medicme, and who know practically nothing of what the East has to offer. Even the girl of fifteen or sixteen who feels herself called upon to take a class, may, by pure intuition, have as much idea of the real meaning of the work as many of our su- perintendents. The Sunday-school is too often thought successful when the children keep in good order, and the older people talk with them, or to them, on profitable subjects of almost any descrip- tion. The Sunday-school would be an entirely dif- ferent institution if the minister, fresh from the study and contemplation of the intense Oriental struggles for union with the Spirit of good, and in warm sympathy with those of this age, who are hungry and forlorn for want of that very union, should come to the Sundaj-school deter- Conclusion 185 mined that every teacher and every scholar should reap the benefit of his study and experience. EacH child must, to some extent, live over again the world's struggles. If happily he is brought up as a spiritual plant, and expands easily year by year, he needs the study of man's spiritual development as shown in sacred history and literature, in order to enrich his life, to give him fuller appreciation of why others differ so much from him, and to make him understand the historic force of much that is about him, and is comparatively worthless except as commemorating struggles dear to the human race. If he be of those whose lot is doubt and anxiety and inward turmoil, then defend him against the barrenness of much that is called Sun- day-school work. Bring him at least once a week into close and personal contact with those who, in person or in sympathy, have passed through rough waters, and stand firm on the Rock to " stretch out a loving hand to wrestlers with the troubled sea." Let such lead him eastward. Let such make him acquainted with David and Elijah, with St. Paul and St. Augustine, and if they and their band can show him nothing more in the East than history and literature, then let him for the rest of this life close his eastern gates. This, then, is what is meant by giving " knowl- edge and understanding of the means of spiritual growth." It is giving knowledge and understand- ing of those things which spiritual people and spiritual races have found helpful for their highest 1 86 Sunday-School Movements life. It is studying the Bible in the light of all the knowledge that can be obtained, in order to draw from it the spiritual help and inspiration that it offers to the present. It is studying the Church, not primarily as a social organization, but as an institution tossed about by varying winds ; ex- pressing and embodying the most sublime aspira- tions of humanity; and affording the most tangi- ble aids to spiritual growth. It is studying the thoughts and lives of the richest characters that have ever lived, with a view to learning what means they used to gain their spiritual superiority. In thus restricting the aim of the Sunday-school to quickening spiritual life and insight, and giv- ing knowledge and understanding of the means of spiritual growth, it must not be forgotten that circumstances often make it expedient to give part of the Sunday session to other matters. But the superintendent and other leaders in the school should then realize that more than one line of work is being carried on. Just as when a country post-office, so called, includes the express office, news stand, store, employment bureau, and a list of other occupations, the manager must all the while be conscious of a clearly-defined difference between the post-office proper and any other busi- ness carried on within the same walls. Part II. In order to understand this aim of the vSun- day-school fully, it is necessary to correlate it Conclusion 187 with the ultimate aim of education. What then is the ultimate end of education? The world has not decided. Perhaps it never will. Some educa- tors hold that the end should be the fullest develop- ment of the individual. This aim has its good points. The expression '* fullest development " is elastic enough to include almost anything, and implies the effort to include everything. The word " individual " emphasizes the Christian idea of the worth of each human being as a character. But we have learnt empirically that every characteris- tic in man has two opposite uses, and this defini- tion of the end of education fails to show us which of these uses should be cultivated. Again, in seek- ing his own development a man is forced to cen- ter his thoughts upon himself, a condition which Christianity has convinced the more enlightened portion of the world to be contrary to man's high- est development. Other educators hold that the end of education should be social service. This is the most recent and popular aim among scholars in pedagogy. It certainly emphasizes much that the other aim neg- lected. It also admits of many interpretations. But " society," even in the best use of the term, is a product of the past. When we read Dr. John Dew- ey's assertion that,^ " Apart from the thought of participation in social life the school has no end or aim," are we not naturally reminded of Sparta and ' The Third Yearbook of the National Hubart Society —1897— p. 12. 1 88 Sunday-School Movements China? Upholders of this aim answer, — yes, but we have learnt to use the term " society " in a broader way, we now know society to be progres- sive, and in fitting the child for his environment, in preparing him for social service, we must pre- pare him both to yield to those constant changes and to lend his serv'ices towards effecting changes for the better. A good answer, but the end " so- cial service " does not guide us as to what changes are for the better, and indeed it was only by break- ing away from social service as an ideal that we found the importance of social progress. May not this aim, high as it is, blind us to future dis- coveries concerning the meaning of education, even as it for centuries has blinded races to the idea of social progress? Aims such as those stated above have a practi- cal working value. The discussion of such aims, too, throws light upon pedagogical method. The objection is chiefly when we look upon such aims as ultimate. For practical purposes the teacher may speak of memory, and imagination, and rea- son, as faculties or powers; but psychologists laugh at the idea of building up a theory of mind by the combination of these powers, or by exalting some one power to the supreme place. Yet this is precisely the sort of work done in the philoso- phy of education. Psychology, sociology, and such words are to the philosopher only terms designat- ing cross sections of truth made for purposes of practical convenience. But educators look chiefly, Conclusion 189 if not exclusively, to such sciences for their theo- ries of education. While this is the case, there is little hope of attaining a truly philosophical con- ception of the matter. As the psychology of mind is far too subtile and profound to be fathomed by the mere study either of brain combinations, or of the so called mental powers, so the ultimate end of education, which should form the basis of the phi- losophy of education, is too transcendent to be de- termined by the mere consideration of a few of these arbitrary divisions of truth, called sciences. Unless education is to stop short of philosophy and of life, its end or aim must not be expressed in terms more narrow than those of philosophy. Philosophy speaks of an ultimate Cause or Will. Philosophy shows us that the universe is in harmony with this ultimate Cause, or is the ex- pression of this ultimate Will. Philosophy shows us that if man is free, his freedom is in the power to be in or out of harmony with the universe. What else can a free being, in harmony with the ultimate Will of creation, be. but a cooperator with the Creator? Why not then express the ultimate aim of education as, — Cooperation with the Creator and Ruler of the universe ; or in more strictly philosophical terms, — Cooperation with the ultimate Cause or Will behind the universe? It is not the object of this paper to decide upon the ultimate end or aim of education, but the writer believes that until the aim is expressed in terms of philosophy rather than in terms of any ipo Sunday-School Movements one, two, or even twenty sciences, we can not hope to correlate all educational processes with it. Such an aim as that suggested, exalts the aim of indi- vidual development, and adds an infinite motive to the finite aim of social service. It elevates all ad- vanced education and search for truth from the low plane of serving the individual or society to the higher plane of revealing the supreme Will. Such an aim would also help to reunite our di- vorced religious and secular learning. It may be well in America to have two institutions, one for religious, and one for secular instruction, but it can hardly be well that these two institutions should have different ultimate aims. The present condition of education in America suggests a house divided against itself. Children in day-school are practically taught to look upon the social life of this world as their highest aim. Children in Sun- day-school are constantly taught that they should renounce the world as evil. No sciences can set an ideal which will satisfy the Church. No re- ligious standard, in the narrower sense of the term, can be satisfactory to an avowedly secular school system. But philosophy, as the sister of religion and the parent of the sciences, can show how the proper aims of both should culminate in their common Source. From this point of view, the Sunday-school should give a deeper meaning to the work of the day-school, and the day-school should give greater reality to the teachings of the Sunday-school. The MiB..a^daik^lBi Conclusion 191 child cannot reach the Creator through philosophy. / His only means of seeing the high end to which / education would lead him, is through religious in- \ struction. Accordingly, the Sunday-school should \ be considered part of the American educational/ system. It should be given organization and methods which stand comparison with our other educational institutions, and which are worthy of our Nation. Part III. What then is the first great need of the Ameri- can Sunday-school as it stands to-day? The ques- tion at once suggests so many and such fundamen- tal weaknesses that the answer can not come has- tily. We believe, however, that the first great need is the trained superintendent. If the Sun- day-school is to stand on a plane with other insti- tutions of learning its superintendent must stand as an equal among the principals of these institu- tions. How can the cause of education prosper, when a large branch, affecting children of all ages, is practically never represented in the gatherings of educational leaders? Sunday-school superin- tendents care little, and know less, about the great topics under investigation among trained educa- tors. Our high-school boy spends five days of the week under the influence of a well rounded and highly educated man, a man of executive ability, a man technically trained both in the leading sub- jects of his school and in the science of education, 192 Sunday-School Movements a man of strong personality, and awake to the life of the times. Does the superintendent of the in- stitution to which our high-school boy is urged to come for his deepest thoughts and sublimest in- spirations possess such qualifications? The importance of the