Prayer for Sunday School
From a Sunday School superintendent: At one time I was feeling discouraged about church members' involvement in the Sunday School. The teacher of one class had decided to withdraw from teaching, and I still had not found anyone to be assistant superintendent. In fact my efforts to find someone to fill these positions had left me feeling like a door-to-door salesman of very shoddy goods. I felt a great number of doors had been slammed in my face. Frustrated, I looked up at a quotation from Mary Baker Eddy that had been placed on the wall of our Sunday School. "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need" (Science and Health). I asked myself, "Do I really believe that?" This statement is a great challenge to the human perception of lack—in this case the seeming lack of support for church. It stands as a spiritual fact that calls upon every Christian Scientist to prove it daily. That truth began to work on me as I opened my thought to it. It rebuked the false sense of overwhelming responsibility that I had been feeling as superintendent. It stated firmly that I was not going to meet this human need; divine Love was. My responsibility was to trust divine Love and listen for divine guidance. This meant letting go of the panicky desire to phone up practically anyone and everyone to fill the teaching position.
Even though time was getting short, I vowed not to phone anyone until I felt a clear leading from God. This commitment to "wait on God" did open my thought up to divine guidance. Soon after, one woman's name kept coming to mind to call about teaching the class. At first, however, it didn't make any sense. She was already working as a Christian Science nurse, and she was expecting a child as well. She already seemed to have quite a full agenda, but the idea kept coming back to me to call her. I did call, and, to my surprise, she was enthusiastic about teaching in the Sunday School. She started two weeks later, and, during her time teaching the class, brought that same enthusiasm to her teaching every week. About a year later she had to leave teaching regularly in the Sunday School to fulfill other commitments, but unlike the previous occasion, this time I did not panic. I had already gained a deeper sense of the truth that divine Love does meet every human need, and I began to affirm this. I soon found another person to teach the class—a person as rightly suited to the responsibility as she had been.
I'm grateful to be in the Sunday School. It is a place where everyone who participates, superintendents included, gets to learn valuable lessons about the power of God's love.
A musical thank-you
I just wanted to share how the inspiration I received from the Christmas articles in the December 1991 edition of the Journal became a practical gift for our community.
As I read the articles in the Journal, I began to think about what a wonderful and loving gift the writers give to us by sharing their inspiration in this way. I thought about the skill and dedication the authors express, and it made me ponder deeply the meaning of a line from a hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal: "Love's work and Love must fit." I thought about Mrs. Eddy's great love for church and for all churches. Then I understood the message from those two lines of thought.
I am an independent piano teacher. I was touched by the Christmas gift of Journal articles and wanted to share that Christmas spirit. And I knew that my students are Love's children and that their work as musicians is an expression of divine Love. Many of the students have church affiliations of their own, although a few do not. So I spoke with each of them about giving a Christmas present—not the kind you wrap up and hand out but the kind that says "thank you" and shares the spirit of Christmas with others. We talked about the importance of serving as church musicians. We spoke about Bach and the other great masters who had "church roots." All of the students were receptive, eager, and willing to share.
I compiled a list of the various works that each student had accomplished which would be appropriate for the Christmas season. I contacted the local ministers and let them know what we wanted to do and gave them a list of the students they had available to them in their congregations. We discussed what the level of ability was and how experienced each student was. The local pastors were very responsive. Some students were called upon to play the offertory for the service itself, and others served in Sunday School programs. Those students who had no church affiliation offered to play at a church that invited them to share in their Christmas services. All the parents were delighted to have this opportunity for their children. This was our gift to the churches of the community, and the inspiration came from the Journal articles. Love's children were out there doing their work.
"What response from cherishing the fundamentals!"
During the period when I was Sunday School superintendent, I had the privilege of seeing regular attendance double in a year— from about seventeen to thirty-five or forty.
We held regular workshops to improve the quality of teaching and discuss specific problems. A monthly communication was sent to every parent and teacher.
Parents of all regular students from first grade up were asked to provide students with their own set of books—the Bible and Science and Health. (Financial assistance was available.) Each student was asked to bring to Sunday School his or her books.
A little later, parents were asked to have their children read the lesson each week or read it to them (from the preschool class up).
The amount of prayer that went into these two steps cannot be overstated. But as resistance was overcome, we soon had 90 percent of the students bringing books and 75 percent reading the lesson.
The result was a dramatic increase in attendance, visitors, and new students. What response from cherishing the fundamentals!
Parents working together
Some time ago a group of parents at our church created the "Family Support Committee." The purpose of this committee is to "support the desire of parents with young children to study in our Reading Room." This committee provides child care once a week for all interested parents, members, and visitors. These parents report that this regular study enables them to meet the many challenging circumstances that often face parents today, and during this time every seat in our Reading Room is filled!
A parent reported: "I have received a great sense of calmness from my weekly study in the Reading Room. It enables me to care for my family more peacefully. I have also received warm support from the other parents who are actively and effectively practicing Christian Science for themselves and their families."
