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Gordon Clark: REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION, 1946 (OPC Minutes)

Members of the Committee on Christian Education, Class of 1946:

Ministers: D. Eugene Bradford, Calvin K. Cummings, Burton L. Goddard

Elders: Gordon H. Clark, Evan Runner.

1946. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION. Minutes of the Thirteenth General Assembly. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church. May 21-28. Pgs. 31-37.

THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF THE ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH FOR TBE YEAR ENDING MARCH 31, 1946

The Committee on Christian Education has held four meetings during the year.

Christian School Societies

During the year it can be reported that at least two more Christian School Societies have been started in communities in which an Orthodox Presbyterian Church is located: one in Vineland, N. J., and one in Oostburg, Wisconsin. It is to be hoped that schools will be started in each place in the autumn of 1946. It is also planned to open a school in Bridgeton, N. J. in the autumn. We must again call attention to the fact that one of the most fundamental works of Christian Education is. the establishment and maintenance of Christian Day Schools as carried on by the Christian School Societies. We would urge all the Christian School Societies already established to plan to open a Christian School as soon as possible. The Christian School at Willow Grove and the one at Middletown, Pa., are prospering with two teachers in each school, and practically capacity attendance. The Christian School Society in Willow Grove contemplates the erection of a modern school building when building controls are lifted and the present property can be sold.

Sunday School Conventions

In September, 1945, a successful Sunday School Convention of many churches in the Eastern states was held for two days in Willow Grove under the auspices of the Committee on Christian Education. Inspiring and instructive addresses on various phases of the work were given by various ministers and Sunday School workers. Sunday School conventions have been held in Western Pennsylvania and in New Haven, Conn. It was hoped that other local Sunday School Conventions would be held, but they could not be organized. We plan to hold another general convention in the fall of 1946, and we hope there will be an even greater attendance this year.

Covenant Children

We would once more call attention to “The Directory For The Public Worship Of God,” Chapter V, Section I, and urge the pastors of our churches who are not now doing so to organize classes for the regular doctrinal instruction of covenant youth. It is not sufficient that they should attend Sunday School, for the Sunday Schools should be primarily evangelistic agencies for reaching the unchurched children of the community, and thus in the nature of the case cannot give all the doctrinal instruction the children of the covenant should receive from the church. It was hoped that a detailed program of graded catechetical training could be presented to the Thirteenth General Assembly, but the subcommittee appointed to prepare such a course has been unable to complete the work. The office of the Committee, however, will be glad to offer suggestions concerning the organizing of such classes for doctrinal instruction of the children of the covenant.

Sunday School Work During the year the Two-Year Sunday School Course for Beginners was completed, and the Manuals for the first year of this course have been revised and published in mimeographed form. While such revision does not take as much time as writing the lessons in the first place, it is nevertheless an arduous task for all concerned. Much of the time of several members of the Committee and of the General Secretary has been consumed in the details of such revision. During part of the year Mrs. Richard Gaffin has assisted in preparing the first draft of such revision.

The work of preparing the Primary Sunday School Lessons and Junior Lessons is not completed as yet, but the Committee is planning to begin the publication of the Primary Sunday School Lessons in the fourth quarter of 1946. The Committee is not expecting to publish the Junior lessons this year. The Primary Lessons are being prepared by Miss Harriet Teal of Denver.

During the year- Mr. Raymond Meiners has prepared the student anticipation sheets for use in connection with the Sunday School Lessons published by the Christian Reformed “Key” and Mr. Dunn has continued to prepare the teacher’s helps for the same lessons.

Summer Bible Schools

The Summer Bible School work continues to grow. During the summer of 1945, 57 churches used the Summer Bible School material published by our Committee as compared with 43 in 1944. The following table will show the growth in one year:

                                                                1944    1945

Schools Using Our Material - - - - - - - -       43         57

Beginner-Primary Teacher’s Manual - -       116      140

Beginners’ Work Book - - - - - - - - - - -                   848

Primary Work Books - - - - - - - - - - - -       1643     1170

Junior Teacher’s Manual - - - - - - - - - -       100      125

Junior Work Books - - - - - - - - - - - - -       1266     1566

Intermediate-Senior Teacher’s Manual -        69       63

Intermediate Work Books - - - - - - - -          577      653

Total Manuals - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -       285      328

Total Work Books - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    3446     4237

With the end of the war and the removal of gas rationing, we expect that this year will see a great increase in the number of pupils attending our Summer Bible Schools. The three-year Summer Bible School course prepared by our Committee will be completed with the 1946 course. The 1946 course is as follows: Beginners-Primary Course, STORIES FROM THE LIFE OF DAVID. Junior course, GOD’S MISSIONARY BOOK (Acts); Senior-Intermediate Course, GOD AND THE ARTS. These courses are again prepared by Mrs. Charles Ellis, (Senior-Intermediate), Mrs. Richard Gray (Junior), Miss Margaret Duff (Beginners-Primary).  

