p. 84 | SABBATH-SCHOOLS AND SOCIAL MEETINGS

Seventh-Day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Thursday, February 5, 1880

FromAdvent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 55, No. 6

SABBATH-SCHOOLS AND SOCIAL MEETINGS.

By W. H. Littlejohn

BY ELD. W. H. LITTLEJOHN.

The Sabbath-school, the social meeting, and the preaching service, act an important part in the development of spiritual life in the church. They are not antagonistic to one another, but each is an important adjunct in carrying forward the work of the Master. If you give undue prominence to any one of these auxiliary methods of advancing the interests of the church, or if you attempt to ignore or belittle the value of any one of them, you do so to the damage of all concerned. Each should have its proper time, place, and attention. No member of the church should be shut up to the interest of any one of them; but every one should rather be alive to the interests of them all.

These remarks are made because it seems to us that some of our churches are in danger of swinging around from culpable indifference to Sabbath-schools as a means of grace, to an undue estimation of their relative importance.

This disposition has been manifested in several places we have visited in the practice of allowing the Sabbath-school to trespass upon the time which properly belongs to the social meeting or preaching service. The natural hour for social meeting or preaching in the forenoon, for example, is from half past ten until twelve o’clock. This is so, because an earlier hour would find the people of the community outside of the church, with the morning work on their hands, and unprepared to attend service. Again, should it be postponed until half past eleven, they would necessarily be held until half past twelve or one o’clock, and thereby be prevented from being at home at the regular hour for dining. He who does not perceive that such a condition of things would prevent them from frequently attending church, does not fully comprehend the strength of both habit and appetite in these latter days. It is in vain that we philosophize over this matter, and say that individuals ought to be willing to go without their dinner in order to attend public worship; for our philosophizing will not help the case one particle.

The simple question is, in a matter of this nature whether we will meet them where they are, and conform to the not unreasonable custom on their part of eating at noon, or whether we will doggedly insist on getting in the way of that custom, and thereby prevent them altogether from uniting with us, at least occasionally, on the Sabbath day.

The remedy for this evil is obvious. If the Sabbath-school and the social meeting are both to be held in the forenoon, let the former commence at nine o’clock and end at about twenty minutes past ten. This will allow an hour and a half—which is ample time—for the preaching or social meeting before midday.

If nine o’clock is too early for the Sabbath-school, let it be held from twelve until one o’clock P. M. By this means your neighbors will be enabled to attend that service which is really of the most importance to them, retiring at its close, if they like, without any indecorum on their part, or remaining still longer to attend the Sabbath-school if they should feel inclined thus to do.

Allegan, Mich.