| The Sunday School Of Yesteryear
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I am indebted to the late Mrs M Wright, a
long time member of Kensington Mission, for the next three photographs.
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Mr Walter Hudson, Sunday School Secretary supervises
the children on Albany Street where the Anniversary parade paused
for a song and a prayer.
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And Mr Harris who always led the parade keeps a
watchful eye on the banner whilst those "Sunday Best"
dresses are still very much in evidence.
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"Our Cause is God's" - a group photo
outside the Mission circa 1960. |
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This next piece was written in 1999 in response
to a request for a hymn for a special service at the URC and
recalls some more Sunday School memories. |
I Am So Glad...
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Schooldays, if we are to believe the old adage, are among
the happiest in our lives although I’m not sure all schoolteachers
would necessarily agree with this. Youngsters still at school
too may at times find it hard to believe but as they have not
yet experienced life after school, this is quite understandable.
It is a known fact though, that as we pass through the ageing
process, the memories of earlier times tend to become rosier.
If I think back now to summer holidays when I was still at school,
there always seemed to be hot sunny days with blue skies. Lazy
days when thoughts of homework and exams were banished. In my
memory rainy days did not exist at all, or at worst were few
and far between.
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Kensington Mission,
sadly now demolished. |
But if we go a little further than “Schooldays are the
happiest in our lives” I would suggest that “Sunday
School days were the cream of those schooldays”. I still
have strong and precious memories of Anniversary and Prize Giving
Days, of annual outings to Matlock and the return journey on
the top deck of a Barton’s bus - everyone singing “Ten
Green Bottles” and “One Man Went To Mow” all the
way back; trips to Drayton Manor Park and Derby’s Markeaton
Park. Now there’s a day to remember!
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The day we went to Markeaton, it did rain. In fact
it poured. Weather-wise, it was an atrocious day and we ended
up back at Kensington Mission on Nottingham Road for our picnic
which was followed by party games like “Spinning The Plate”
and “Musical Chairs”. Although disappointed at the
time, it gave us the opportunity to share Christian fellowship
together and I am so glad I was part of it. The moral
for youngsters today is “Enjoy your time in Sunday School
for in future years, when you look back, you will undoubtedly
have cherished memories of this time”.
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It was at Sunday School too that I first met my future spouse
and as we approach the 32nd anniversary of married life this
year (i.e 1999), I am so glad I did. It has not been plain
sailing throughout all those years but our Christian upbringing
and support for each other has enabled us to build on that strong
Sunday School foundation.When we were asked to choose a hymn
from our Sunday School days for a special morning service in
September 1999 we both eagerly said "Yes". We always
used Ira D Sankey‘s compilation of “Sacred Songs and
Solos” as our hymnbook at the Mission so on looking through
a well thumbed copy, any of literally hundreds from the collection
of twelve hundred it contains could have been selected. There
are many things in this life to be glad about but the main one
is summed up in the chorus of our choice “I am so glad
that Jesus loves me”.
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