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LESSONS

The Young People’s Lessons for the past year have been edited and partly written by the General Secretary. The following courses have been added to the list of lessons now available: The Christian Life, The Inspiration of the Scriptures, The Kingdom Parables, The Holy Spirit and Salvation, Practical Religion. With the close of the war it is to be hoped that many new societies will be started and that there will be a large increase in attendance at the meetings.

TRACT PUBLICATION

During the year the following tracts were reprinted: Communicant Church Membership, and A Tragic Mistake. The formation of the Tract-A-Month Club enabled us to publish a new short tract each month. Editions of 10,000 each were published. The following titles have been issued: ‘Atomic Bomb’, ‘Peace’, ‘Reconversion’, ‘Strike’, ‘United Nations’, ‘Fear’. These have all been written by Mr. Hamilton.

‘Teach’ and ‘The Orthodox Presbyterian Messenger’

Several issues of the magazine ‘Teach’ were issued at the beginning of the year, but this magazine was later combined in ‘The Orthodox Presbyterian Messenger’ published jointly with the Home and Foreign Missions Committees. This magazine is sent to each family in our church. It attempts to familiarize the members of our church with the work of the three standing committees.

Tract-Bulletin

The Tract-Bulletins have been continued during 'the past year with about the same number of subscribers. They can be secured with each church's own imprint for $1.25 per hundred if 2000 are paid for in advance, or $1.50 per 100 if paid for by the month as received. Each church can mimeograph its own notices and order of service on one side while the other side contains a gospel tract, to reach those outside the church. Each member of the church is expected to distribute the Tract Bulletin to four people each month, and to keep up such distribution month after month until they become interested in the local church. It is to be regretted that more churches do not use these Bulletins.

Tract Distribution

Free tracts have been mailed to most of the ministers, in the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. and to the ministers of the Christian Reformed Church. Evangelistic tracts have been sent to some men who distributed them to soldiers and others.

Finances

Contributions from the churches were greatly increased during the year because many churches contributed approximately fifteen per cent of the amount of their total benevolence budgets to the work of the Committee on Christian Education. The increase in the work of the Committee office during the next fiscal year, however, due to the contemplated publication of Primary Sunday School Lessons, will be so great that another full-time stenographer will probably have to be employed, thus greatly increasing the expenses of the work. The audited report of the Treasurer is found at the end of this report. The Committee has found it necessary in view of increased overhead costs to establish a policy of including a larger percentage of this cost in the prices of its materials. By charging prices more nearly adjusted to our total cost of production our Committee feels it can carry its increasing schedule of publications without requesting additional aid from the churches beyond the 15% of the benevolence budgets authorized by the Twelfth General Assembly. The Committee however, calls attention to its great need of receiving this full proportion of benevolence giving. This goal was not met in the past year, and while the budget of our committee is not based on our receiving the complete amount this year, it is based on a large increase in the number of churches giving this support.

The following Budget is proposed for 1946-1947:

Expenditures

Materials Acct.

Tracts – $1,000.00  

Summer Bible School – 800.00

Young People's Lessons – 60.00

Sunday School Lessons – 1,500.00

Salaries – 6,800.00

Travel:

General Secretary – 300.00

Committee Members – 150.00

Rent – 660.00

Telephone – 100.00

Water – 15.00

Office Supplies and Equipment – 630.00

Postage (office) – 100.00

Corporation Expense – 25.00

Audit – 50.00

Advertising – 100.00

Miscellaneous – 10.00

Guardian – 120.00

Total – $12,420.00

The following Financial Report for 1946-1946 had been prepared, by , Main and Company, the Auditors.

REPORT ON EXAMINATION

THE COMMITTEE ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF

THE ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, INC.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA  

MARCH 31, 1946

April 30, 1946

The Committee on Christian Education of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Inc.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Sirs:

In accordance with your authorization, we have examined the cash accounts of the treasurer of

THE COMMITTEE ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF THE ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, INC.

for the year ended March 31, 1946 and submit a statement of Cash Receipts and Disbursements for the year then ended.

