Sunday School Roundtable: Super Superintendents

6 Responses to “Sunday School Roundtable: Super Superintendents”

1. 1. Mr. Raymond Kenneth Petry ~ January 31st, 2008
   

   Firstly: I was brought-up in Sunday School … nice … but it presents the problem too–

   Christian Science, is adequate for all mankind … but when one considers the range that is meant, it must be -that- Christian Science that is divine Science as it applies to humanity….

   Ask yourself: Can you teach the child of the Leader of your Church…?

   Put it another way: How do, you, distinguish God from man, when Mrs. Eddy did not claim to be a God, a Christ, a Pope (a Mome) …?

   (goddess, aka, wogod, the female of god: cf woman, the female of man)

   Humankind has this coming at it in every way: that humanity believes it is a creator of men: of children; that it’s ‘divine exemplar’ put-off the old man of father-on-earth (on-Earth); that it believes children know their fathers and their sins or else the children are blind to sin … but is that a true choice?– What if the children see the truth, even if their ‘father’s are blinded by the general assumptions of mankind … Are you honest if you believe children bring or can bring their problems to Sunday School … they don’t have…?

   (We read this in the Sentinel: about teenagers having problems.)

   For example, My dad tried making wine from the grapes on the fence in the backyard (tended grapes not of knowing both good and evil times) … But I not only did not pretend complaint that he was making the fruit of the laziness of mankind that spoils and turns alcoholic, though I heard that he got something akin to vinegar rather than wine,– but rather I assumed he was trying his experiment to find the -right- way to make wine: I, assumed, that there was a moment before the grapes turned, that the grapes tasted best … well, You know how much a child knows … But that’s the problem: Mrs. Eddy said that the effort put toward a proper result makes the effort possible to achieve … Now do you see the problem?– Did he, achieve it? Did he stop when he got the achievement…? … Decades later, recently, I found the true ‘wine’ of milk, when I’d prepared my daily cream-and-sugar (golden brown sugar: my version of milk-and-honey), in a combination of little events: I managed to put new milk in an old carton (day-before), and several hours later I tasted it and found it the ’super-tastiest’ milk I’d ever tasted: Its flavor was a special sweetness … amplified … but a few hours later it was spoiled and I chucked it … But, I did prove what I’d though my dad had tried to achieve: the perfect moment before it spoils … Had I had a refrigerator, I could have extended it, but, I’d had my fill, and in science we find not just the best way to do things humanly, but how to distinguish right from wrong … not just preference in taste, but how to recognize and achieve the good achievement: the ripe … point being: I’d proven what I’d assumed … because as a true child I knew the truth … so,–

   How do you distinguish God from man…?

   Moses said, I AM THAT I AM … but the child hears I am, that I-AM: German distinguishes, Das and Dass, -and they had a big problem with leaders-…. Man’s oneness with God must be distinguishable because it, is, the Truth of being the child of the Leader … Llike Solomon, I had a father on earth too because I sought Truth first…. something Jesus could not understand because he was an Egyptian orphan (but this I learned later about him: It gets really bad about him when you find he had the wrong story on Satan and thereby infracted the Ten Commandments by bearing false witness).

   The real problems children have, are, translating what teachers say, into what the child knows, when it knows, when it’s listening to Truth … That is the real mean of super-intending … Are you up, to super-intending…?

   Ray.

   Condamn this form: You put the Submit before the antispamcheck………..! (It did not show onscreen when I Clicked the Submit Comment button– and I do not need to try error: I said I found I was right, not wrong: not a sinner.)

2. 2. Jeanne Fetner ~ February 4th, 2008
   

   Can the Superintendent’s chat be pulled up on Real Audio or Media similar to the chats on spirituality.com? It is so easy to find the archived chats on spirituality.com and I’m not understanding how to pull up the Superintendent’s chat. I don’t have an MP3 player. Do I need one for these chats?

   Thanks for your help!

3. 3. admin ~ February 4th, 2008
   

   We do things a little differently than spirituality.com does as we would like our users to be able to download and keep these audio files (MP3’s) on their computer.

   All you need to do is right click the link that says “Download chat replay” and save it to your computer.

