wfn.org | "Historic" Uniform Series "Now Meets 21st Century Needs"

[Carol Fouke <carolf@ncccusa.org>]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Info/Sample Lesson/Photos: NCC News, 212-870-2227/2252
E-mail: news@ncccusa.org; Web: www.ncccusa.org
NCC3/8/02 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HISTORIC UNIFORM SERIES NOW MEETS 21ST CENTURY NEEDS

March 8, 2002, NEW YORK CITY - A remarkable, 130-year exercise in Christian
unity quietly undergirds the church school lessons millions use every week.

The "Uniform Series International Bible Lessons for Christian Teaching" are
prepared and used by Christians of widely diverse theologies and
understandings of Scripture.  Moveover, they help 21st century children,
youth and adults apply Scripture to such life challenges as loss,
disability, racism, drugs and cults.

The "Uniform Series" has its origins in a resolution of the National Sunday
School Convention, meeting in Indianapolis, Ind., April 16-19, 1872.  The
convention asked for "a general study of the whole Bible," and recommended
the lessons' "adoption by the Sunday schools of the whole country."

The first International Lesson Committee was appointed at that Convention,
thus beginning the historic work that continues to this day.  Various
institutional mergers along the course of U.S. ecumenical history brought
the work into the National Council of Churches at the NCC's founding, in
1950.

The NCC Committee on the Uniform Series meets annually for a one-week work
session (this year, March 15-21 in Orlando, Fla.), followed by interim
assignments.

The 46 writers, editors and Bible scholars hail from 18 mainline, historic
African American and evangelical denominations, ranging from the United
Methodist Church to the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., and
from the Church of God (Anderson, Ind.) to the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church.  After a hard work week of study, debate and prayer together, they
invariably reach accord on another year of outlines and lesson guides.

"The overwhelming sense of the group during the week is that God is with us
and it's our job first to listen," said Marvin Cropsey, Editor of Adult
Study Resources for the United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, Tenn.,
a nine-year member of the Committee on the Uniform Series who will serve as
its chair for the next two years.

"I can't see how it would work without God willing it to work," he said.
"When you look at the wide variety of theologies and understandings of what
Scripture really is and at how the different denominations operate, for them
to come together annually to create the foundations for a common Bible study
is more than remarkable.  It's just stunning.  It's powerful.  It's the most
important and wonderful week I have every year."

To give curriculum writers and publishers plenty of time to work with the
outlines, the team works several years in advance.  At this year's March
15-21 working meetings in Orlando, the team will finish outlines for
2005-2006 and sketch out plans for 2007-2010.

Dr. Mary Love, Editor for Church School Literature for the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church, Charlotte, N.C., is the committee's outgoing chair.
She remarked at how lessons prepared years in advance prove uncannily
relevant at their appointed time of use.

"For example, right after September 11, we moved into a study on 'The Light
for All People,'" she said.  "Several members of my denomination asked how
we knew we would be coming out of a period of darkness and seeking light.
How could we know?  We didn't know!  It had to be God."

Under Dr. Love's leadership, the Committee on the Uniform Series has
implemented a new format, which includes a "matrix" of new resources for
curriculum writers.  The first new "Guide for Lesson Development 2004-2005"
was published last year.

Each lesson includes a theme and goals, noting special considerations for
children, youths and adults.  "Learner," "Scripture," "Faith Interaction,"
"Teaching Strategies" and "Special Interest" matrices provide additional
guidance for curriculum writers - and, ultimately, a richer end product.

For example, "Special Interest" notes help learners accept their own and
others' differences; relate the Exodus to the civil rights struggle;
distinguish appropriate Christian commitment from cults; interpret Bible
texts about healing when physical illness or disability persists; deal with
loss; put concern for others into action, and more.

"Different cultures even within North America will look at Scripture
differently," Mr. Cropsey said.  "For example, when Paul so glibly talks
about slavery, those passages are going to have special meanings and really
create some pain or concern for cultures that have experienced slavery in
the past.

"When Jesus heals paralytics, how is this Scripture to be received by
someone who uses a wheelchair and has no expectation of living without that
chair?  What does healing mean in those circumstances?  In our new 'Guide
for Lesson Development' we open up such lessons for a deeper, more
insightful discussion than ever before."

"The outlines have been wonderful for decades, but now we know so much more
about how people learn and how faith is developed and supported," Mr.
Cropsey said.  "That's what it's really about.  It's about presenting God's
word in meaningful ways for the 21st century."

The Committee on the Uniform Series is part of the National Council of
Churches' Ministries in Christian Education, an umbrella for 14 ecumenical
"teams" working in diverse areas of educational ministry.  These program
committees and project teams represent the work that the denominations do
together to support local congregations in educational ministries.

The National Council of Churches is the nation's leading ecumenical agency,
with 36 Protestant and Orthodox member communions comprising 50 million
adherents.

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