Recorded receipts were reconciled in total to deposits as shown by statements rendered by the bank. We were unable to trace receipts directly to the individual recorded deposits because of the manner in which the receipts were deposited. All cash disbursements entries were supported by properly executed and cancelled checks. Such tests were made as were necessary to satisfy us as to the general propriety of disbursements, and as to the correct designation of recorded receipts. The balance in the bank at March 31, 1946 was confirmed by direct correspondence with the depository, Petty cash was checked by actual count.

During the period under examination, the Committee purchased a Vari-Typer machine at a cost of $625.00. Under the purchase agreement a down payment of $180.00 in Cash was made, the balance of $445.00 to be paid in monthly installments of $20.00 plus interest charges of 4%, payments to begin in January, 1947.

We express our appreciation for the courtesies extended to our representative during the course of examination.

Respectfully submitted,

(Signed) MAIN and COMPANY

Certified Public Accountants

STATEMENT OF CASH RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED MARCH 31,1946

THE COMMITTEE ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF

THE ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, INC.

Balance, April. 1, 1945

Cash-in Bank                                                    $694.88

Cash on Hand                                                       25.32       720.20

Receipts                                     

Gifts - General Fund                                       $5,529.11   

Gifts - Tract Distribution                                       73.40    5,602.51

Other Receipts:                         

Tracts Sold                                                     $1,567.68

Summer Bible School                                         678.38

Young People’s Lessons                                        91.36

Sunday School Lessons                                    1,396.50

Catechism Course                                                47.17

Miscellaneous Receipts: 

For Christmas Play                               $11.12 

For Mailing Expenses                            14.38

For Traveling Expenses                          83.39

For Supplies                                          17.45

Refunds                                                25.12    151.46     3,932.55

Total Available Cash                                                        $10,255.26

Disbursements

Materials Accounts:

Tracts                                                              $1,881.01

Summer Bible School                                          609.38

Young People’s Lessons                                         50.14

Sunday School Lessons                                        573.38

Catechism Course                                                 99.38   $3,213.29

Traveling Expenses:

Committee Meeting                                           $119.69

General Secretary                                 192.28    311.97

Office and Administrative Expenses:

Salaries                                                           $4,492.15

Rent                                                                    442.50

Telephone and Telegraph                       $99.45

Less: Refunds                                            1.11     98.34

Water                                                                   14.10

Office Supplies and Equipment: 

Down Payment on Vari-Typer                $180.00

Equipment for Vari-Typer                       108.84

Stationery and Mimeographing Material  210.93

Postage and Mailing Expense                  103.73

Supplies                                                  72.46

Repairs                                                     9.19                            

Addressograph Expense                             4.76     689.91    5,737.00

Other Disbursements:

Support of “The Messenger”                                $162.63

Audit                                                                      50.00

Corporation Expense                                               25.00

Miscellaneous                                                         23.60        261.23

Total Disbursements                                                           $9,523.49

Balance, March 31, 1946                                                        $731.77

Accounted for as follows:

Cash in Bank                                                                          $681.77

Petty Cash                                                                                50.00

                                                                                               $731.77

The terms of the following Committee members expire at this General Assembly:

Ministers: Eugene Bradford, Calvin K. Cummings, Burton L. Goddard.

Elders: Gordon H. Clark, Ph.D., H. Evan Runner.

The committee on Christian Education makes the following recommendations:

1. That the Assembly recommend that presbyteries elect committees to encourage the formation of Christian School Societies within their borders.

2. That the Assembly approve the Committee's plan to ask the churches that do not already do so to support its work to the extent of at least fifteen per cent of their benevolence budgets, with a goal of at least three cents per week per communicant member.

3. That the Assembly recommend that its churches consider providing scholar- ships to make it possible for their young people to attend the summer Bible conferences conducted by our ministers.

4. That the Assembly recommend to the churches the frequent reading of the Ten Commandments in the services of public worship.

5. That the Assembly recommend that churches, church organizations and church members seek to place the Westminster Theological Journal in theological, academic and public libraries in their respective communities.

6. That the Assembly recommend that churches and church organizations con- tribute as they are able to the support of Westminster Theological Seminary and that they make an effort to present the witness of the Seminary to pre-ministerial students in their respective communities.

7. That the Assembly recommend that churches and church organizations seek to acquaint the families of the local churches with The Presbyterian Guardian as a means of Christian education. Assembly:

Respectfully submitted,

THE COMMITTEE ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church

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