   Once it is downloaded you can listen to it in Windows Media (by double clicking and opening in Windows Media), or you can download and install the free popular MP3 player called iTunes (http://apple.com/itunes/download). Both work just fine. You don’t need an MP3 player, this is just a type of file called an “MP3″ that basically means it is an audio file.

   Alternatively you can hit the giant play button under “Share this” and it will play online. You don’t need any software for this.

4. 4. Shellie ~ February 6th, 2008
   

   Laurie,
   Could you share some more about how the Sunday school you were in grew from no students to 5 full classes? We are having our Sunday School workshop Feb. 23 and this would be something I would love to be able to share.

   Thanks

5. 5. Laurie ~ February 7th, 2008
   

   Shellie - how great about your ss workshop!!!
   ok, not sure how much more there is to say than what i shared on the chat. but the keys to the growth, i think, were the members’ prayerfull attention to this (it wasn’t considered just the “ss staff’s problem” - ALL of the members were invited to join the SS Prayer Team), and finding 5 members who were willing to make a serious commitment to teaching ss. with the members’ clarity about the value of ss, and teachers ready and eager to teach, how could a ss not attract new students?! we were just witnessing what was already true about the children and parents in our community - their desire to know more about God. kind of reminds me of this from Science and Health, “As mortals gain more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before were invisible, will become visible.” (page 264) the newly-enrolled students had been there all along.
   and as far as what human steps we took…not many. we set up 5 simple class spaces, opened the blinds to let the sun shine in :-), and put a sandwich board out on the sidewalk announcing what the ss offers and who was welcome to attend. i don’t think we did much else along those lines.
   does that help? just let me know if you have any specific questions and i’ll try to answer them.
   have the BEST ss workshop, shellie.
   laurie

6. 6. Susie ~ February 7th, 2008
   

   Hello Ray,

   Your post raises some very important points and questions for Sunday School - thanks for writing.

   First, to clarify, Science and Health, the textbook of Christian Science, says (p.127) that “…the term Christian Science relates especially to Science as applied to humanity.” It also says (p.561) of John’s vision in revelation that “John saw the human and the divine coincidence, shown in the man Jesus, as divinity embracing humanity in Life and its demonstration, - reducing to human perception and understanding the Life which is God.”

   This relates very closely to your question, “How do we teach a child?” It doesn’t matter who the child belongs to. It seems pretty clear from those quotes I cited above that it is God who does the teaching, through divine revelation. Jesus confirmed this (John 6:44, 45) when he said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:… it is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God.”

   So yes, this revelation of God, Spirit is coming to humanity. How important then to be what Science and Health defines as a prophet: “A spiritual seer.” I would assume that you agree this kind of seeing is important, since you so rightfully honored in your post, the child’s innate capacity to see spiritual truth.

   Jesus (not an Egyptian orphan but the son of Mary), had the highest possible ability to see the perfect man, “who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals.” Clearly there is a difference between mortal and immortal man, and seeing the spiritual man as Jesus did is the model for the Christian Scientist, and it heals.

   Yet, Jesus did face problems such as a king that wanted to kill him after his birth; people around him who appeared to be mortal and therefore sinning, diseased, and dying; people who didn’t understand him or agree with him and therefore persecuted him, etc. He did also say that prophets before and after him would face similar things.

   So, how compassionate it is for Sunday School teachers to do everything within their power to bring students in contact with Jesus’ teachings, so that in the face of similar challenges, they can see and hear for themselves, the Christ message, and to practice Christianity the way Jesus taught. To me this is a wonderfully honest achievement, and I am grateful for the quote you reference which says, “The devotion of thought to an honest achievement makes the achievement possible.”

   The more spiritual the achievement, the better and more enduring. As the experiments of both you and your dad proved, anything that is material, no matter how good it may be at any one point, will eventually spoil. So again, how great to have a Sunday School, which focuses on the entirely spiritual nature of God and His perfect creation!

   As for your comments about Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, you are right that she didn’t claim to be a God (since there is only one), a Christ (since there is only one), nor a Pope. (My. 343). As for who she was, that is a long story, I recommend reading the threads about her on this site, and on www.christianscience.com.

   As for your great and repeated question, “How do you distinguish God from man?” I’ve posted that on the Sunday School discussion forums, and I hope to hear from you and others there.

   All love to you, Susie

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