Housing the Sunday School.

Progress, Volume XVI, Issue 7, 1 March 1921, Page 154

Housing the Sunday School.

The Rev. N. Friberg, Diocesan Organiser for Sunday Schools, Dunedin, recently gave a lecture on the above subject, from which we make the following extracts:—

A recent issue of the Sunday School Chronicle of London, England, tells of a great commission appointed by the Sunday School Union for the express purpose of considering structural improvement of modern Sunday school buildings. Nothing practical seems to have resulted, but the attempt is not a day too soon, for out of the Sunday school, we are told, there come four-fifths of the additions to our congregations by confirmation or conversion, yet throughout the country, probably not over onefourth of the Church’s time, workers, or money is devoted to Sunday school work.

Marion Lawrence, the U.S. Sunday School expert, writes in his well-known book:—“I have been told of one fine church recently completed, whose audience room will accommodate a thousand people, while its Sunday school will accommodate less than 200. Unless that church changes its attitude towards its Sunday school work, it will probably see the day when its Sunday schoolroom will be large enough for the church service.”

Every essential of a good church building can be secured without extravagant expenditure of money. Extravagance and parsimony in church buildings are both sins of the first magnitude. Where parsi ■ mony furnishes the chief hindrance we should remember that such conditions do not usually resuli from lack of money, but from lack of conscience.

There is no reason why a church building should be less suitably arranged for the work done in il than a factory, or a well-ordered kitchen in our homes.

Steps to Secure a New Building.

First Step: Realise the need.—Until there is a general recognition of the fact that a new building is a necessity, it is almost useless to proceed further.

Second Step: Create the sentiment.—There will be heard such expressions as these: New buildings cost money! The present building has done good service for

many years! Wait until times are better!

{a) Very clearly must it be shown that the Sunday school can do much better work and be of greater help to the church if properly housed and equipped.

ifi) Begin a nest-egg as an educational influence. The ever-present fact—even among the penny-saving Sunday school scholars—that a new building is “in the air,” hastens the day of its appearing.

Third Step: Decide tentatively, and appoint a Building Committee. Since it is a Sunday school building that they are considering, the committee should be very much alive to the interests of the Sunday school. It will be time well spent if some

of the members of this committee visit a few up-to-date buildings, where new and valuable ideas may be caught and put to practical use.

Fourth Step: Engage an architect.—Probably more blunders are made at this point than at any other in the whole range of church building. Many building committees make costly mistakes erecting great monuments to their own lack of wisdom; giving point to Prof. McCabe’s witty saying: “You can pay off a mortgage, but you cannot remove a regret.” Give the architect his proper place and treat him as you would your lawyer or your

physician. Lay before him all the conditions entering into the matter and trust him to bring about the right result.

Fifth Step: Decide cost and plans.—Since church buildings abide for many years either as a joy or an eyesore, it is better to defer building temporarily than to put up a makeshift; and if it be decided to begin with only a portion, the completed building should be planned to adequately meet the needs of the date of completion.

Sixth Step: Get the money.—Do not begin definite operations until sufficient funds have been secured or pledged to warrant the step. Churches should transact business in a businesslike way. It may be well to issue a sort of prospectus, stating briefly the needs of the school and the purpose of

the church in building. This prospectus should be a creditable piece of printing, giving pictures of the proposed building, elevation, ground floor plans, etc. A blank pledge card should be printed on one page of the prospectus. Much more money will be pledged if the pledges cover a period of years; but the period should not be too long—three years is better than five—for all pledges show a shrinkage because of deaths, removals and other causes, amounting often to 10 per cent, and seldom being below 5 per cent.

The easiest way to raise money for any Christian enterprise is by straight-out giving. Avoid teas, fairs, bazaars as means for raising money for God’s house or for His work. These may have their value socially, but we should not rely upon these for money-raising.

Allow special gifts—one man may And a window, another an organ, or a cupboard.

Sometimes a device that appeals to the eye is useful in letting all see and have an interest in the progress of the movement, e-g.: A large drawing of the elevation of the building could be placed upon the wall. Cover the entire drawing with small cards marked with various sums — £1, £s, £lO, etc. —and as these sums are subscribed remove the cards or replace them with cards of a different colour bearing the names of the donors of the sums of money.

Despise not the small gifts, but work hard for the large ones.

Keep everybody busy and work to a climax

There are three types of Sunday school buildings;

(a) The hall or barn pure and simple, turned over to the Sunday school every Sunday afternoon. (We need not pause to discuss this type.) (b) The Sunday school pure and simple. This is the modern ideal, especially since the knowledge of child nature and of child development has given rise to the system of graded lessons. In it the departments have

separate entrances and assembly rooms, and the class teachers have privacy provided them while giving their lessons.

(0 The parish hall and Sunday school combined.

This is the type of building which usually is built, and Sunday school teachers should be alert to secure as many conveniences as possible for their own particular work. In such a building the Ladies’ Guild would be catered for; also the Young People’s Clubs, as well as parochial meetings and entertainments.

A useful type of building, combining all these services, is here as it might be sketched out for and submitted to an architect to knock into shape.

The points to be noted are:— ( a ) The hall is 42ft. x 42ft. and can seat 300 people. The cost would run from £2,000 upwards, according to finish in detail.

(b) Provision is made for a gallery 42ft. x 9ft., giving seating accommodation for an extra 60 people. (c) The stage is 24ft. x 15ft., ample for any

ordinary drama or operetta.

(d) The floor of the hall is flat, for use as a ballroom.

(e) The hall and the stage can be cleared by doors opening outwards.

(/) Scenery can be removed from the stage and stored in lean-to room, 21ft. x Bft., without having to turn any corners inside the building.

(g) The pillars aid the arrangements necessary tor the stalls should bazaars be held in the hall.

{k) A guildroom 42ft. x 15ft. is provided. (i) A roller partition can completely divide the

guildroom into two compartments: one a men’s dressing room and the other a ladies’ (for dances or dramatic performances).

(;) From each such compartment a door leads to a section of the lean-to, fitted with all necessary conveniences.

(k) Two club rooms (suitable also as cloak rooms or for library purposes) are placed at the front of the hall.

(/) The double doors at the front entrance admit very large articles into the hall.

All these considerations concern the use of the building as a parish hall; the points of special interest to Sunday school teachers are:—

{m) The three main departments are separately provided for;

(1) The Bible classes use the two club rooms: room for 20 in each.

(2) The senior department uses the main hall entering by the front entrance.

(3) The infants enter through the lean-to and assemble in the guild room: space for 120.

{n) For teaching purposes:—

(1) The infants use the roller partitions in the guild room and also the whole of the stage for the small classes on chairs; also the lean-to.

(2) The senior department by the use of roller partitions can subdivide the hall into eight class-rooms: six being lift, x 9ft and two being 9ft. x 9ft. If necessary the gallery could be used too, as well as the middle space, so 120 could easily be accommodated.

(0) Every department and subdivision is directly and sufficiently lighted.

I may add by way of summary that the building thus designed will contain accommodation for an audience of 300; for a guild of 30 or 40; for a Sunday school numbering 300; and this, too, with the separate assembly of the chief departments and with the subdivision into private compartments for class teaching.