superintendent being a well rounded and highly educated man, was par- tially brought out in speaking of the aim of the Sunday-school. Just in proportion as the insti- tution is to show the child a core of unity in life, the head of the institution must know the demands of life and the pupil's other means of preparing for life. Again, as holding a prominent position in the national system of education, he should know enough of other branches to properly corre- late his own with them. American time, and es- pecially the brief Sunday-school hour, is too pre- cious to be wasted in duplicating the work of the day-school; and the present custom of teaching contradictory principles in the different institu- tions is worse than ridiculous. The well rounded and highly educated Sunday-school superintend- ent will command the respect not only of his teach- ers and scholars, but of the world, and of other educators, so that his attempts to adjust his work to the great scheme of education need not all be concessions. Moreover, if the Sunday-school superintendjent is to hold this high position as an educator, he must have technical training in the philosophy of edu- cation. Well is it for him if he be skilled in the Conclusion ^93 art of teaching, but this is of secondary import- ance, since the superintendent is less a teacher than an influencer among teachers and thinkers. It is his business to know what the child is, and whither it tends, what forces it needs to help it in the de- sired direction, which of these forces are provided for outside of the Sunday-school, and how to se- cure the desired forces within the Sunday-school ; and it is most strongly urged that the superintend- ent should not content himself with a training- school treatment of these profound subjects. His studies in the philosophy of education should be carried on in the university spirit ^ and should include something of the philosophy of life, and of the philosophy of religion. With such a training the influence of the Sunday-school superintend- ent may reach far beyond his own little school. He may help to establish higher ideals concerning the ultimate end of education. In short he may take his proper place in the world's history. The superintendent's need of executive ability is generally conceded, although many Sunday- schools fail to secure the services of one who pos- sesses it. Religious knowledge and training, though theoretically accepted by most Sunday- * Our United States Commissioner of Education ques- tioned the advisability of this remark on the ground that, while it is ideally true, too many universities of to- day give courses in the Philosophy of Education which are not, in his opinion, truly philosophical, and which tend to lead the student away from such methods as Dr. Harris thinks should be used in the Sunday-school. 194 Sunday-School Movements school workers as the prime requisite, is much more willingly ignored. Yet how would any other technical institution prosper with a superin- tendent who knew little or nothing of the subject? Imagine a school of philosophy with a dean who was not a philosopher, or a school of art whose principal was not an artist, or a kindergarten with a principal who knew nothing of child-play. For- tunately most of our Sunday-schools are connected with churches. In some of our best managed schools the real superintendent is the nominal su- perintendent, that is, the executive head, plus the minister. Where the two really work together, eacn appreciating the other's position, and neither neglecting his own part, this is a most happy ar- rangement. I'n fortunately, in too many cases where this is theoretically the plan, the minister, pressed by other parochial duties, steps back and ceases to be a vital influence in the school. Left with only an executive head, the teachers soon lose the glow of high ideals, and the warmth and intensity which radiates from the presence of a specialist aflame with love for his subject. The spirit of the institution is gone. It is to the lack of leaders with these four vital qualifications that we trace nearly all of the short- comings and mistakes of the modern Sunday- school. The American Sunday-School Union does an excellent work in planting Sunday-schools where there is a dearth of religious teaching, but it must look to other organizations for the up- Conclusion 195 building of these schools and the training of suit- able leaders. The National Convention Organiza- tion undertakes this work. It did well to make the start. It does well in that it reaches thousands who need its encouraging word " Go on," and its suggestions as to organization. But where are the ideals of this gigantic machine? How can it plan a lesson system abreast with the times, while it magnifies loyalty to its first attempts, and re- gards knowledge of the child or of educational theory as of less importance than conservatism? How can it train teachers and superintendents, when its leaders have no knowledge of the prob- lems under consideration by the educational world? How can it build up Sunday-schools thn. will quicken spiritual life and insight, when it en- courages the extensive and public offering of ma- terial rewards, and, notwithstanding the large pro- portion of ordained ministers among its leaders, exalts " organization " as its chief aim and pride? Chautauqua has seen a higher ideal, and has made a wonderful beginning. It has grappled with the Sunday-school's great problem, — the edu- cation of its workers. It has sought to reach the many, offering both broad knowledge and special training, yet urging spiritual aims. The Chau- tauqua movement is almost the only movement of the present that seems to see where the Sunday- school is most in need, and even Chautauqua seems in discouragement to have scattered its blessings when a more concentrated and persistent service 196 Sunday-School Movements might do more to raise the condition of the Sun- day-school. Moreover, the times now demand that at least in city Sunday-schools the superin- tendents, if not the teachers, should be required, rather than urged, to give themselves a thorough training for their work. They should be expected to devote not merely an hour or so a day to study, but entire years, just as if preparing for one of the so-called professions. This does not mean that a Sunday-school super- intendent should spend two years at some train- ing school for Christian workers in preference to a longer period of combined practical preparation and Chautauqua study. On the contrary, the lat- ter would probably produce the better result. Chautauqua has the ideals of a university, if it has not all its advantages. The schools for Christian workers are comparatively narrow and misleading. " Christian work " is not a profession in itself, requiring a technical school. If the " Christian worker " is to be a teacher or a superintendent, he needs the same preparation that other teachers and superintendents need. If his specialty as teacher or superintendent is to be biblical or re- ligious, let him attend a divinity school and elect fitting courses just as a scientific specialist attends a school of science and elects his courses. In other words, preparation for a Sunday-school superin- tendent should ordinarily be either university work in the philosophy of education, with work at the theological seminary as a minor subject, or a theo- Conclusion 197 logical course with university work in education as prominent electives. Obviously the former course would fit the superintendent better for a Sunday- school of small children, and the latter course would fit him better for work with older scholars. A man with such preparation could not be ex- pected to carry on some business of an entirely different nature through the week. He must be either an educator or a minister by profession. If an educator, he should plan his time as the prin- cipal of a boarding-school would, and consider his Sunday work part of the same interest as his week- day work. All men are not Thomas Arnold's, yet there is little reason why our school system should not expect its week-day superintendents to serve as religious teachers on Sunday, and re- serve strength for the proper fulfillment of such Sunday work. On the other hand, if the Sunday-school super- intendent be a minister he should deliberately plan to give a large proportion of his time and thought to educational interests, and to the Sunday-school. But ministers feel that they are already over- whelmed with more pressing and important du- ties. If so, we need more ministers. Perhaps we need two kinds of ministers. There are some who are by nature and education preachers, who can attract large numbers of adults, fill great city churches, and produce an almost unending succession of brilliant intellectual conceptions be- yond the reach of the child mind. These do a 198 Sunday-School Movements grand work and are in a sense the successors of St. Paul. Others are more of St. John's temperament. Their work is no less important because less no- torious. Let such as have the power in them prepare themselves as sacred educators. The small church needs the educator type, for he must teach both old and young. The large church needs a minister of each type. Moreover, with regard to the institutions of learning, in proportion as theological seminaries and university departments of education come into closer contact, respect and sympathy rises between them. This increasing interest will add to the number of intelligent ministers and of religious educators. More than this, if the courses of both institutions are open to all who can profit by them, there is more incitement to maintain such courses as must command respect, and more inclination on the part of students, and even outsiders, to respect what can evidently stand inspection. The day has passed when a theological seminary should teach with closed doors, as though its mysteries were a sort of occult lore. The Church in this land is not an Oriental bride who should keep her face veiled. America respects what it sees is worthy of respect. If we would have an intelligently re- ligious nation and a Church free from self-fos- tered error, let us open the doors of our semi- naries and bring them into the closest possible re- lationships with the universities. Some stress has been laid upon the importance Conclusion 199 of the Sunday-school superintendent being quaH- fied to take a position among educational leaders, and lend a hand in moulding the educational stand- ards of the nation. This is by no means the only use to which his broad training is to be put. Within the Sunday-school he has a great and un- planned work. Unplanned, yes, but fortunately so, since those who have oflfered plans have mostly been poorly qualified to form them. He must act, yet with only indirect guidance. He must add to his other duties that of building up a theory upon which to act, and if possible a theory suffi- ciently broad and scientific to serve as a guide to others. For instance, there is the great problem of Sunday-school music. Children enjoy singing; psychology and child-study encourage it ; and our first study should be what kind of hymns children of different ages enjoy. When the hymns are properly adapted to the child, singing becomes a means of self-expression and one of the greatest means of quickening spiritual life. And since we have this definite end in view as the object of our Sunday-school work, our second study should be, which of the