Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

ginnings."
DES
YOUNG PEOPLE'S
SECRETARY
oung People
the Synod was an interference with their
School. Many of the students served as
waitresses in the college dining room.
Meals were set at certain hours. No mat
ter what the lessons were about, or how
interesting they were, the School had to
dismiss in time to get the tables set for
Synod's meals. And, since Synod was not
scheduled to reconvene as early in the
afternoon as the school, the dining hall
personnel had to wait for Synod and its
guests to visit around the tables
which
is most certainly their pleasant privilege
and not infrequently
the afternoon
classes were delayed in getting started.
It seemed best therefore to set dates
when the students could give their full
time to their task. Hence the dates were
set for the week following Synod, June
14-21.
Since the Geneva College summer
school is under way by that time, and
their class rooms and dormitories are in
use, a request was made of the Semin
ary Board to conduct the School in the
seminary building. This request was
most graciously granted.
The School is to be under the direc
tion of Lie. R. Paul Robb, president of
the 1954 National Young People's Con
vention. He is giving the young people
this final service before he "graduates"
from their number into the membership
of Synod. His committee members are
Lie. Robert McCracken, and Miss Nancy
Mandeville, participants in the pro
grams of 1951 and 1952.
Because of limited facilities at the
seminary, the enrollment has been held
to 26 young people 13 boys and 13 girls.
These have been selected from a list of
nearly 100, recommended by
pastors and
others, from 36 congregations in all nine
presbyteries. The selection was made
prayerfully by the Leadership Training
School Committee and Synod's Young
People's Secretary. Where pastors gave
special recommendation to their .
nomi
nees, this was given particular weight by
the committee. Some who were chosen
at first have found they cannot attend,
and others from the recommended list
are being invited. During the School, the
boys will be housed in the seminary
building already used to boys and the
girls will be housed in Pittsburgh homes.
May 25, 1955
Every care is being taken to have the
group properly supervised. Board will be
furnished at cost, .and, following last
year's National Convention recommen
dation, the students will bear one-half
the expense, except for those chosen
to the Teams whose expenses will be
paid in full.
Courses in the School include Bible
Study and how to prepare it, Principles
of Christian Teaching and use of Visual
Aids, Recreation and Singing Leader
ship, Gospel Team work, and other mat
ters. Selected speakers will address the
School each evening.
For students who must travel when
their pastors come to Synod there may
be work opportunities during Synod
week,
and there are some prospects for
rides at least part way homeward.
The Service Teams
From the 26 young people at the
school, recommended as having leader
ship ability, three teams, if possible,
of two boys and two girls each will be
selected early in the school week, to re
ceive special instruction in Vacation Bi
ble School leadership
ties,
and other activi
and will then go into two congre
gations each, where there services are
requested. Applications for their services
have been sent to every congregation.
The teams will travel by
public con
veyance, and at minimum travel cost.
The congregations where they serve will
provide additional help in meeting their
expenses.
We thank God for the interest and
support He has given to the Young Peo
ple's program over "the years of be
We have learned some valu
able lessons, which we are trying hard
to integrate into the program of this
summer.
A deepening interest by Covenanter
young people in preparation for the
Lord's service throughout life, whether
in the ministry or the mission field, or
in the challenging prospects of Christian
service in the modern teaching, business
and industrial worlds, encourages us to
give to them the best in brief but earn
est training that we can provide, that
the coming leaders of the Church may
ever serve and glorify our Lord and Sav
iour Jesus Christ, always "aiming to live
end."
for the glory of God as our chief
From Recent Books
In Europe, America and elsewhere re
ligious thought is returning hopefully to
the Bible. The Bible has ever proven its
authority when men have turned to it in
times of crisis or calamity. It does not
yield its deepest secrets when ap
proached in a faithless or negative at
titude. But when men reverently and
lovingly turn to it as the Word of God,
or to discover honestly if it be the
Word of God, the search is rewarding
and deeply satisfying.
It was belief in the authority of the
Bible which gave rise to the Reforma
tion principle
of universal education.
This principle was brought to the new
world by our founding fathers. Why,
then, should Christian education desert
the very attitude which gave rise to the
American system of public education
From ABIDING VALUES IN CHRIS
TIAN EDUCATION
by Harold C. Mason
(Fleming H. Revell Company)
A
great Latvian Christian said to
some of us a short time ago, "Twenty
million Communists are taking the
world away from six hundred million
Christians."
There are only twenty mil
lion really dedicated Communists on the
party rolls of the Communist party, and
there are six hundred million enrolled
Christians !
When we look at the corruption in
public life
both state and national
when we look at the racial and national
prejudice still rampant in the world,
when we consider the very unpleasant
fact that one out of every twelve people
in the United States is either neurotic
or emotionally or mentally confused, it
doesn't make us feel very
effective as
Christians, does it If we were more vi
tal, if we were more dedicated, if we
were really channels of God's holy pow
er and energy, these conditions would
not continue to exist, and Communism
would have no appeal. Communism has
no appeal to people who are well fed,
both physically and spiritually; it ap
peals to the physically and spiritually
starved. If the Christian Church were a
pillar of fire leading the peoples of the
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