Have you ever stopped to think about the Christian Science Sunday School and why it is so important? In my position of Sunday School Support Lead for the Church Activities Department of The Mother Church in Boston, Massachusetts, I think about this a lot.
I regularly meet with individual branch Churches of Christ, Scientist, and in almost every meeting about Sunday School, I have asked, “What is a Christian Science Sunday School, really?” During these meetings, people have shared a wide spectrum of wonderful ideas. I might summarize their answers this way: A Christian Science Sunday School preaches the gospel with authenticity. In other words, students learn the Scriptures, including the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Sermon on the Mount (see Mary Baker Eddy, Church Manual, pp. 62–63), not like a subject in school, but like a melody that reaches the heart. Sunday School for both the teacher and students is about discovering the good news (the gospel) from the Scriptures and singing it with our lives.
From my own Sunday School teaching experience, I have to admit that I haven’t always focused on preaching the gospel with authenticity like this. “Teaching” the Bible to the students was more the basis of my teaching. I knew the importance of the Scriptures and I believed their truth, but perhaps I didn’t fully understand the significance of my role in bringing the Word to life through my thoughts, my words, and my actions. Looking back, I see that at times this resulted in approaching my role in Sunday School academically instead of allowing my teaching to be a result of my active exercise of the gospel.