hymns that children enjoy, or that they can normally be taught to enjoy, best serve this end. When first entering upon Sunday-school work the writer was much impressed by the fact that a certain large class of boys, ranging from eight to seventeen years of age. who had a Sunday hour in a room with onlv themselves and the teacher, 200 Sunday-School Movements showed a strong preference for hymns of heaven. Was it the sentimental or the spiritual that they sought? They were encouraged to suggest the opening and closing hymns and even on one occas- ion to choose the topic of a request lesson. With one accord all wished the request lesson to be about heaven, or as some expressed it, the last chapter in Revelation. It seemed that they were reaching out to connect themselves with the spiritual world. The lesson was treated in this practical way. and all imaginative descriptions omitted, and those active boys were so gratified that they asked to have the lesson time doubled. Since that the writer has in several connections studied the preferences of young people with re- gard to hymns. At one time psychological tests were being made on the pupils of a private day- school in New York. The scholars represented a variety of religious denominations. They were tested in small groups and their work was written, so that there was a minimum of temptation to work for show. No credit was given for the work. The papers were not shown to any of the school teachers, and the testor was not otherwise con- nected with the scholars. Between other tests the pupils were requested to name their favorite hymns. After the names were on paper, they were asked to state whether they thought they cared more for the music or the words. Then they were requested to write out as much of the hymns as thev could remember, or if no definite words Conclusion aoi were recalled, to give the thought that the hymn expressed. These tests did not include young children, but it was surprising that scholars twelve years old and over, who must have heard many catchy and worthless h}Tnns, in every case took strong and standard ones, and in every case either remembered the leading and characteristic words or expressed well the real theme in their own words. The subject requires further investigation, and the trained Sunday-school superintendent seems the man to undertake the work. The following suggestions are ofYercd only as a provisional basis of action. Infant class and primary children en- joy descriptive hymns such as, " While shepherds watched their flocks by night," " I think when I read that sweet story of old," " Saw you never in the twilight," and Bishop Brooks' " O little town of Bethlehem." They also enjoy h}Tnns of love and of guiding care, such as, " Saviour, like a shepherd lead us," " Now, the day is over," and " Children of the Heavenly King." But with very little children the fondness for the hymn de- pends largely upon the frequency with which it is sung. They learn hymns slowly, but when once learnt they rarely forget them. Obviously it is important to teach them hymns of which they will never weary. Children between about eight and twelve care most for the active, social hymns, hymns of spirit and hvmns with choruses. Nevertheless, thev are 202 Sunday-School Movements often deeply impressed by hymns of subdued tone and delicate expression. Is this the time to teach them some of those hymns which grow richer with after life, but which may have a morbid in- fluence if taught during the adolescent stage? Older boys and girls, while enjoying the swing and social influence of hymns such as " Onward, Christian soldiers " and " We march, we march," appreciate them mostly at the opening and closing of a service. Their real favorites, as noted by the writer, are such as " Rock of ages," " Come, ye disconsolate," " Lead, kindly Light," " From every stormy wind that blows," and " One sweetly solemn thought;" together with hymns of great ideas such as " The Church's one foundation " and Bishop Heber's " Holy, Holy, Holy ! " ; and the evening hynms, and hymns of heaven, includ- ing Faber's immortal and justly popular " Hark, hark, my soul ! Angelic songs are swelling." If this is the case, it would be wiser to fit our teaching more to the growing intensity of our scholars' lives, and make less attempt to keep down to what we imagine they ought to like. Encourage young people to express their spiritual life, for this is the chief object of the Sunday- school. Let them as often as possible choose their own hymns, and let there be no comments to em- barrass them in choosing, or incite them to un- natural selections. Children and young people live intense lives. They want something through which they can pour their rising emotions. Good Conclusion 203 music and appropriate hymns may keep them from bad hterature and bad company. Yet our object is not alone to provide an oppor- tunity for the scholar's self-expression. We must guide him in a right development. Here it would be well to study the Greek thoughts as to music ; for some artistically beautiful hymns are unques- tionably morally enervating in their effects. Too much passive resignation and sighing submission is not in tone with healthy young life. " Peace, per- fect peace " is but a transient or misguided desire for the young Christian warrior. Hymns of strug- gle and hymns expressive of life's deepest emo- tions ; h}Tnns of redemption from sin, and hymns of guidance through crises; hymns of love, of praise and of heaven, these are what the young soul longs for. Both words and music in keeping with these subjects are what the Sunday-school scholar needs ; for music has a moral tone of its own. Compare the piotracted languor and sus- tained emotions of some Italian music with the stronger movements of most German measures. The introduction of weak, sentimental music ac- companied the fall of Greece. Again, we should lead children to the Church as one of the great means of spiritual growth. Since they early learn to take delight in singing the standard church hymns, there is less danger than some people fear that the service of the Sun- day-school will lead to neglect of the church serv- ice. When young people learn to enjoy singing 204 Sunday-School Movements hymns they will enjoy going where those h)'mns are sung. By all means let us keep the two serv- ices in harmony so that the enjoyment of one implies enjoyment of the other. It can be made one of the surest ways of leading the young to church. If possible have the church organist play for the school, but if this is done be sure that the organist can refrain from elaborate music. It is the touch which the children will hear in church, and the musician's sensitive appreciation, that we want in the Sunday-school. The mere question of time, so apparently simple and fundamental, requires great skill. If the time falls a little be- low the normal, serious music becomes languid, martial music becomes lifeless, and whatever the theme the scholars are left in a weary frame, un- likely to put any good thought into action. If the time is unappreciatively hastened and the wor- shipful element is lost, the child has neither time nor inclination to think of the divine Presence to whom his hymn is addressed, active impulses are over-excited, and the atmosphere of the room tends to disorder. Give us the best music attainable in both church and Sunday-school, and each will add to the influence of the other. A second great subject which should be studied by the trained educator whose specialty is spirit- ual development, is Sunday-school prayers. This subject is closely related to the former. In fact many hymns are prayers, and the scholars should feel that they are. In the same way it is quite Conclusion ^05 appropriate that they should feel that the actual, so called prayers may be expressed in words set to music. It is all worship, and one advantage in music is that it helps the child to take part in the service. Every one has seen Sunday-schools where the prayer was a mere form, and the best children only behaved quietly till it was over. What education is that? The children's thoughts must be drawn to the prayer, and one of the best ways to do this is to set some simple petition to appropriate, solemn music, let them hear it re- peatedly, and set them the example of reverently joining in it. Most people have felt what Henry Ward Beecher meant when he said that music in a service had an effect which one could never ob- tain while alone in the closet. Children feel this in the musical prayer. The kindergarten uses it, and offers us one of the most beautiful of chil- dren's prayers in that little song, " Father we thank Thee for the night." Why should the Sun- day-school lag behind? Besides the effect of the music, other principles are involved in song prayers, though those prin- ciples may be made use of without music. One, is that of self-activity. A little child may wonder in silence, he may listen to a story in silence, but in most matters silence and inactivity mean that he is not taking part, he is wondering about some- thing else. Give him something to say and do in the prayer, and the prayer may become his. Give him words to say or sing and an attitude to take, 2o6 Sunday-School Movements and if they are fitted to his nature they will prob- ably become part of self-expression. When once the child has learned to take the prayers as his, he may be led up through responsive prayers to those in which he takes no audible part. In churches where amens are said after the prayers, children should learn to consider it a matter of principle to say the amen, otherwise it is like sending an un- signed letter or presenting a ragged offering. In short, children should both be given a decidedly active part in the Sunday-school prayers when young, and be incited to feel it an obligation to take whatever part is offered them when older. As to the advisability of young people leading in extemporaneous prayers, or even in any prayers, there is division of opinion. One thing, how- ever, is sure, namely that few people, young or old, can do it without to some extent addressing the prayer to the audience rather than to God. It requires no further remarks to show the great harm that such praying must do the young leader. Another principle involved in the song prayer is that of repetition. If Sunday-school prayers are for the children to take part in, they must both express what is within child nature to wish, and express it in a way which children can understand. A new prayer must be exceedingly simple and rather short if a child is to grasp it. But when the same prayer is used frequently the child grows into the meaning. This same principle holds with hymns, anthems, and all other parts of the service. Conclusion 207 Imagine a person singing for the first time the words, — Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, ac- cording to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; (To be) a light to lighten the Gentiles, and (to be) the glory of thy people Israel. Even an adult would do better to listen than to try to sing, and could get no real idea of the mean- ing till he knew the stor\' of Simeon. Yet when a Sunday-school, excepting the infant class, is taught to sing that to simple, expressive music, and is carefully told the story behind it, the man- ner and expression of the children, as well as their answers to questions about it, show that they have considerable understanding of the matter. The intrinsic