Sunday School

In a corner of one village church I found an area that was laid out as a Sunday School. From a cultural point of view, the transfer of ethical values increasingly depends upon voluntary efforts such as these (schools have stopped bothering – in any case the last thing we want is the politicisation of ethics by the government via the National Curriculum). But in a dog-eat-dog world, is it necessarily to a child’s benefit that they are taught traditional Christian values (several parents I know are bringing their children up to be selfish and amoral)?



Above: Small chairs set around a low table. They are the sort of chairs that will make a scraping sound on the floor every time they are moved. The children have hedgehog toys to play with.



Above: On a window ledge were these paper angels, grouped conspiratorially.



Above: The children are obviously doing a project on the needs of the wider world. The dolls are in various kinds of national dress. The child’s map shows Africa, the Indian sub-continent, and an indeterminate continent with palm trees.



Above: There is a “garden” populated with tiny paper people. They could well be representations of footballers as the shirts seem to be in national colours (photograph taken during the period of the recent World Cup). Someone must come in each day to water the plants.



Above: High on the wall was an illustration from children’s hymn All Things Bright And Beautiful. Judging by the 1920s hairstyles the picture must have hung there for eighty years or so, informing the passing generations about flowers that open and birds with tiny wings. The hymn was written by Cecil Alexander in 1848 and set to a 17th century English melody.



Above: Forgotten in a corner was this portrait of a former incumbent (or possibly curate?). Undoubtedly an High Anglican priest in the holy order of Melchezidek, dating I would guess from the early 1930s. What do the children make of this remote image – will they take through life a sub-conscious memory of the face of God, benevolently watching over them?