A group of children from Orchard Park Bible Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., carry signs celebrating the 200th birthday of Sunday school as Kathy and Alfred Guenther present keepsakes to the children. In 1780, Robert Raikes started Sunday school in Gloucester, England, as a way to teach lower-class children morals and religion. Although Sunday school is standard practice today, its development was slow in some Mennonite circles due to their understanding of adult baptism and church membership. The first Canadian Mennonite Sunday school was established in 1840 in Waterloo County, Ont. A plaque is maintained at Wanner Mennonite Church, Ont., in commemoration of this event.
For more historical photos in the Mennonite Archival Image Database (MAID), see https://archives.mhsc.ca/
Photo provided by the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies.
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