Friday in Emmanuel Missionary College
By M. Bessie DeGraw
Of all the days of the week, Friday is one of the most interesting to both students and teachers of Emmanuel Missionary College. Under ordinary circumstances Friday is not an unusual day. Once upon a time it was not different from other days of the week in our school. True, the Lord has said that it is the preparation day, and theoretically Sabbath-keepers recognize that fact, but our school work used to progress on Friday much the same as on Thursday. Possibly toward the close of the day there might be a general rush to complete the work before the beginning of the Sabbath. Otherwise there was little to distinguish it from the rest of the week. But things have changed. Last year the Sabbath question was studied by the students. The Bible was searched for truth, and the spirit of prophecy was also read. In the course of the study, the following quotation from Volume VI of the Testimonies was read:— “We should jealously guard the edges of the Sabbath. Remember that every moment is consecrated, holy time. Whenever it is possible employers should give their workers the hours from Friday noon until the beginning of the Sabbath. Give them time for preparation, that they may welcome the Lord’s day with quietness of mind. By such a course you will suffer no loss, even in temporal things.”
Immediately action was taken by the students and teachers, in harmony with this suggestion, that on Friday afternoon no regular work should be done in any of the departments, but that that portion of the day should be devoted to preparation for the Sabbath. It meant that in the building department all work closed at noon on Friday; that on the farm the horses were brought up, and all work stopped at dinner-time. It meant, too, that the home work was arranged with the same object in view; and that when the bell rang at sunset on Friday afternoon, our students were prepared to welcome the Sabbath. Stepping out thus in harmony with the instruction of the Lord, brought a blessing. Naturally, when the matter was suggested, the question arose as to whether we could afford to do this or not. Could the student who is obliged to make his school expenses by work afford to lose a half day’s work? Could the institution afford to do this? But there stood the promise that the Lord is able to make up what, from a financial standpoint, might appear to be a loss; and I believe he has done this. But this is not the only reason that Friday is an unusual day in Emmanuel Missionary College. The institution was removed to the country in order that industrial training might be exalted to a position of equal importance with intellectual culture. In the training of workers, three phases of education call for equal recognition,—the industrial work, the intellectual, and the practical missionary work. These three phases of the work, so often separate and distinct, are in this institution very closely united. Every student has the privilege of understanding the inner workings of every department of the school. Friday morning is devoted in a special manner to the manual training work. To illustrate, there is a farm committee which is now considering all problems connected with the farm,—the best methods of cultivating different portions of the land; the trees which should be set in the fall; how the corn should be cared for during the winter; what should be done with the stock; and all the various questions which naturally come to the farmer and the fruit man. There is the fuel and light committee, which has problems of its own. How shall the wood on the lowland be cut for winter purposes? In what way shall the school buildings be protected against fire? Plans for caring for the different buildings, for keeping up the grounds, etc., belong to this committee. Its duties are varied. The boarding-club committee must wrestle with all problems connected with feeding the members of the school family, the purchase of all food supplies, the cost of board, etc., as well as the education of young women in the domestic arts. There is a committee on law and order, which deals with all irregularities in attendance upon school duties. The laundry committee has its distinctive duties. These various committees, with others that have not been mentioned by name, hold their meetings Friday morning. These are not committee meetings in the usually accepted sense of that term, but are classes in which the problems of the day are studied and disposed of. After these classes have met, the students and teachers hold what is known as a union meeting, and the various committees report. They do not only tell what they themselves have done, but the lessons which they have had, and the problems with which they are wrestling are presented to the entire school. This puts every student in direct connection with every department of the school. Problems which the farmer must settle are studied in this union meeting. Proper combinations of food, what is best to purchase for winter supplies, how best to care for the fruit, the organization of a fire brigade, a husking bee, the union of all departments for a half day in wood chopping,—these are some of the questions which come before this union body, and which all have a voice in deciding. Should one wish to catch the spirit which pervades the work of Emmanuel Missionary College, I know of no better opportunity than to spend Friday in the school. There is another day, Sunday, which has a special interest, and concerning which I hope to tell at a later time.