Sunday School Roundtable Chats
A new series of live Web chats sponsored by TMC Youth
Part 3: Prayerful Prep for Sunday School
Sunday, May 25, 2008,
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EDT
Join us for our continuing series of live chats with Sunday School teachers and superintendents around the world. This month, in part three, we’ll explore in further depth a topic that’s already been touched upon in previous chats: the prayerful preparation essential to good Sunday School classes.
Classes, students and teachers in the world are all different, so how can we all be obedient to the Manual in fresh, inspired and non-formulated ways? How can a teacher discern the needs of students and prepare deep, meaningful and engaging lessons? How can we provide a safe place for students to ask difficult and/or personal questions that probably weren’t part of the teacher’s plan, and help them find practical answers that don’t “…deviate from the absolute Christian Science contained in their textbook…”? (Church Manual, p. 63)
TMC Youth host, Susie Rynerson, will share news of her recent Sunday School workshops in New York and St. Louis. She along with Eberhard Lasch, CSB, from Mexico City, Mexico, will take up your questions. Eberhard is a Christian Science practitioner, lecturer and teacher born in Germany. He has a background in music and business, and found Christian Science in Mexico. Since then he has spent the majority of his Sunday mornings teaching in the Christian Science Sunday School.
The chat will be hosted live in English on www.tmcyouth.com. Everyone is also invited to stop by the Reading Room at 194 Massachusetts Ave. in Boston, MA to listen in with the public and a group of local Sunday School teachers.
Eberhard and Susie will field questions sent in via computer during the hour. If you can’t join the chat, you can post questions beforehand in the Sunday School Discussion Forum on the website or listen to the recorded chat afterwards.
Listen to the chat replay:
Download the MP3 audio file: (right-click and save)
Listen to the MP3 audio file: (hit the play button below)
May 25th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Don’t you think some of the resistance to teaching SS is a feeling of inadequacy? I’ve heard some members say they don’t think they know enough to teach SS.
May 25th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
How would you respond to a student who says she never has had a healing even though she has tried to apply Christian Science.
May 25th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
How can we pray to support each and every student in our class no matter how different they are?
May 25th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
How do you pray about an apparent personality conflict between teacher and student? Sometimes it prevents quality communication.
May 25th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
What if you want to teach, but you feel you don’t have the time?
May 25th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
How do you get past your own resistance to pray for Sunday School or anything?
May 25th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Do you have suggestions on how to help SS students who reach the age of 20 make the transition into joining and serving in the branch church?
May 25th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
How do you keep enthused about teaching the same thing all the time — we’ve got the Commandments, the Beatitudes, and a lot of the same Bible stories…
May 25th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
If a student is graduatiing from Sunday School how can you prepare them for the transition of now attending the church service and contributing as a member? It seems that you have to help students transition from getting to giving.
Also, if your Sunday School is off of the church (in a seperate building) how do you get members to take an interest in and mingle more with the Sunday School students?
May 25th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
What do you do if you see something going on very wrong, very sloppy in SS with out critising or judging.
May 26th, 2008 at 7:17 am
NO.3
The only way to do that effectively is to form prayer groups and prayer partners.then we earnestly seek for the guidance of the holy spirit,and generally God because it is only God who can read our differences and hearts,and also by praying in groups it will held those who are still weak in the area of prayer to be encouraged.and live for God`s glory.
June 10th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Wonderful chat with Eberhard Lasch. Lots of good deep ideas for building our thought of Sunday School. Just a note…it would be helpful if Susie would refrain from her uh-huhs while the speaker is talking. It is a bit distracting.
September 24th, 2008 at 1:24 am
“What ever is not done with Love (love?) is not done.” was a phrase attributed to Mrs. Eddy by Mr. Lasch. Would someone please cite a source for this statement?
I absolutely agree with Mr. Lasch that it is important to be aware of what is asked of us daily in the name of Christian Science. I remember that as something that was shared with me by peer Christian Scientists and they in turn had been alerted to it by a practitioner. I don’t believe much was ever made of it in Sunday School though we may have touched on it briefly.
As a way to encourage older SS students at the time to think about the “daily duties” I made up some 3 x 5 cards with the daily prayer, the daily duty, the 6th tennent, and the passage about “Hold perpetually this thought…..” printed on them. (That’s kind of “daily” wouldn’t you say?) I folded the cards in half. I created a little notch in the center where a small pencil was inserted. On the blank side I noted that the students were to make note of anything that came up at home or school as part of their “daily life” that needed to be addressed with healing thought.
The idea was to enable the students to familiarize themselves with the ‘dailies’
in those idle moments that surface during the day and also to be alert to note
opportunities where healing thought could be applied so that these subjects might
be discussed in the Sunday class. It would have helped to have had some
parental support in this endeavor. Nothing seemed to come of this project. : (
Susie, you were so wonderfully “engaged” in this discussion I actually appreciated the non-verbal participation from your end. Thank you for “pressing on” for further clarity in the answers to these questions. I think it brought out
the best in both you and Eberhard.
I must confess to two concerns though. At one point I began to wonder
whether I could ever be “THAT LOVING” even by reflection. My second
concern is a bit darker. If you (the church…somebody) don’t follow up with the questioners how will you know whether they were ever really blessed by this effort and have made use of the answers you have both provided through this interview? There is a part of me that wonders whether this is all just good advice that no one is really taking, or maybe “doesn’t get,” or maybe just doesn’t understand how to apply to their situation(s). You will tell me that that’s what the follow up discussions are for. I have not viewed them yet.
Unless someone uses the same ID or name in the discussion group there will be no link to the questions shown here.
So tell me, how would I find the particular discussion group or groups that relate to this presentation on Sunday School?
February 11th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Dear David,
Thank you for your comments and concerns.
As for the ability to be loving, the thought that comes to mind is this quote from Science and Health (p.89): “We are all capable of more than we do.” How’s that for empowering and demanding at the same time? Yow. I know I have certainly been stretched to love more, especially when there are examples like the one Eberhard sets, and it’s wonderfully rewarding. I’m grateful to remember that God tenderly and patiently moves me forward in the effort, yes, though reflection of the infinite.
As for follow-up, that can be done through prayer and invitation to converse - both of which have been done. As for prayer, I love remembering that the Christ is wonderfully persistent, even with people who might not seem all that receptive at first. The phrase “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” comes to mind here. The Christ at work in consciousness will motivate and enable us to respond to right ideas in individual ways. I invite you to support this idea in your prayers in whatever way seems right to you.
One way to respond, as you say, is through discussion. At this point in time there are 17 pages worth of discussion going on on this site, (http://tmcyouth.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6) and you and anyone are welcome to strike up a conversation at any time. Also, there are workshops that people are invited to organize, and all of the support materials are available (http://tmcyouth.com/sunday-school/sunday-school-workshops/) to anyone interested in them. It is not necessary for people to involve The Mother Church, since branches are democratic, but we would love to help in any way we can. I must add that at the workshops I’ve attended, there have been many, involved, prayerful and loving participants. It does give me hope that people are blessed by efforts like these.
Cheers and thanks so much for your support, Susie