solemnity and sublimity of such words has a spiritually elevating effect which can rarely be obtained by the use of words so simple that they are appreciated the first time they are heard. A careful treatise on the Sunday-school use of what might be called classic prayers, indicating among other things the average ages of the chil- dren to whom the prayers are empirically found adapted, would be of great value to the Sunday- school. The process of teaching prayers is an exceed- inglv delicate one. To have children recite or re- hearse them tends to make them conmionplace. ao8 Sunday-School Movements In fact it frequently leads to irreverence. If it is possible, the best plan is to have a number of older people, or better still older children, know the prayer and take part. Where this is done the younger or newer children quickly learn to join in. A slight suggestion, a word of encouragement, or a short explanation is all the teaching that should be necessary to bring the prayer within their reach. If prayers are rightly used, they can, above any other part of the Sunday-school exercises, tend to quicken spiritual life. To this end they should be strictly spiritual. Let them include thanksgiving; petitions for forgiveness ; for help, strength, guid- ance and the divine presence; for others, and for the coming of the kingdom of God. Yet, import- ant as prayers are in the Sunday-school, they should be decidedly short. The habit of lengthy petitioning is not natural to childhood. Is not the highest use of prayer the bringing of one's self to the consciousness of the divine presence, and putting one's self in harmony with the supreme Will ? The child can easily be taught to feel this. He can also be taught that on coming into Sun- day-school he is coming more especially into God's presence, and that a short prayer in acknowledg- ment of this is the natural opening or closing. There are reasons for preceding this opening prayer by a hymn of praise or call to worship. But these details must be left for the investigation of our trained superintendents. Conclusion 209 The much disputed question as to whether the Sunday-school superintendent should assume di- rectly instructive work, either in the general exer- cises or in a special class taught during the school session, depends to such an extent upon the cir- cumstances in which the school is placed that the answer should be left largely, at least for the pres- ent, with each trained worker. One rule, how- ever, seems clear ; namely, that since children learn by doing, the superintendent should see that they have opportunity not only to sing and to pray, but to act in connection with their other teaching. To this end superintendents should ap- ply more trained knowledge and power to the question of Sunday-school exercises and enter- tainments. Much that most children now either never learn, or acquire with hard work, could be made a delight. Secular schools now give enter- tainments and commencements which are highly educational and still a great pleasure to the schol- ars. Is there anything so peculiar about religion that its special occasions must be celebrated by exercises foreign to its regular work and aim? The writer knows a Sunday-school where each Easter celebration is made attractive by the ap- propriate religious exercises of the children. These take the place of the sermon, only a few remarks being added by the minister. One year, for instance, the children recited the ten chief ap- pearances of our Lord between His Resurrection and His Ascension. Each child learnt one verse 2IO Sunday-School Movements from the Bible. All who had verses concerning a given appearance came to the front of the church together, stood in order, and reciting in turn gave a complete account. After the ten appearances were finished, some of the older scholars recited from I Corinthians xv, concerning the meaning of the Resurrection for us. Behind the place where the children recited was a large green board, ele- vated above their heads, and containing in gilt letters the words " ' Christ is risen ' He was seen at least lo times." This was framed with fern leaves. After each group recited, each member of the group handed a small bunch of flowers to a young man who stood by, and the flowers were placed in holes made in the frame between the fern leaves. The effect was beautiful. But what is of more account, the children are so anxious to take part on these occasions that those who are not regularly appointed to recite, learn sometimes several parts with the hope that an opportunity can be made for them. The chairman of the com- mittee always finds some place for the most in- dustrious enthusiasts, so there is no ill-feeling. More strange than all, the chairman has not ob- served any intentional irreverence during any re- hearsal or celebration, but is confident that the majority of the children appreciate the work from a religious point of view. If the above Sunday-school can succeed in pre- senting, year after year, a variety of such educa- tional, yet strictly religious exercises, it seems Conclusion OP THE UNIVERSITV OF an strange that so many Sunday-schools still cele- brate their sacred festivals, either in an extremely monotonous and uninteresting manner, or by in- troducing secular and quite irrelevant material. Here again we see the need of trained religious teachers showing the Sunday-school world what can be done, and perhaps even presenting the actual outlines of a variety of such services that they may be adapted and used by weaker schools. We have seen that leaders in educational thought and study need the representative of re- ligious training. We have also seen that children need such a man to direct and conduct their Sun- day-school exercises. Still another class needs the trained superintendent. It has been suggested that the teachers need the inspiration of the pres- ence of a specialist. They need more than that. They need his personal encouragement and guid- ance. This need is strongly felt by a large proportion of Sunday-school workers, and the result is that efforts are made to bring officers and teachers to- gether in what are called teachers' meetings. But most Sunday-schools find it difficult to secure even a small attendance on these occasions. No day or hour seems to accommodate a majority. No scheme of work seems to arouse a lasting interest. Those who come, come from a sense of duty, or for social purposes. Why should this be? It is because the meetings are not worthy of the teach- ers. Even the executive business is too often con- 212 Sunday-School Movements ducted in either an arbitrary or a shiftless man- ner. When it comes to the educational work, the leader does not know where to begin. The plan of teaching the lesson for the following Sunday is usually resorted to. What is the result? The teachers learn to lean on the easy arm of the leader instead of searching for themselves the great au- thorities which the leader has reviewed for the occasion. Worse still, they build up their lessons from what has impressed them in the teachers' meeting, and they lose that power which comes from planning a lesson upon the fresh conscious- ness of the needs of the young lives over which they should have a strong personal influence. If there is any advantage in the system of small classes in vogue among our Sunday-schools, this advantage is lost when the teachers develop their lessons from the suggestions of those who do not know the individual scholars. Just so far as the teacher receives help from such a class or lecture he becomes a machine. What then is the needed help which the super- intendent should give ? It is the stimulation which comes from broad and practical ideas. Let him call the teachers once a month, or once a week as he sees fit, and discuss v/ith them the concrete questions of method which arise in every such institution. Let them discuss the work of the in- dividual classes and teachers, that each may know what his neighbour is doing, and be incited by a mutual giving and receiving of suggestions. Conclusion ai3 Under the present conditions it is a great ad- vantage when the minister or Sunday-school su- perintendent can give some course of lectures or studies collateral to the regular Sunday-school work. For instance, a course on child-study could hardly fail to be suggestive to the majority of Sunday-school teachers. A short course on general method might easily be made interesting as well as profitable. Some addresses or discus- sions on recent Sunday-school movements and on the different lesson systems would have a broad- ening influence. Concrete studies of great Bible characters or of the grand and quickening themes of Scripture are always helpful, whether they be given as lectures to teachers, as courses in a sem- inary, or as addresses and sermons to parishioners. Part IV The second great need of the Sunday-school is of such importance that many consider it the first. It is the qualified teacher. The two great needs are so akin that the supply of one would greatly facilitate the supply of the other. In fact while the thoroughly trained superintendent can achieve little in a large school without qualified teachers, he can, as has been suggested, do much to pro- duce such teachers. There are three important qualifications which should be insisted upon. The first is such person- ality and general power as will enable the teacher 214 Sunday-School Movements to create a spiritual atmosphere for his class. It is a radical mistake to let young teachers or Bible class scholars feel that the one who possesses knowledge of the Bible and ability to keep a class in order deser\'es an appointment as Sunday- school teacher. Sunday-school teaching is not to be looked upon as a privilege to which those who have attended Sunday-school regularly are en- titled. It is a work fraught with obligation and self-sacrifice, not with popular privileges. The teacher must control conversation and treat all subjects in a sacred light; for his object is to quicken spiritual life and to make the children feci a core of unity in all their interests. While exer- cising a personal influence upon his class, he must constantly turn the children's thoughts away from himself to the Church, to the Bible, and above all to Him who alone is changeless and perfect. Truly the Sunday-school exists partly that chil- dren may be stimulated in their religious life by social contact, but many leave the Sunday-school wnth such slight interest in other means of spirit- ual growth, that when the social influence of their teachers is withdrawn their religious life wanes. Scholars should be taught and teachers should be required to have the power of drawing spiritual life and influence from the immortal Source. That this power is important for the superin- tendent is beyond question, but it is hardly to be supposed that it would be lacking in one who has made a specialty of religious training. ]\Iany Conclusion 215 Sunday-school teachers, however, act as though the idea of spiritual atmosphere was unknown to them. This is inexcusable. The power under discussion, while of vital importance to the Sun- day-school, is less a matter of the specialist's en- thusiasm than of general character. The next essential qualification for the teacher is a knowledge of the child and how to reach him. This too is partly a matter of general char- acter, and especially with a woman it is largely intuitional. Nevertheless, nature can be de- veloped, and the hints