Article December 17, 1949 Issue

Further Notes on Procedure and Practices

On page 127 of the Church Manual our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, has set forth the Order of Exercises for the Christian Science Sunday School, and in Article XX of the Manual she provides for the instruction which shall be given. In accordance with the Manual provision for the democracy of the branches of The Mother Church (Sections 1 and 10 of Article XXIII) each branch makes its own rules for carrying out the details of the work. In their by-laws some branches cover briefly only the general conduct of the Sunday School so that any details may be altered as experience or changing situations may warrant without changing the by-laws. Often the only by-law relating to the Sunday School is one which provides that the Sunday School shall be conducted in conformity with the Manual provisions.

Among other provisions, some by-laws specify whether the superintendent shall be elected by the membership or appointed by the executive board, and some include a provision for the appointment of Sunday School teachers, specifying whether the final decision shall rest with the superintendent, the Sunday School committee, if there is one, or the executive board.

Many branches prepare a printed sheet or leaflet of instructions for Sunday School teachers and officers. These instructions usually relate to registration and enrollment, the time when teachers are expected to report at their posts, the reporting of expected absences on the part of teachers, the number of meetings of teachers and officers to be held annually, and so on.

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