Continuing a Tradition

Sunday schooling has filled an important preaching role in the brotherhood from our earliest days in the nineteenth century. The work has been strongly supported by our magazines. For The Tidings magazine to add a Sunday school section to its pages is to join in this long-standing tradition of support.

One of the first references to Sunday schooling in the brotherhood appeared in The Ambassador (later to become The Christadelphian) in September, 1865. It was a news item from the Birmingham Ecclesia in England:

“The brethren have started a Sunday School for the purpose of scriptur­ally instructing the children connected with the meeting, who have now attained a goodly number; and also for the purpose of removing them from the perverting influence of ordinary schools where many of them have hitherto attended.”1

The Ambassador for May, 1868, added this detail about the Birmingham Sunday School: “(The) no. of children on the books of the Sunday school, 63; average at­tendance, 45.”2This size of the Birmingham Sunday School grew to more than 90 by 1869, over 100 by 1870, and nearly 200 in 1877. The Temperance Hall meeting in Birmingham reported 273 scholars on its Sunday school rolls in 1921!3

The benefits of the Sunday school work were soon evident as well. The following piece appeared in The Ambassador of October, 1868:

“BIRMINGHAM.—There have been four immersions since the last re­cord. Two were specially interesting as the direct results of the Sunday school, which has now been in operation about twelve months. These were two girls, daughters of those already in the faith, viz., EMILY BAILEY (17), daughter of brother Bailey, and MARY ANN LEA (16), daughter of sister Smith, by a former marriage. Their desire towards obedience is of some standing, and as time seemed to prove its genuineness, and examination made manifest the requisite intelligence in things divine, their wishes were complied with, and their names added to the list of those who in Birmingham have begun the race for the prize of the high calling.”4

This is a delightful bit of our history. It means that we know the names of perhaps the first two Christadelphian Sunday school students to be baptized into Christ: Emily and Mary Ann! They set a precedent that thousands of Christadelphian young people have since followed.

The work of the Sunday school received enthusiastic support from Bro. Robert Roberts, the first Editor of the magazine. He took a great interest in children. In addition to addressing the Sunday school children in Birmingham on a very regular basis, Bro. Roberts started a Children’s Magazine in 1871. The prospectus that he published revealed the Editor’s heart as far as children were concerned. Here are his introductory words:

Christadelphian Children’s Magazine

To be Conducted by the Editor of the “Christadelphian.”

LONG pressed to start a Magazine for the children, the Editor has, at length, concluded to undertake the task, from a conviction of its useful­ness, and with the intention of making the new Magazine as interesting to little readers as ever he can … God willing, the first number will appear on Friday, September 15th, and should adequate support be forthcoming in the way of subscription, the Magazine will thereafter appear monthly on the second Friday in each month.5

Bro. Roberts started the Children’s Magazine at the same time he announced an increase in the size of The Christadelphian magazine. There were giants in the earth in those days!

Bro. Roberts soon opened the pages of The Christadelphian to more than just Sunday school news. Ideas for organizing and running Sunday schools began appearing in the magazine as early as 1875. The December, 1879, issue included a lengthy list of books suitable for Sunday school prize giving. The list is impressive. Children (the older ones, I assume) received such books as Elpis Israel, Twelve Lectures, Josephus, Cruden’s Concordance6, and Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. Not just casual reading!

It wasn’t long before Sunday school lesson notes began appearing in the magazine with a view to giving teachers and ecclesias everywhere an orderly syllabus of Bible lessons to follow with their children. A first go at this was made in 1882, when Bro. Francis A. Chatwin ran a series of articles, called “Our Children and Our Sunday Schools.”

Later, in 1895, the appearance of Sunday school lesson notes became a regular feature of the magazine. Bro. Charles Alfred Bower (C. A. Bower) was the con­tributing editor. Bro. Bower continued this work without fail, month after month, until his death in 1916. He was succeeded by Bro. C. A. Ladson (also Charles Alfred!), the Assistant Editor of The Christadelphian, who kept the lesson notes coming until 1925. By that time the basis of the Birmingham Central Sunday School Scheme — lessons still available from The Christadelphian Office — was firmly established.

In the years that followed, The Christadelphian magazine continued the tradition of supporting the Sunday school work of the brotherhood. It announced Sunday school teaching conferences, provided information about teaching materials, and served as a forum for thoughtful teaching ideas and innovations.

Many readers of The Tidings will have a copy of Bro. Roy Standeven’s book in their library: “The Vital Hour.” The book first saw light of day as a series of articles in The Christadelphian magazine between 1970 and 1972.

Bro. Standeven offered the articles as “A page for Sunday school workers.” His opening words7aptly describe what it is for any of us to accept the responsibility of sharing the vital message of salvation with others.

As soon as belief changes one’s personal way of life, it becomes vital to pass on to others the joy, knowledge and experiences it involves. One becomes a teacher with a clear message to give.

Briefly summarized, the Christian view of the purpose behind mankind’s exis­tence is as follows:

  • Man is made “in the image of God” and therefore has a supremely important part to play in the world.
  • Despite the tragedy of sin and death, he still has an important role in God’s purpose and will find ultimate fulfillment in the Kingdom of God.
  • Above all, man cannot save himself.
  • The love of God has been shown in a very special way in the sacrifice of Jesus, His Son: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 )

Paul summarizes the challenge to the believer when writing to the church in Rome:

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom 10:13-14).

For those of us involved in the work of the Sunday school, whether as parents or teachers or both, Bro. Standeven has defined the dimensions of the challenge. It is with a view to supporting all who accept this challenge that The Tidings magazine plans to offer, for the foreseeable future and God permitting, a section on “The Joy of Sunday Schooling”. In so doing, we add our efforts to this time-honored tradition of the brotherhood.

  1. The Ambassador, September, 1865, 254.
  2. The Ambassador, May, 1868, 150.
  3. The Christadelphian, November, 1921, 514.
  4. The Ambassador, October, 1868, 286.
  5. The Christadelphian, September, 1871, 264.
  6. Cruden’s Concordance. The same issue (December, 1879) reported the recent publication of Young’s Analytical Concordance. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance would not be published for another 11 years!
  7. The Christadelphian, April, 1970, 159.