and suggestions which pedagogy has to offer can greatly help the teacher in his process of learning by experience. The teacher is an artist, and while he should give his native powers full opportunity for action he should remember that some rules are the very means of freedom and power. This suggests the problem of Sunday-school normal classes. It seems incredible that at this stage of the history of education classes of grown and almost grown men and women should meet time after time and learn lists of names and of facts, should even take examinations upon their memory of those Hsts and receive diplomas, and think they are becoming exceptionally well pre- pared for the highest kind of teaching. How much can any number of memory drills fit a teacher to guide that most delicate of all creations, the soul of a little child ? It seems rather that the normal class should deal with the child nature ii6 Sunday-School Movements and with the essentials of method in teaching; though for those who have little experience, it should touch on even these subjects in a light and suggestive way, lest it kill the native powers. When the normal class deals with subject-matter it should be from the point of view of method and child-study, otherwise it gives the unconscious impression that Bible study is of value not for the rich personal life it nourishes but for the cold purpose of being able to hand down formal knowledge. In so far as Bible study is under- taken for the sake of the members of the class, the gathering should be called a Bible class. Knowledge of the subject-matter to be taught is the third qualification to be insisted upon. This must not be confused with knowledge about the subject obtained from other sources. In the case of the Bible, for instance, the direct study of the Bible itself must be demanded. How much of this knowledge should be required ? Just so much as will give the teacher the feeling that he not only loves the children but has something which has given him deep pleasure and which he there- fore longs to impart to them. Beyond this it is not necessary that every teacher should be a spe- cialist, though it is highly desirable if he has broad general training to keep him balanced, that he should have such religious training as will make him a sympathetic coworker with the minister. Indeed if the leading teachers in each school could have some university and theological training, and Conclusion 217 study in the same classes with the ministers and superintendents, there would be much less indif- ference and clashing between them. The teachers of Bible and normal classes, at least, should have that philosophical insight which comes with a full and rounded education, for in accordance with the above ideas of the aim of the Sunday-school, to impart this philosophical insight is one of the teacher's chief duties. As soon as we have Sunday-school teachers with these three qualifications we find dissatis- faction with the present lesson systems. This is most natural. The International Lesson System, as we have seen, ignores child-study. Moreover it avowedly adapts itself to those who are the least qualified as teachers. This policy is a good one. and should not be checked so long as the great majority of the teachers are unqualified for their work. Nevertheless it results in the disuse of the system by the better teachers. The Bible Study Union system is a step in ad- vance of the other. It embodies some admirable and fundamental theories. Yet it is formal and monotonous. Its knowledge of the child and of methods of teaching extends little beyond the chance intuitions of a few individuals. Its ques- tions, while often excellent in themselves, prevent the teacher from developing the lesson according to the needs of his individual class and with the glow of his own personality. What trained teacher of any other " content " study would in 21 8 Sunday-School Movements this age be satisfied to develop each lesson accord- ing to another's plan, and ask the very questions suppHed by others ? Catechisms are the only other important method of reHgious instruction in extensive use. While many of these catechism.s begin with the known and lead on in true pedagogical manner, yet the very fact that the questions and answers are pre- scribed and ever the same gives them a deadening influence upon the awakening spiritual life. Be- yond this, it need hardly be argued that the best and most used of our catechisms are monuments of the past. It must be confessed that even the most orthodox of our teachers rarely believe in all that the catechism of the Sunday-school teaches. Why then such mockery-? Children are quick to feel it. In after life it frequently becomes a cause of bitter reaction against religion. The consequences are too serious. Let us cease to write catechisms for children, and let us study such wonderful pro- ductions as Luther's catechisms, the Westminster catechisms, the HeMelberg catechism and the Episcopal prayer book catechism, in the light of Church history. At first thought this leaves the teacher in need of a new lesson system, and there are those who are trying to supply this apparent want. But a lesson system is exactly what the qualified teacher should avoid. The true teacher must think and live, and give of his thoughts and life as his class can take. The Sunday-school already has a text- Conclusion 219 book, which children easily learn to love, namely the Bible. An educational course of study in the Bible would leave the teacher as free as teachers of secular history and literature are to choose just what details they wish to emphasize. For in- stance, if the first class above the infant school were given an edition of Genesis, in separate book form, or even in two or three little volumes, with a few omissions, but these carefully indicated, and with perhaps illustrations and notes, the teacher might be left free to use his discretion as to the weekly lessons. The following course of study will serve to il- lustrate the kind of work the Sunday-school should encourage. It is based on a three-term season in the belief that children enjoy frequent changes and that Christmas and Easter make natural divisions for terms of about ten or twelve lessons each. It gives the Messianic theme in- creasing emphasis as the child grows older. While leaving the teacher at liberty to have isolated texts committed to memory, it requires the child, during that period when he memorizes easily, to learn some sixteen to twenty or more of the most ele- vating passages literature contains, and this on a variety of themes and with less work than is re- quired by the golden-text plan. 220 Sunday-School Movements f 1^ Co •wHax 0) X cj Pi eS ti^ :oo "Si? . * <» ^ P MrS""* :=•? d O 03 00 ti' ■eg .Neo _ ® > as .5 CO «_ ^ W SWOQ ^' wr:^ S> O u 32.2 cSl^ n ►■J oo'O a a ac6 00 S&Hiicta CO to CO s a n O P ■ii--* » a) '^xi a g E o 2 4> ^"M d d'O 000 :gr ted ■•° P*" 00 ••d d jii. 4) ts g.2 _o S.— W io"^ cj;s ® d tS'd^ SEhH 03 1 Conclusion 221 OS o a S ai ca fc ij a,>> ♦J > a "^ « f.ti Q OH- O 2-« •SO iija 0-< .2 3 «.2 2>2;0 El Q ■5 a go CQ Hl-5 a a o2 a Or-; a- , M XJ= H M ^ tf5 SftiS rH -a ? s > •sS : '.3 •oi'^i*^ O •? 5~ V a J^ d c " 7h'2 =3 g o a m d-a B (- «-<"■ g 00 « > .2 .a a a^^oOg I"" I 5SO •o-SdOJiH: S.2 1-1 MCO Q 222 Sunday-School Movements 3 c c u s I 5 Co o Oh ►< TIT' " > 9 o« a a ► > WW >tj t-( 'C E ® 3 d 5 ^ 5 H p» b bi 0203 = ill I ? 05 S " « >* oQ S S-a M P3 - •05 (go Mu, e M fc. d o ^ •§! o o s 030 64 a a ^^ ia T5» CliCQ tiers' W b ID o u an rH NCO s •:$» «3 Conclusion 223 « o •a 13 p ■5 r *s ^ 03 H ^s « t>> [» >. fi^^ S3 P. 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Matthew .ia» (Jude 0) (Song of Solomon "i •Oj S.Mark .n. Revelation ..11 From The Indepen(dent} — Feb. 4, 1897 — Article on the Sunday-School and its Work — by A. F. Schauffler, D.D. — p. 3. CI <^ i u I 240 Sunday-School Movements APPENDIX V The Minute * Which was made the basis of agreement for] the formation of the Bible Study Union: " Gratefully recognizing the service rendered in Bible study by the International course of Sunday-school lessons, we think that there is abundant evidence that the time has fully come for the organization of a course of lessons so framed as to promote a systematic study of the Bible on some graded system, with the aim of securing comprehensive instruction in the facts and teachings of the Bible, with constant refer- ence to the development of Christian character. " Such a system must recognize at least three departments in the Sunday-school : a primary de- partment, including pupils up to eight or ten years of age ; an intermediate department, including pupils from eight or ten to eighteen or twenty ; and adult classes, including pupils from eighteen or twenty upwards ; and separate Scripture courses should be selected for each of these three depart- ments; these departments to be further graded as experience may indicate. " Such a system may properly recognize the * Taken from the report of the meeting of the organi- zation of the Bible Study Union, p. 4. Appendices 241 Church Year by an alternative lesson adapted for each of the more important seasons of that years, and by a liturgical or other service or services with responsive readings, for the use of such schools as may wish to adopt them. " We approve the general principles embodied in what are known as the ' Outline Inductive Bible Studies,' prepared by the Rev. Erastus Blakeslee, and published by The Bible Study Publishing Company." 242 Sunday-School Movements APPENDIX VI Constitution of the Bible Study Union Article I. Name. This organization shall be called The Bible Study Union. Article II. Object. Its object shall be to promote improved methods of Bible study. Article III. Basis of Organization. As em- bodying the principles of Bible study which we approve, we hereby adopt, as the basis of this organization, the Blakeslee Graded Lessons, to be enlarged and modified as may hereafter seem best, and to be known as the Bible Study Union Lessons. Article IV. Members. The members of the Bible Study Union on record prior to November 1st, 1893, the signers of the call for the meeting at which this Constitution is adopted, and any persons present at said meeting who approve of its object and basis of organization, as stated in Articles II and III, are hereby declared to be original members of The Bible Study Union, as now organized. Others may become members by signing this Constitution. Membership in this Union involves no pecuniary liability. Article V. Officers. The officers shall be, a President, fifteen or more Vice Presidents, and a Appendices 243 Secretar>' and Treasurer, whose duties shall be those usually pertaining to such offices. There also shall be a Lesson Committee and an Execu- tive Committee, as provided in Articles VI and VII of this Constitution. The first board of these officers shall be elected at the meeting at which this Constitution is adopted. Subsequent elec- tions shall be held at each annual meeting, except as hereinafter provided. Article VI. Lesson Committee. The Les- son Committee shall consist of two classes of per- sons, vie: First, sixteen persons elected by the Union at one of its regular meetings. Those members chosen at the first election shall be di- vided into four classes, to serve one, two, three, and four years, respectively ; the four members elected annually thereafter shall serve for th€ term of four years ; and no person who has served a full term of four years shall