Facing Tomorrow, Understanding Yesterday, A History of Orange ...

The Sunday School Movement and
Orange Church
FACING TOMORROW, UNDERSTANDING YESTERDAY 11
Although political problems made unity among Methodists in the United
Statesalmost impossible for years, the Methodist Episcopal Church
(North,South, and at Orange) continued to work for the advancement of
God'skingdom in their own ways. Orange Church, which served a
predominantly agricultural community, adapted many of the
denomination'sprograms to serve the special needs of its congregation.
Oneactivity that played an important role in developing the Orange
Churchrole in the neighborhood was Sunday School.
SundaySchool as such began in Great Britain in 1769 when a young
Methodistwoman discovered that the program could be used to teach
childrenhow to read and write while, at the same time, promoting a closer
walkwith God. A Gloucester philanthropist began backing the program
in1781,and by 1783, an article about the new church school caught] ohn
Wesley'seye. With Wesley publicizing the Sunday School program and
urgingthose who adhered to Methodism to begin such classes, the
movementgrew within Methodist congregations. Bishop Asbury introducedthe
movement in the United States in 1786, where the first classes
wereheld in Hanover County, Virginia.
Sunday Schools grew slowly in the United States until the annual
conferenceof 1790 adopted a resolution that asked Methodists to "labor,
asthe heart and soul of one man, to establish Sunday Schools in or near
the place of public worship. Let persons be appointed by the bishop,
elders,deacons, or preachers to teach (gratis) all that willattend and have
acapacityto learn; from six o'clock in the morning until ten, and from two
o'clockin the afternoon til six; where it does not interfere with public
worship.The council shall compile a proper schoolbook, to teach them
learningand piety."15
Methodists soon put that statement into practice. In a time before
publicschool educations were readily available for children, the Sunday
Schoolsthat they established were designed to provide children with an
educationand to keep them out of trouble as well as to teach the
youngstersabout] esus. The multiple mission ofthe early Sunday Schools,
however,was more than most teachers could handle. They soon abandonedthe
idea of providing children with a general education and began
using the Sunday hours to provide children solely with a religious
education.
Wehave no record of Sunday School at Orange Church prior to 1879,
butweare confident there was a Sunday School here before that time. We
dohave a roll book from 1879 and know that on April 6, 1879, thirteen
scholarsand three teachers were on the roll. All were present on that Sunday School Group Picture circa 1900s