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Sunday School
During the last half of the eighteenth century,
many English people came to dread Sunday.
Because Sunday was still observed as the
Sabbath, it was the one day when children who
worked in the factories had time off. As you
might imagine, it also became a day when
children let out all their pent up rowdiness and
mischief. The Industrial Revolution adversely
affected the religious and social values and
traditions of the culture, and often children
grew up without any religious or moral
education.
Robert Raikes, owner and publisher of the
Gloucester Journal,
became distraught about the fate of such
children. Since they worked in factories all
week, they had no access to formal education.
Seeing how easily many of these children
succumbed to crime and poverty, he sought a way
to provide an education for them. Raikes was
determined to establish schools for such
children, schools that would meet on Sunday. In
1780 in what was known as “Sooty Alley” in
Gloucester, he hired four women to teach reading
and soon had one hundred children enrolled, from
age six to fourteen.
Such education, however, also included religious
education. Each Sunday the children were taken
to church and in the afternoon they were
instructed in the catechism. For those who
mastered their assignments or whose behavior
became markedly improved, rewards were given.
The character of many of the children was
transformed by their participation in what
became known as “Sunday School”. As their morals
rose, the crime rate dropped. The community
experienced a profound change and the citizens
took notice and expressed thanks to Raikes and
others who were involved. In 1788 John Wesley
wrote to a friend, “I verily think these Sunday
Schools are one of the noblest specimens which
have set foot in England since William the
Conqueror.”
The Sunday School movement grew and prospered, not only
in England, but in the United States where it
has had its greatest success. Changes in child
labor laws and the rise of public education
gradually changed the nature of Sunday School,
which became a vital arm of the institutional
church. Bible instruction, discipleship and
evangelism were made the main areas of focus for
the movement, which continues to evolve. I
suspect that most of us have a history with
Sunday School somewhere in our background.
We Presbyterians have always put a premium on
education, following Scripture’s mandate to
“love God with all our heart,
mind
and
strength.” Through the years we have sought to
be faithful to John Calvin’s emphasis on the
life of the mind as service to God. He believed
that Christians should know what they believed
and why they believed it. Indeed, learning was a
Christian duty. The Reformed tradition has
always highly valued education, not only in
theology, but in the liberal arts, sciences and
fine arts as well. Sunday School has been the
primary source, but by no means the only source,
for instruction in the Bible and theology.
We here at First Presbyterian Church have been blessed
with a long history and strong tradition for
teaching and learning. Each August, we will once
again celebrate an important part of that
history and tradition as we begin a new Sunday
School year with what we call
Rally
Day.
Blessed with outstanding teachers and leaders,
challenging and creative curricula and excellent
facilities, we look forward to another year of
solid nurture and growth. Our Sunday School has
something for every age and almost every
interest. If you are already a regular, I look
forward to seeing you this Sunday. If you are
not, come and give Sunday School a try.
(Paul Evans) |
Sunday School classes
for all ages meet each Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. each
Sunday. We have a wonderful variety of
classes, age groups, teaching styles and group
sizes.
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