be eligible for re- election until after the expiration of a year from the close of such service. The second class shall consist of the Editorial Board. This Board shall include, first, one or more office editors ; secondly, special editors, of whom at least one shall be a specialist in the Old Testament, and one a specialist in the New Testa- ment ; thirdly, denominational editors, of whom one or more may be appointed in behalf of each denominational or other publishing house issuing denominational editions of The Bible Study Union lessons. The first Editorial Board shall 244 Sunday-School Movements be elected by the Union at the meeting at which this Constitution is adopted; thereafter members of said Board shall be appointed by a two-thirds vote of the Lesson Committee present and voting at any meeting, notice of the nomination of such members having been given in the call for the meeting. Members of the Lesson Committee who are such by reason of being on the Editorial Board shall continue to be members only so long as they continue on the Board. No one except the denominational editors shall be responsible for any denominational teachings or peculiarities which shall appear in denomina- tional editions. The Committee chosen at the time of the adop- tion of this Constitution is authorized to fill up its own number, exclusive of the Editorial Board. The Committee is authorized to fill vacancies oc- casioned by death or resignation, until the next meeting of the Union. It shall be the duty of the Lesson Committee to provide a general plan for the Lessons to be issued under the auspices of the Union, to arrange the several courses of study, to determine the or- der in which they shall be issued, and to make such other arrangements as may be necessary for preparing and publishing the Lessons. Article VIL Executive Committee. An Executive Committee of seven members shall be chosen at each annual meeting. They shall have charge of all business connected with the Union, Appendices 245 except that which is provided for in previous ar- ticles ; shall arrange for its meetings, and act gen- erally in its behalf. Article VIII. Meetings. There shall be an annual meeting of this Union, at such time and place as may be determined by the Executive Committee. Other meetings may be appointed by the Executive Committee at its discretion. Article IX. Local Unions. The Executive Committee is directed to encourage the formation of State and other local Bible Study Unions, with a view to disseminate, as widely as possible, the principles on which this Union is based ; and to promote, in Sunday-schools and elsewhere, the use of the Lessons bearing its name. Article X. Amendments. This Constitution may be altered or amended at any regular meeting of the Union, provided notice of the proposed amendment has been given in the call for the meeting. 246 Sunday-School Movements BIBLIOGAPHY The following bibliography contains only such books and papers as contribute historical material. The order is roughly arranged according to top- ics, excepting that books or papers once named are omitted under subsequent topics. 1. Early American Sunday-Schools. Sunday Schools, — n.n. — Article in American Cyclopaedia, 1863. Sunday Schools, — Edwin W. Rice. — Schaff- Herzog Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge, — 1891. 3rd revised edition. Sunday-Schools, — M. H. Williams. — A Con- cise Cyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge — (not consulted). Sunday-Schools, — H. C. Trumbull. — Concise Dictionary of Religious Knowledge (Jackson's) — (not consulted). Sunday-Schools, &c., — D. P. K. — Cyclopae-- dia of Biblical Literature, — 1881. (McClintock & Strong.) Sunday-Schools, — H. C. Trumbull.— John- son's Universal Cyclopaedia, — 1895. — New edi- tion. The Sabbath-School Index, — R. G. Pardee. — Philadelphia, 1868. Historic View of Sunday-Schools, — E. H. By- ington. — Cong. Q., 7:17, — Jan. 1865. Bibliography 247 of American Sunday- Eddy. — Univ. Q., 39: Universalist Origin Schools, — Rev. Richard 448.— Oct. 1882. Growth of the Sunday-School in the Methodist Church,, — ^J. M. Freeman. — Meth. Q., 31 1399, — July, 1 87 1. Origin of the Sunday-School System, — n.n. — New York, — 1851. (Annual Report of Sunday- School Union of Meth. Epis. Ch.) New England Primer, — n.n. — Boston, — 1777, — reprint 1844. (Shows religious character of early New England education.) The Sunday-School Library, — A. E. Dunning. — Boston, — 1883. (Gives historic sketch.) Brief History of Sunday-Schools, — J. F. Bing- ham. — Buffalo, — 1867. History of Sunday-Schools, — Lewis G. Pray. — Boston. — 1847. The Rise & Progress of Sunday-Schools, — John Carroll Power. — New York, — 1863. (Ex- cellent.) Sunday-Schools and the American Sunday- School Union, — n.n. — Amer. J. of Ed., — vol. 15, — Dec. 1865. (One of the fullest histories to date. ) The American Sunday School, — M. H. Hut- ton. — Presb. Q., 10:177, — Apr. 1889. II. The American Sunday-School Union. Reports of American Sunday-School Union,— Philadelphia. — Annual. 248 Sunday-School Movements Missionary Work of the American Sunday- School Union, — n.n. — Phil., — n.d. — revised edi- tion. Student Missionaries, — n.n. — Phil., — n.d. — (A leaflet of instruction for Student Missionaries of The Amer. S.-S. Union.) A Fruitful Life, — B. Paxson Drury. — Phil, — Apr. 1897. (A life of the S.-s missionary Stephen Paxson.) The Story of My Life,—B. W. Childlaw, D. D. — Phil., — 1890. (The life of a missionary of the Amer. S.-S. U.) The Sunday-School Man in the South, — Rev. John McCullagh.— Phil.,— 1889. The Sunday-School World, — Phil., — monthly, — (one of the Union's best publications. See nos. for June & July, 1897 for hist, material.) The Sunday School Missionary, — Phil., — monthly, — one of the Union's best publications. (See nos. for Nov. 1895, June 1897, & June 1899.) The Children's Friend, — W. Cams Wilson. — Phil., — Jan. 1824. The Child's Magazine, — Emory & Waugh. — Phil.,— July 1828. The Sunday-School Journal, — n.n. — Phil., — 1832. (Published weekly, beginning 1831. Shows early work of the Union.) Sunday School Teachers' Convention, — Phil., — 1833. (A bound vol. of the answers to questions sent to S.-s. workers before the Convention held in Phil., May 22 & 23, 1832.) Bibliography 249 The Teacher Taught,— F. A. Packard— Phil., — 1830? (About the earliest book of importance on S.-s. teaching.) Design of the Books of the American Sunday- School Union, — n.n. — Boston Library — n.d. (Reprint from Biblical Repertory.) III. The National Convention System. Sunday School Times, — Phil. — (Origin and Progress of S. S. Conventions, by H. Clay Trum- bull, May 30, 1896; and other articles.) Reports of International S.-S. Conventions, — W. B. Jacobs, publisher. — Chicago, — especially 1896 & 1899. The Modern Sunday School, — J. H. Vincent. — N. Y.,— 1887. The Trumpet Call, — Chicago. (Illinois State S. S. Convention, by W. B. Jacobs, June 1897; and other articles.) Proceedings of the Illinois State S.-S. Conven- tion, — Reported by J. C. Youker. — Chicago. Massachusetts S.-S. Association, — Circulars, &c. — no Boylston St., Boston. Sunday-School Manual, — Mass. S.-S. Assoc. — Boston,— 1895? Primary Workers' Manual, — Internat. Union Primary Sabbath S. Teachers. — Phil., — 1897. Silver Anniversary of t. N. Y. S.-S. Primary Union, — n.n. — New York, — 1896. (Contains Historical Sketch.) 250 Sunday-School Movements Year Books of t. N. Y. S.-S. Assoc, — New York. — (Booklet for 1874 gives origin as well as work.) IV. The Uniform or International Lesson System. The Lesson System, — Simeon Gilbert. — N. Y., -1879. Yale Lectures on the Sunday School, — H. Clay Trumbull.— Phil. 1888. Story of the International Lessons, — n.n. — Sunday School Record, — 1893. (A page of com- pact information, p. 16.) International Evangel, — St. Louis^ — (See es- pecially Feb, & May nos., 1895 of Mass. Edi- tion.) Sunday School Work, — Ellis. — Ped. Sem., — ^June 1896. The Independent,— 'N. Y.— (The S.-S. & its Work, by A. F. Schauffler, Feb. 4, 1897; and other articles.) The Sunday School Quarterly, — A. F. Schauf- fler. — Boston, — Especially 3rd Q., 1893. (Also other " Teachers Editions " of Quarterlies.) The Sunday-School Quarterly, — F. N. Pelou- bet — Boston, — A variety of graded Qs. for schol- ars. — Junior Q., by Mrs. M. G. Kennedy. Little Ones' Quarterly, — Miss Lucy Wheelock. — Boston. Peloubet's Select Notes,— F. N. Peloubet, D.D. & M. A. Peloubet. — Boston. Annual vols. Bibliography 251 V. Institutes and the Chautauqua Move- ment. Sunday-School Institutes and Normal Classes, — J. H. Vincent. — New York, — 1872. The Normal Class, — (a leaflet) Jesse L. Hurl- but, D.D.— New York,— n.d. "The Study", — (a quarterly) — New York, — (Small notes, as in no. for Jan. 1885, p. 2.) Revised Normal Lessons, — J. L. Hurlbut. — New York, — 1893? The Chautauqua Movement, — John H. Vin- cent. — Boston, — 1886. The Chautauqua System of Education (circu- lars), — n.ns. — Buffalo, N. Y. ; Syracuse, N. Y. ; &c. — n.ds. The Chautauquan, — T. L. Flood, editor. — Pa., — Monthly. VI. The Church and Sunday-School Work. The American Church History Series, — Edi- tors, Schaff & others. — ^New York. 1894. Sunday Schools, — J. H. Blodgett. — Washing- ton, — 1898. (From report of U. S. Commis- sioner of Education.) A. Baptist. Massachusetts Baptist Anniversaries, — Annual reports from 1885. — Boston. (Also Mass. Bap- tist Conventions.) 252 Sunday-School Movements The Watchman, "A Baptist Journal." — Bos- ton. (See no. for May 6, 1897 — vol. 78 no. 18.) Massachusetts Baptist Sunday School Associa- tion Bulletin, — W. W. Main? — Boston, — 1897? Periodicals, as " Two Years with Jesus," teach- ers' edition & scholars' edition. — Boston. Baptist editions of International Sunday- School Lessons, — Blackall, Wallace &c. — Helps & graded quarterlies. Southern Baptist Convention Series of Inter- national Lessons, — Nashville, Tenn. B. Congregationalist. A Brief Historical Sketch of the Cong. S.-S. & Pub'g Society, — n.n. — Boston & Chicago, — Jan. 1894. Annual Reports, Cong. S.-S. & Pub'g Soci., — Boston & Chicago. Congregational S.-S. Superintendents' Union, — n.n., a report or statement. — Boston, — 1896 & other years. The Pilgrim Sunday-School Missionary, — quarterly. — Boston & Chicago, — 1888 & follow- ing. The Pilgrim Teacher, — editor M. C. Hazard. — Boston & Chicago. (8 or 10 pp. on each In- ternat. S.-S. lesson, illustrations, editorials &c.) C. Episcopal. The Church Sunday-School, — Van De Water & others— Ch. R.,— July 1889. Bibliography ^S3. The American Church Sunday-School Maga- zine, — editors Thomas. Stone & Newton. — Phil., — 1880 & following. (Account of S.-S. Assoc, of Diocese of Penn. in no. for Feb. 1895.) Church Sunday-School Lessom, of the Dioce- san Committee, — different series, as the Whit- taker by G. W. Shinn & the Jacobs by R. N. Thomas. Catechisms,—St^ Prayer Book— Also James Pott & Co., New York. (About 100 books & catechisms in circulation.) D. Latter-Day Saint. Sunday-School Work,— Kdivl G. Maeser— Salt Lake City.— 1892. Latter-day Saints' Sunday-School Treatise, — n.n. — Salt Lake City, 1898, second edition. Proceedings of the First Sunday-School Con- vention, of the . . . Latter-day Saints. — Ar- thur Winter & Leo Hunsaker — Salt Lake City, — 1899. Juvenile Instructor, — editor G. Q. Cannon. — Salt Lake City,— Historic Review of the Sunday- School Movement in no. for Nov. i, 1899. E. Lutheran. Augsburg Sunday - School Papers, — (The Augsburg S. S. Teacher, The Augsburg Lesson Leaf &c;— Phil. 254 Sunday-School Movements F. Methodist. The Sunday-School Union, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, — J. M. Freeman — New York, — Mch. 1880. Annual Reports of the 5.