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Teaching Sunday School without fear
As I was walking into my branch church one Sunday, the Sunday School superintendent stopped me and asked, “Will you teach Sunday School this fall?”
I immediately responded by shaking my head no! I just waved and quickly moved on.
But as I sat in church, I thought about why I said no. I never went to a Christian Science Sunday School myself, so I wasn’t sure I could fit in now. I’m not a Bible scholar, and I often don’t fully understand what Mary Baker Eddy is saying in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures—so I thought, how could I possibly teach children Sunday School lessons? I’m not trained as a teacher, so how could I get kids to understand anything? What would I talk about for a whole hour? What if the students asked questions I couldn’t answer? What if they found out I have problems I haven’t healed yet in Christian Science?
Surely, I thought, someone else among our church membership would do a better job of teaching Sunday School than I. Also, I sincerely believed I was needed to usher the third Sunday of every month. There seemed to be plenty of reasons to say no without feeling guilty.
But then, in church, that week’s Lesson-Sermon included the story of Moses doubting his ability to lead his people out of Egypt. Yet God promised to be right there with him all of the way (see Exodus 3:11, 12 ).
Wow, what a healing of fear! If Moses said yes, I reasoned, how could I possibly say no?
Right after church, I found the Sunday School superintendent and told her I would be happy to teach Sunday School in the fall. She seemed surprised, but she certainly didn’t question my change of heart.
Now that I’ve taught Sunday School, I have found that it is one of the best ways for me to learn more about Christian Science. I study the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson more thoroughly, paying particular attention to the Bible stories and what they are teaching. I think about the Ten Commandments and how they can be applied to any world issue going on that week. I find passages in the Bible or Science and Health that my students can study to help them (and me) as we go about our week.
Like Moses, I have found that inspiration always comes exactly when I need it. I’m so grateful I said yes that day.
—Susan Ihne Yenne, Asheville, North Carolina