Across the Prairie in a Motor Caravan: A 3,000 Mile Tour by Two Englishwomen on Behalf of Religious EducationHasell, Frances Hatton Eva
Religion
Across the Prairie in a Motor Caravan: A 3,000 Mile Tour by Two Englishwomen on Behalf of Religious Education
Hasell, Frances Hatton Eva
Missions -- Canada
That night we gave our promised picture talk around the caravan. We had
a mixed congregation of Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and Lutherans. The
children seemed most interested, and would hardly go away. The
Anglicans were without a clergyman at present, and they felt this
privation very keenly. They had had one of the Railway Mission clergy,
who had lived here and worked the surrounding district. The four
missioners who had served this district at different times had all been
killed in the War. Now no one was forthcoming owing to the distressing
dearth of clergy. Everything was ready should anyone be sent. Monetary
support was guaranteed. The vicarage was a nice little two-roomed shack
with a garage and Ford car all complete. The church was dusty from long
disuse, and Winifred spent all Saturday cleaning it. The furniture had
been made by one of the congregation. It was of some dark wood and of
very original design. The asphalt path from the church to the vicarage
had been laid by a Roman Catholic neighbour. This same spirit of
goodwill was shown when I went to buy gasolene and oil from a Youngstown
Roman Catholic. He refused to take any money for it, saying that he was
glad to help on religious work amongst the children.
On Sunday we held a Sunday school at 3 p.m. The children were most eager
for instruction; they knew almost nothing, poor little things. In the
evening we had a service for adults in the church. A man took the
collection in his hat because they could find nothing else. He carried
it up the aisle and gave it to me, and as I laid it on the altar I felt
that it was a more acceptable offering than many a laden alms dish
offered that night in some rich cathedral. Here, as in many places, we
were asked who paid us. When we explained that we were not paid, it
seemed to give the people a better grasp of spiritual things. In this
country of growing materialism, in which the monetary value of a thing
is of first importance, it was difficult for them to understand anyone
doing honorary work. They began to think religious education must be of
real importance when they saw that we considered the work its own
reward. The congregation asked us to keep the collection money for our
work, so we thanked them and promised to use it towards paying for the
pictures which we left at each place.
In all the parishes which we visited we left a dozen Nelson pictures
backed on linen, with wooden slips top and bottom so that they could be
hung up in the church, and also some small Nelson pictures for use in
class, as well as lesson books of different grades. Where the Canadian
Sunday School magazine was in use the teachers found these additional
books useful to supplement it both in matter and method.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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