-5'. Union of the Meth. Epis. Ch., — New York, — 1847 & following. Berean Lesson Helps, Quarterlies &c., — editor J. L. Hurlbut. — New York. (Also a variety of S.-S. supplies at Eaton & Mains, N. Y.) Sunday-School Magazine, International Les- son Papers &c. — Pub'g House of the M. E. Ch. South, — Nashville, Tenn. G. Presbyterian. Westminster Sabbath - School Helps, — Presb. Board of Pub. & S.-S. Work,— Phil., N. Y., Chi- cago, St. Louis. Sunday-School Monthly Bible Study, — editor McKamy.— Nashville, Tenn. (Cumberland Presb. Pub'g House.) The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church, (Containing the Confession of Faith, the Cate- chisms, Discipline &c.)— n.n. — Philadelphia,— n.d. H. Reformed Church. The Reformed Church in America, — Demarest — New York, — 1889, 4th revised edition. Reports of General Synod of the Reformed Bibliography ^SS Church in America, & report of S.-S. Conven. 1899.)? — New York. Triennial Reports of the Sunday-School Board of the Reformed Church in the United States, — Lebanon, Pa. Heidelberg Sunday-School Helps, — (7 lesson helps, graded. 5 illustrated papers.) — New York. Heidelberg Catechism, — Zacharias Ursinus — New York, — n.d. (original 1563.) (Also other catechisms — Board of Pub. of Ref. Ch. in Amer.) /, Roman Catholic. A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, — 3rd Plen- ary Council of Baltimore — New York, — 1885. (Also other catechisms.) /. Unitarian. Sixty Years of the Unitarian Sunday-School Society,— U. G. Spaulding.— Boston?— 1887. Annual Reports of the Unitarian Sunday- School Society, — Boston. Lesson Books & Manuals, — Boston. — (a great variety.) K. Universalist. Universalist Register, — Boston. The Christian Leader, — (July 17, 1884.— gives Universalist origin of " Children's Sunday.") Sunday-School Helper, monthly, — editor O. F. Safford — Boston, — 1869 & following. 256 Sunday-School Movements VII. The Bible Study Union. Sunday-School Bible Study, — E. Blakeslee. — Andover R., — Oct. 1890. Also 5". -5'. Instruction, — E. Blakeslee.— And. R., Dec. 1891. An Advanced Step in Sunday-School Bible Study, — E. Blakeslee. — Boston, — 1891. Adaptation versus Uniformity, — E. Blakeslee. — Boston, — 1892. Report of Meeting for Organisation of Bible Study Union. — Boston, — 1893. Statement of the Lesson Committee of the B. S. U. — Boston, — 1894. A Comparative View of the International and the B. S. U. Lessons on the Life of Christ, — Bos- ton, — 1894. ForCts and Principles, — E. Blakeslee. — Boston, —1896. Sunday-School Bible Study, — E. Blakeslee. — Independent, — Feb. 4, 1897. Graded Lessons, — E. Blakeslee ? — Boston, — '99. Lesson Books — Life of Christ, 7 grades & 2 teachers' aids, — Boston. Lesson Books — Peter, Paul & John, 7 grades & 2 teachers' aids. — Boston. Lesson Books — Great Men of Israel, 7 grades & 2 teachers' aids. — Boston. Lesson Books — Gospel History, 7 grades & 2 teachers' aids. — Boston. Lesson Books — Hist. Apostolic Church, 6 grades and 2 teachers' aids. — Boston. Saiimummuiuiuiiiuuui Bibliography 257 Lesson Books — Old Testament Hist., 6 grades & I teachers' aids. — Boston. Blakeslee Lessons, — editors D. H. Greer & Geo. H. McGrew. — Boston, — Episcopal edition. An Outline Handbook of The Life of Christ, — Stevens & Burton. — Boston, — 1894. VIII. Miscellaneous, A. The American Society of Religions Education. The American Society of Religious Education, (annual) n.n., — Washington. Journal of Religious Education, — J. E. Gilbert (sec). — Washington, D. C., — a quarterly. Bible Reader's Guide,—]. E. Gilbert.— Wash- ington, — n.d. (ist yr. — Patiiarchs & Kings; 2nd yr. — Kings & Prophets ; 3rd yr. — Christ & Apos- tles.) Normal Lesson Manuals, &c. — J. E. Gilbert. — Washington, — n.d. B. The Foreign Sunday-School Association. Sunday-Schools Abroad, — n.n. — Reprint from the Independent, — n.d. (Full account of origin of F. S.-S. A.) Annual Reports of the Foreign Sunday-School Association, — n.n. Brooklyn. Christie's Old Organ — Mrs. Walton. — New York, — n.d. (See also other books translated & distributed by the Association.) INDEX Note — Roman numbers refer to chapterB; Arabic numbers refer to pages. American Unitarian Asso- ciation VI 148 Analytical lesson notes IV 80 Anniversary Institute, Meth. V 97 Arnold, Thomas IX 197 Asbury, Bp. I 21, VI 134 Assembly catechism I 22 Assembly, Chautauqua V 99-106 Assembly Normal Union V 108, 109 Associations, — State II 46, HI 74 Atlanta, Georgia III 62, 73 Adams, Blackmer & Lyons (firm) IV 80 Africa III 60, VII 163 Aids — for teachers and scholars (See Books) Aim of education IX 186- 191 Aim of the Sunday-school I 23, II 26, 27, 38, VI 134, IX 173-186, 190 Akron, M. E. S.-S. U. V 98 Albany III 56 American Baptist Publica- tion Society VI 116 American Bible Society II 34 American Church S.-s. In- stitute VI 122, 123 American Home Mission- ary Society VI 120 American Institute of Sa- cred Literature VIII 167 American Magazine VI 134 American Society of Relig- ious Education VIII 168, 169 American Sunday-School Union I 25. II, III 55, 56, IV 77, V loi, VI 118, VIII 164. 166 American Tract Society II 34 B Babylon V 97 Baird, Robt., D.D. II 44 Baldwin University, Ohio V III Ballantyne, Richard VI 128 Baltimore III 61, VI 146, 151 " Banner " townships III 72 Baptist General Tract So- ciety VI 116 Baptists V loi, VI 114-118, 152 Barnard V 92 Barrows, Dr. J. H. VIII 167 259 Q.6o Index Beecher, Dr. Lyman I 24 Beecher, Henry Ward IX 205 Bellamy, Dr. I 20 Berlin VIII 171 Bethlehem, Conn. I 20 Bethune, IDr. and Mrs. I 22, II 29 Bible & Tract Society VI 136 Bible Normal College, Springfield, Mass. V ill Bible Readers' Union VIII 169 Bible Schools VI 124, 125 Bible Society, Friends VI 125 Bible Students' Reading Guild VIII 167 Bible Study Publishing Co., Boston VII 155 Bible Study Union VII Bible Study Union Lessons VI 124, VII 157-163, IX 217 Biblical geography V 95, 97, 98, IX 124, 125 Biblical instruction I 20, 23, II 27, 34, IV 77, V III, VI 113, 117, 129, VII 153, IX 175, 176, 218-224 Biblical museums V 97-99, VI 139 Bickwell, Tho. W. Ill 62 Blackhouse, Hannah C. & Jonathan VI 125 Blake, S. H. Ill 62 Blakeslee, E. VII 153, 155 Bliss, P. P. Ill 59 Books, early S.-s. I 22, II 27, 33< 34, 35. VI 135 Books, library II ^6, 37, VI 118, VIII 164, 165, 171 Boston, Mass. Ill 73, VI 117, 121, 147, 150, VII 156, 157 Boston Society for the Moral & Religious In- struction of the Poor II 29 Boston Sunday-School So- ciety VI 147 Brandywine, Battle of I 20 Brooklyn III 56, VIII 170 Brotherhood of St. Andrew VI 123 Brown, Alexander II 51 Buffalo, N. Y. V 96 Burma VII 163 Burton, E. DeW. VII 161 Byers, M. D. Ill 76 Calcutta II 43 Canada II 51, III 60, 62, 66, 72, IV 83, VI 124, 132 Cannon, Elder G. Q. VI 129 Capen, S. B. Ill 73 Cards II 34, VI 116, VII 158, 162 Carey, Matthew II 26, VI 150 Catechetical instruction I 18, 20, 21, VI 114, 117, 124, 132, 140, 143, 145, IX 217, 218 Catechism, Heidelberg VI 142, 143, IX 218 Catechisms, Lutheran IX 218 Catechisms, Episcopal VI 124, IX 218 Catechisms, Westminster I 22, VI 141, 142, IX 218 Ceylon II 43 Channing V 91, 93, VI 148 Charleston. S. C. I 21 Chautauqua III 67, V 99- III. VI 140. IX 195, 196 Chautauqua College of Lib- eral Arts V 105 Index 261 Chautauqua Lit. & Sci. Cir- cle III 70. V 104-106 Chautauqua Normal Union V 106, log-iii Chautauqua Schools V 104 Chautauqua S.-S. Norma! Department V 106-108 Chautauqua Teachers' Re- treat V 104 Chelsea, Mass. VI 151 Chicago II 49, HI 65, IV 80. 81, V 94, 95, VI 149 Chicago S.-S. Union l\' 78, 80, 81 Children's Sunday VI 151. China II 43, VII 163. VIII 172, IX 187 Chinese missionary II 47 Christian Endeavor III 69 Christmas VII 163. IX 219 Church of the Epiphanv, Phil. VI 122 Church of the Holy Apos- tles. Phil. VI 122 Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn VIII 170 Church Sunday-schools I 22, VI. IX 194 Cincinnati II 30, VI 126, 127 Cincinnati Wesleyan Fe- male College V III Cities II 47. Ill 57. 76 City S.-S. Unions III 76 Civil War II 51, III 58, VI 119 Clarke. Dr. E. H. VI 148 Colportage VI 116 Colquitt. Alfred H. Ill 62 Columbia Star VI 105 Columbus, Ohio V 97, VI 139 Comenius VI 114 Confirmation classes VI 127, 132 Congregational Board of Publication VI 119 Congregational Publishing Society VI 119 Congregational Sabbath- School & Publishing So- ciety VI 119 Congregational Sunday- School & Publishing So- ciety III 71, VI 118, 120 Congregational S.-S. Su- perintendents' Union VI 120 Congregationalists I 19, VI 114, 118-121 Connecticut III 56. 70 Connecticut Code I 17 Conventions II 42. 48-50, III. IV 81, V 94, VI 121, 122, 124, 132, 152, VIII 169 Conventions, county III 53, 56 Conventions, International, 1st III 61 Conventions, International, 2nd, 3rd and 4th III 62, IV 84 Conventions. International, 5th and 6th III 64, IV 84 Conventions, International, 7th III 64, 68, 72, IV 84. Conventions. International, 8th III 64, 73, IV 85. 88 Conventions. International. 9th III 68. 73. 74 Conventions, National, ist II 48. Ill 53. ly 78 Conventions, National, 2nd HI 55 , , Conventions, National, 3rd "I 58 , ^ Conventions, National, 4th HI 59. 60, IV 82 Conventions, National. 5th HI 60. 61. IV 83 Conventions. State HI 56- 58, 66, IV 78, V 96 262 Index Conventions, World's III 68 Cook Co. S.-S. Teachers' Convention V 95 Cook, J. P. VIII 170 Cornell College, Iowa V III Council Bluffs. Iowa II 45 Council Hill V 95 County Normal Superin- tendents III 75 Crafts, Mrs. Wilbur III 63, 64 Crenshaw, Thomas I 21 Crerar, John II 52 Crystal Palace III 56 D Davis, Noah VI 115 Day-schools I 19, II 26, 36, V 91, VI 132, 141, 144, VIII 168, IX 175, 178. 180 Deseret S. S. Musical Un- ion VI 131 Detroit III 59, V 95 Detroit District V 5 Dewey, Dr. John IX 17 Dickinson College, Penn. V III Dike, Samuel W. Ill 71 Diocese of Pennsylvania S.-S. Association VI 122 Diplomas III 75, V 106, 107. no, VI 139, IX 215 Discipline, The I 22, VI 133. 134- 137 Duncan, W. A. Ill 69-71 Dunker, S.-s. I 20 Easter VI 132, VII 163, IX 209, 219 Eddy, Richard VI 150 Eggleston, E. Ill 59, 60, IV 78, 80-82 Egypt III 60, V 97 England III 60, V 109, VI 125, VIII 166 English Sunday-schools I 22, 24 Ephrata, Penn. I 20 Episcopalians I 22. V in. i VI 114, 121-124, 132, VII 163 Establishment of S.-ss. II 38-42, 44-47, 52, III 67, Vl 116, 120, 132, 135, 136. 141, 150. IX 104 Evangelical Society II 28 Evening S.-ss. II 28 Exercises VI 128, IX 199- 208, 225 Fair Point, Chautauqua V 99 Farwell, J. V. Ill 59 Female Union Society II 29 Ferguson, Katy I 21 Fergusson, Mrs. M. H. Ill 68 Festivals IX 209-211 Field Superintendent III 66 Field Workers III 66, 67- 76 Field Workers' Conference III 67. 68, 72, Field Workers' Depart- ment III 7Z First-day schools VI 124 First-Day or S.-S. Society I 25, II 26, 38. VI 150 Fisher, George P. VII 156 Foreign Missions II 43 Foreign S.-S. Association VIII 169-172 France IV 84, V 109, VIII 170 Freeport, 111. V 94, 95 Index 162 Frelinghuysen, Theodore Friends VI 124-126 Galena District Convention V 94. VI 138 Gallaudet, Dr. T. H. II 33 General Assembly (Presb.) II 48. Ill 53. VI 141 General Conference (Meth.) V 97. VI I35. 136, 138 ^ ^ General Conference (L.-D. Saints) VI 130 General Convention (Univ.^ VI 151 General Synod VI 143 Germanv VIII 171 Gillett, P. G. ^ III 60 Gloucester VI 151 Golden Text IV 79, 85. IX 219 Gospel Meetings II 45 Grace Church, N. C. VI 123 Graded S.