Beloved in Christ,
Warm Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In the month of October we celebrated three major events of our Church, Youth day, Parish day and Harvest festival. We take this opportunity to appreciate our Youth leaders, Parish day convener and the conveners of the Harvest festival. Also we express our hearty thanks to all Church members for making these events a grand success. In the month of November, we are celebrating two major events, the World Sunday School day (4 th November) and Kuwait CSI joint worship (11th November). We request all member’s prayer and participation for theses events.
The father of Robert Raikes (1736- 1811) was the editor of the famous Gloucester Journal. He had his own printing press. He died unexpectedly in the year 1757. Thus the printing press and the publication responsibilities of the journal fell on Robert Raikes. At this point, he noticed that the children between the age of 6 to 14 were wandering on the streets. The industrial revolution which broke out in the middle of the 18th century compelled many children to take up jobs. Thus in those days the child labor was at its high. The children who worked there for 12 hours per day were on holiday on Sundays. They involved themselves in all sorts of nonsensical activities, while coming on to the streets. They were confronting a new social problem. Robert Raikes was writing about these children and their problems in his journal. Rev. Thomas Stock, a British Anglican priest encouraged Robert Raikes to have some spiritual activities involving these children.
Thus in the year 1781 classes were started in the house of Mrs. Meredith of England. In the beginning the children extended a cool welcome to the classes. But suddenly their attitude changed. By the year 1785, there were two lakhs and fifty thousand students participating the program with great enthusiasm. 1.2 crores of students joined the program by the year 1831. Thus, the program which was started on Sundays have grown and spread throughout the world. The first common education plan was started in this movement. In those days people who were of a high status in society only had the right and opportunities for education. But through the Sunday School movement, all children in the society without the barrier of their status could receive education.
Robert Raikes had aimed at the following three factors:-
- To give basic formal education
- To teach moral values
- To take up Evangelism and Church planting
May the Almighty God bless our Sunday School.
Yours in Christ
Rev. C.C.Sabu
