From a Pastor’s heart to yours…..

Paul Evans was one of my Pastors that I had when I was growing up in Gainesville. I recall an article that he wrote about the history of Sunday school and I would like to share some of his thoughts with you:

During the last half of the 18^th 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. During this time of the Industrial Revolution, children often grew up without any religious or moral education and they would get into all kinds of trouble on Sunday.

Robert Raikes, owner and publisher of the Gloucester Journal, became distraught about the fate of these children. Since they worked in the factories all week, they had no access to formal education. Seeing how easily these kids became hooked into a life of crime and poverty, Raikes sought a way to provide an education for them. He soon decided that he would establish schools for the children and that the schools would meet on Sunday. In 1780 in what was known as ‘Sooter Alley’ in Gloucester, he hired four women to teach reading and soon had 100 children enrolled whose ages were 6 to 14 years old.

Raikes knew that the education he provided would need to have a strong spiritual base. So every Sunday the children were taken to Church and in the afternoons they were taught more about God and His Church. For those who excelled in their assignments and improved their behavior, rewards were given. The character of many of the children was transformed by their participation in what became known as ‘Sunday School’. As their character increased, the crime rates dropped. The community experienced a profound change and John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, declared that Sunday Schools were one of the greatest creations he had witnessed.

The Sunday school movement grew and experienced success not only in England but especially in the United States. Changes in child labor laws and the rise of public education gradually changed the nature of Sunday School, which became an important tool of the larger Church. I suspect many of us have a history with Sunday School somewhere in our background.

In the Methodist Church, we believe strongly in our need to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind. (Luke 10:27) Sunday school is one of those great programs that fills our minds with God’s truth so that we can know how to honor Him by living like genuine Christians.

On March 7^th, we are relaunching our Sunday school program in a new time slot as Sunday school will begin at 10AM and finish no later than 10:45. Our early morning worship service will shift to 8:45 with announcements beginning at 8:40. If it’s been a while since you have attended Sunday School we welcome you to come back as we have 13 excellent classes for adults and children of all ages. Sample as many of the classes as you like until you find the one that fits you best.

I look forward to seeing you in Sunday School on March 7^th and remember that God loves you and I do too!..............Bill