Sunday School

 

Sunday school was a must

When I was growing up,

Fifty years hence

It’s not many people’s cup.

For me it was Sunday morning

And in the evening too:

In the morning at my church

But in the evening a relative few.

I remember Sister Estwick

A very sweet old lady

That rang her bell on Sundays

To gather everybody.

Some walked behind her

To the open-air school

Where we learned memory verses

And recited the golden rule.

We sometimes received sweets

And other confectionary

As well as Bible tracts

That told interesting stories.

The benches were kept

At a nearby residence

And though they took up much space

We weren’t charged a cent.

They were often were put out

By the first children to get there

And they were eagerly wiped off

With the most diligent care.

There are many Bible lessons

That I can still recall

Which I learnt at Sunday school

With memory passages and all.

We were always encouraged

To take Jesus into our hearts,

It was definitely at Sunday school

Where I got my Christian start.

  

We were regularly told

That if we wanted to go to heaven

We must confess our sins to Jesus

So that they could be forgiven.

At the end of each session

We sang an invitation song

But at the beginning of the service

We sang “Come Along, Come Along”.

“Into my heart, into my heart,

Come into my heart Lord Jesus,”

And O, how we would respond

Whenever we sang this chorus.

Sunday school was good to us

And kept us out of the law courts

For when it came to Sunday school

Our parents didn’t make sport.

I thank God for Sister Estwick,

Aunt Pearl and my other teachers,

Today I teach Sunday school

And I am also a preacher.

My life, though not flawless,

Has been on a godly trend,

I owe much of it to Sunday school

And the fact that I still attend.

I doubt there are many in prison

That ever attended Sunday school

But if there are any at all

Then they must have been fools.

“Bend the tree when it is young,”

That’s what Sunday school did

But certainly not for those children

That from Sunday school hid.

I did not have a choice

And I am glad that I had to go,

You see because of Sunday school

I’ve got quite a lot to show.

Stewart Russell © March 2019