-ss. VI 128, 131, 145. 146, 148, VII 154-161 Graham. Isabella I 21, II 29 Great Britain I 22, II 40. Ill 58. IV 83. 89 Greece II 43, V 97- IX 203 Green, John C. II 5^ Greer, Dr. David H. VIl 156, 163 H Half-Price Home Library II 36 Hall. Willard III 55 Hammond. H. L. IV 80 Hanover Co.. Va. I 21 Harper, Dr. W. R. V 105, VIII 167 Harris, John G. Ill 65 Harris. Dr. Wm. T. IX Hartford Co., Conn., b.-b. Union III 53 Hartshorn, W. N. Ill 65. 74 Harvard College I 17 Hebrews VI 126-128 Hebrew Sabbath-School Union VI 126 Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati VI 126, 127 Heidelberg catechism and lessons VI 142, I43. IX 218 Herbart IX 180 Heyer, C. F. VI 132 Hickey, Rev. M. V 95 Hicksite Friends VI 125 Holy Land V 95. 102 Home Child Culture VIII 6 I Heme Class Department 1 III 68-73 j Home Department 111 71- I 7;i, 76. VI 140 Home Department Unions III 72 Home Readings IV 79. VIII 166 Home religious teachmg I 17, VI 113. 125, 143. 147. 148, VIII 168, IX 174. Hours of instruction (See Sessions) Howland, H. J. VI 117, Hou<:e to house visitation III 67. 76, IX 226 Humane Day VI 131 Humphrey. Pres. II 33 Hymns VI 117. 146. IX 179, 199-204 (See Mu- sic) I Illinois III 56. 58, 75. V 94, 96, VI 119 264. Index Immigrants VI 137 India II 43, IV 83, V 102, VII 163 Indiana III 72, VI 119. VIII 168 Indianapolis III 60 Indians VI 137 Inductive teaching VI 119, 120, VI Infant class teachers III 63, VI 117 Ingathering III 67, IX 226 Institute, Primary Teach- ers' III 62 Institutes III 66, IV 81, V, VI 121. 122, 124, 138, 148 Instruction (See Biblical, Catechetical, Moral) Instruction, Department of, — Meth. V 97, 99, VI 136, 139 International Bible Read- ing Association VIII 166 International Conventions II 48, III 61-73 International Convention System III 55-58, 62, 66, 76, V 99, IX 1Q4. 226 International Convention Young Men's Chr. As. in 5Q International Evangel III 74. VIII 165 International Executive Committee III 65, 66-68, 72. 72, International Lessons II 35. 48, III 60. 65, IV, VII 153, 155, VIII 166, 168, IX 217 International Lessons, use of VI 115, 116, 120, 122, 124, 125. 142 International Lesson Com- mittee III 66, IV 83-90. VI 123, VII 153 International Primary Un- ion III 64, 65 International S.-S. Normal Committee V 109 Iowa VI 119, 125 Ireland III 60, V 102 Jacobs, B. F. Ill 59, 60, 75, IV 78, 81-83 Jacobs, W. B. Ill 75 Jacobs' lessons VI 124 Japan III 68, VII 163 Joint Diocesan Committee VI 123 Joliet, 111 V 94. VI 138 Judson, Albert II 35, IV 77 K Kansas III 70 Kidder, Dr. D. P. V 93, VI 138 Kindergarten VI 146, VII 158. IX 205 Kindergarten of the Church VI 140 Knowles, J. D. VI 115 Ladies' Commission (Unit.) VI 148 Lane, O. W. VI 150 Lathrop. S. G. Ill 58 Latter Day Saints VI 128- 132 Leonard, Dr. C. H. VI Lesson Committee, Inter- national III 60, 61, 67, IV 83-90 Lessons II 34, III 60, IV, VII 157-163. IX 217-224 (See various denomina- tions) Index 16^ Library. S.-?. II 36, 37. VI 118. 149. VIII 164. Its Library, traveling VI 126 Limited Lesson Scheme II 34- IV 77 London, S.-S. Centennial in V 108 London, S.-s. teachers in III 61 London S.-S. Union IV 79. 84 Lord, Eleazar II 29 Lord's Supper (in S.-s.) VI 130 (See Mass.) Louisville III 62 Loyal S.-S. Army III 75 Lutheran Church Review VI 133 Lutherans VI 132, 133, 141 Luther's catechisms IX 218 M Madagascar VIII 172 Maine II 47 Mann, Horace VI 148 Maps V 95, VI 117, IX 225 Mason Street S.-S. (Bos- ton) II 30 Mass in S.-s. VI 145, 146, 147 (See Lord's Sup- per) Massachusetts I 17, 19, II 47, III 55. 56, 74 Massachusetts Sabbath- School Society VI 118, 119 Massachusetts Sabbath- School Union VI 118 Mav. Robt. II 28 McCook, H. C. IV 82 McGrew, G. H. VII 163 Memorizing (from Bible) IV 77, IX 219-224 Methodist Book Concern VI 135. 136 Methodist Epi<. S.-S. In- stitutes V 94, 95, VI 136 Methodist Epis. S.-S. Un- ion IV 80, V 93, 97, 99, 106-108. VI 135-137 Methodist instruction I 22 23. V 99-1 1 1, VI 133-136, 138, 140 Methodist Kindergarten of t. Ch. VI 140 Methodists IV 94. V 99, 102, VI 115. 133-140, 152 Mexico VI 132 Michigan VI 119 Miles, W. A. V 96 Miller, Lewis III 68, V 99.. 100, 103 Missionaries, S.-s. II 30, 38-47, 49, III 76, VI 119, 120 Missionaries, student II 45 Missionarj-, Chinese II 47 Missionar}-, colored II 44 Missionary lessons VII 163 Mississippi River VI 128 Mississippi Valley Enter- prise II 39-43. 50 Models V 97. 98. IX 225 Montreal V 102 Moody III 58, 59, 73, IV 78 Moody Institute, Chicago II 49, V III Moral Instruction II 26, 29, IX 173, 178-179 Moravians VI 113 Morris, Hattie III 63 Mount Carroll V 95 Mountford, Mrs. L. Von F. V 98 Murray VI 151 Music VI 124, 127, 131, 133, 142, 147, IX 199- 207 166 Index N Nashville VI 117, 142 National Conventions (See Conventions) National Convention Or- ganization (See Inter- national Convention Sys- tem) National Council (Cong.) VI 120 National Primary Union III 62-65, 7i National Sunday- School Teacher IV 78. 80 National Union Primary S.-S. Teachers III 62 Nevada III 57 Newark, N. J. Ill 59, 62 New England I 17, 21, II 46, VI 114, 151 New England educational system (early) I 19 New Hampshire II 47 New Jersey II 46, III 70 Newton, Dr. IV 82 New York II 46, HI 56, 69, 70, 72, V 96, 99, 104, VI 119, 126 New York City II 29, III 63. IV 80, VI 121, 123. 124, 132, 13s, 146. VII 156, 157, VIII 170, 1X200 New York Primary Teach- ers' Union III 62, New York State S.-S. Association III 63 New York S.-S. Union II 29. 31. 35. V 92 New York Training School for Deaconesses V iii Nickel Day VI 117, 142 Nineveh V 97 Normal classes III 67, 75, V 94, 99, 107, III, VI 127, 131, 136-139, 144, IX 215, 216 Normal College, Meth. S.- S. VI 138 Normal Department III 76 (Meth.), V 97, 99, 106, VI 136 Normal Department, Bap- tist, Presb. and Amer. S.-S. Union V loi Normal Department, Chau- tauqua V 106-111 Normal drills V 95, IX 215 Normal praxes V 107 Normal study III 62, 75, VI 138, IX 215 Normal Sunday-Schools V93 Normal Superintendents HI 75 North-western Female Col- lege, 111. V III Nova Scotia V 102 Nunc Dimittis IX 207 O Ohio VI 119 Ontario V 102 Ordnance Survey of Jeru- salem V 97 Ostrander. Dr. J. S. V 98 Oxford summer meeting V 105 Pacific Coast II 46 Palestine Exploration V 97 Pardee. R. G. V 96 Paris VIII 170 Park of Palestine V 102 Paulist Fathers VI 146 Paumier. H. VIII 170 Pawtucket, R. I. I 22 Paxson, Mary II 40 Paxson, Stephen II 40-42, 43, 50, III 56 Index 267 Peltz. Geo. A. Ill 61 Pennsylvania II 30. 46, VI 122, 124, 141 Persia II 43. VII 163 Philadelphia II 26, 31, 35- 48, 50. Ill S3. 58, 63, IV 88, VI 116. 122, 150 Philadelphia Primary Un- ion III 63 Philadelphia Sunday and Adult School Union II 30. 31, 33 . ,^ Pike Co.. 111. II 41 Pilgrim Church. Plymouth I 18 Pilgrim Press. The VI 120 Pittsburg, Penn. II 28, III 6S Plenary Council of Balti- more, Third VI 146 Plymouth I 18, 19 Pollock. James J. Ill 58 " Poor whites " II 44 Prayers. S.-s. VI 127, IX 204-208 Prayers for the S.-s. IX 229 Preaching on the S.-s. VI 137, IX 228 Presbyterians V loi, VI 119, 140-142, 152 Presbyterians, Cumberland VI 141 Presbyterians, Southern VI 142 Primary Adaptation IV 87-89. VI 116. 117. 140, 146, VII 158-162, IX 201, 205, 219, 220 Primary Council III 65 Primary Department III 74, 76, V 118, 140, VII 158 Primary Teachers' Insti- tute III 62 Primary Unions III 64, 73 Primary Workers III 65. 74 Primary Workers' Confer- ence IV 87 Providence VI 146 Provo, academy at VI 131 Publications— Amer. S.-S. Union II 32-37. 43. VIII 164 Publications — Philad. S. & Adult S. Union II 33 Public schools I 19. II 26, 36. V 91. VI 128. 144. 145, 149. VIII 168, IX 174-176 Puritans I 18, 19, VI 114 Q Quarterly Bulletin III 64 Question Books II 35. IX 217 R Raikes' System I 20-22. VI 134, 150 Raritan VI 144 Reformed Church VI 142- 144 Revolution, the I 20 Rewards III 75. VI 147, IX 195 Reynolds, Wm. Ill 59, 65 Robbins, T. I 19 Rock River V 94 Rocky Mountains II 42. 46, VI 128 Roxbury, Mass. (S.-s at) I 19 Rush, Benjamin II 26, VI 150 Russia II 43 Salt Lake City VI 129, 130 !z68 Index Sandwich Islands II 43 Sardinsfield. Mass. VI 121, VIII 169 Savannah, Ga. VI 134 Scotland III 60, V 102 Scott Co., 111. Ill 56 Scripture-schools VI 124 Sectarianism I 19. 21 Selected Uniform lessons II 34. IV 78 Services for children VI 124, 130, 133, I5i» 146, IX 199-21 1, 226 Sessions (time of) I 18. 23, VI 127. 129. 132, 134- 135, 140, 146, IX 225 Seward. B. J. II 40 Simpson, Rev. H. M. V 100 Slater, Samuel I 22 Smith. Hoke III 73 Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge VI 119 South America II 43 Southern States I 21 II 44 Spanish War III 72 Sparta IX 187 Spaulding, Rev. H. G. V 93 Spencer. Mass. VII IS3 Springfield, 111. Ill 58, IV 78 Standard-Baptist paper IV 81 State S. S. Associations II 46, III 68, 74. 75 State conventions III 55, 56, 57. 58, 61 Stevens. W. A. VII 161 St. Louis II 42. Ill 68 Stuart. Geo. H. Ill 60 Student Missionaries II 45 Sunday-School Journal VI 139 Sunday-School leacher Iv 78-81 Sunday-School Teachers' Assembly V 100 Sunday- School Teachers' Quarterly IV 78. 79. 80 Sunday-School Times III 60, 74, IV 88, VIII 165 Sunday-School visitors III 70 Sunday-School World II 35 Sunday-Teachers Normal College VIII 168 Superintendents VI 130, 137, 144, IX 184, 191-213. 226 Superintendents' Union (Cong.) VI 120 Switzerland VIII 170 Svnod of Dort VI 143 Teachers' Assembly, S.-S. V 100 Teachers' Association, Ch. of the Holy Apostles — Phil. VI 122 Teachers' Institute, Pri- mary III 62 Teachers' Institutes (See Institutes) Teachers' Magazine II 35 Teachers, male VI 131, IX 215, 228 Teachers' meetings VI 130 IX 211, 212 Teachers, paid I 22, II 28. VI 128 Teachers, voluntary I 23. VI 134 Teaching brotherhoods and sisterhoods VI 141; Temperance Lessons IV 84. 87. 88. VII 163 Temple Emanuel S. S., N. Y. VI T28 Thacker, Ludwig I 20 xr>r -3-^7 Index 269 Theological Seminaries IX 196, 198, 229 Thwing, Pres. Chas. F. VII 156 Toronto, Canada III 62 Trabert, Dr. VI 133 Training of S.-S. teachers III 62-65, 67, 75, IV 79. V, VI 122, 127, 131, 138. 139, VIII 168. IX 181, 213-217, 226 Training schools for Chr. workers V lii, VI 121. IX 196 Trumbull, Henry Clav III 60 Tucker, Pres. Wm. J. VII 156 Turkey II 43. VII 163 Tyng, Alexander III 59 U Uniform lessons II 34, 48. Ill 60, IV Union Graded Lessons VII 157 Union of American He- brew Congregations VI 126 Unions, rise of I 24, II Union S.-ss. II 47 Unitarians V 93, VI 108, 114, 147-150 Unitarian S.-S. Society V 91. VI 118, 147. 148. Western 149 Unitarian S.-S. Union of the Pacific Coast VI 149 Universalists I 23, VI 150- 152 Upper Classes, attendance of I 24 Utah VI 128 Van Lennep, A. O. V 98 Vella, Bertha F. Ill 74 Vermont II 47, III 70 Vincent, J. H. Ill 60, 69, IV 78-82, V 94-97, 99, 100, 103, III, VI 138, 139. 140 w Warren V 95 Washington III 64, VI 116. VII 168. 169 Washington, Ct. I 22 Washington Primary Teachers' Union III 64 Wellspring. The VI 118 Wells, Ralph V 96 Wesley, John I 22, 23, VI 134 Western Sabbath School Agency VI 119 Western Unitarian Society VI 149 Westminster Catechisms VI 141, 142, IX 218 Wheelock, Miss Lucy VII 162 White, Bp. II 26, 27, VI 150 Whittaker lessons VI 124 Whittle, Major III 59 Wilder, E. C. Ill 58. 59 Winchester, 111. II 40, HI 57 Wisconsin VI 119 Wise, Dr. V 97. VI 139 World's S.-S. Convention III 68 Woodruff, A. VIII 169, 170, 172 Woodruff, H. C. VIII 172 Y Young Men's Christian Association VI 59 Yearly Meetings, Friend VI 125 LOAN DEPT ^oJTj'.l^ro a^lf ^„;^- «-p*ed below. Renewals xnay Z^'^Y f9^^'^ °°'"= ^!^!r!i^-rs1fbfe5^[S Se^o dace due. ' " ^° immediate recalL D "^WSJ^DID Arn Berkeley T .O n. 1 5530:3 \