wfn.org | Team makes Sunday school plans relevant years in advance

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 2, 2003 News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.  
  ALL{477}

NOTE: Head-and-shoulders photos of the Rev. Carmichael Crutchfield, Patrice
Rosner, the Rev. Wellington Johnson and Marvin Cropsey are available.

By Linda Green*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Every week, Christians in nearly 40 denominations
open their Sunday school books to the same lesson.

When the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks occurred, those Sunday school
classes were studying a theme titled, "The Light for All People." The lessons
focused on moving from darkness to light, and seemed tailored to the needs of
Christians dealing with the emotional devastation of the attacks. Little did
the classes realize their lesson theme had been developed years in advance.

"How could we know? We didn't know. It had to be God," says Mary Love, former
chairwoman of the Uniform Series Committee of the National Council of
Churches. 

The committee develops the International Lesson Series, used as a basis for
Sunday school and Bible study curriculum by 44 million Protestants, including
United Methodists. The committee's eight-member Cycle Planning Team designs
the themes in six-year cycles and ensures that the material is relevant. The
team of Christian educators, curriculum planners and writers met Sept. 24-27
to choose themes for 2010-16. 

"We cannot totally see what Bible study will look like in 2010, but the
Committee on the Uniform Series has been in the process of trying to be more
relevant to the needs of those who use the lessons," says the Rev. Carmichael
Crutchfield, team chairperson. Crutchfield is a Christian education staff
executive for the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tenn.   

The committee, meeting next March, comprises 46 writers, editors and biblical
scholars from 18 mainline, African-American and evangelical churches.

Patrice Rosner, associate general secretary for education at the National
Council of Churches in New York, explains that while the team creates "lesson
skeletons," the publishing arms of the denominations and independent
publishers recruit writers to "put the flesh, muscle and bone to it." 

The Cycle Planning Team provides the framework, scope and lesson sequence for
the Uniform Series Committee. The actual lessons will be written several
years from now, she says.

The biggest challenge is making those lessons relevant for developing faith
and changing lives 15 years in the future, says Marvin Cropsey, chairperson
of the Uniform Series Committee and director of adult Bible school studies
for the United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville.

"We are not about academic Bible study. We are about helping people use the
Bible to change their lives," Cropsey says.

How can a group develop relevant Bible study so far in advance?

"Only by the grace of God," Crutchfield says. "We spend time in prayer with
each other and in being open to the movement of God's spirit. Through
discussion, we come to consensus and pray that it is God's will."    

The themes for the Sunday school lessons beginning in fall 2010 revolve
around God, creation, hope, justice, faith, community, worship and
tradition/heritage

"We really do not know what is going to be relevant, but the themes chosen
are themes that have been relevant throughout the centuries in the church and
in society," Crutchfield says. "We do not believe that we have chosen any
themes that are irrelevant today and certainly don't think they will be
irrelevant later on."

Rosner, a member of the Disciples of Christ Church, calls the creation theme
and others in the Bible timeless. 

"As a theme, (the creation) can stand for a long, long time," but how it
looks in any particular year is different, she says. "We don't know what
issues related to creation, ecology, nature, preservation (or) stewardship of
the earth will look like in 2016, but we know that it is going to be an issue
that people will deal with in some way."

Team member Wellington Johnson emphasizes the central importance of teaching
about God and how God is revealed in Jesus Christ. Johnson, the director of
the Sunday School Publishing Board of the National Baptist Convention in
Nashville, explains why the group's work today will be fashionable tomorrow.

"God never changes," he says. "The same God that exists here in 2003 will be
the same God in 2010. The standards of righteousness and holiness and what
God demands of human beings will always remain the same." And themes
addressing violence, abuse and justice will remain relevant, he says.

Like fashion designers who influence trends and opinions, Johnson says the
team attempts to "use God's word to shape our culture so that it conforms
with biblical mandates for us to treat one another justly regardless of our
ethnicity, our racial identity, our gender or our religious background."

Denominations have different tenets and polities, and the team members often
must set aside their differences when they meet to outline Sunday school
lessons. 

"This group works with the Holy Spirit," Cropsey says. "We have confidence in
the Scriptures, we have a call on the Holy Spirit, and we have trust and love
for each other."

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*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer.

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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