Services
The Sunday School and The Synagogue 8/14/2024
A new year in the Jackson County and Jefferson City School systems has already begun. Teachers, administrators, and staff are already busy at work, with students expected on August 1st. Schools in various forms have been around for centuries and religious institutions have long had their own distinctive forms of education. Two examples readily come to mind, the Sunday School and the Synagogue.
When most people think of Sunday School, the image that comes to mind is a place where religious education takes place. But that was not always the case. The first Sunday School is attributed to an Englishman by the name of Robert Raikes, who in the 1790'S in England started a school for the children of the local chimney sweeps in a place called Sooty Alley. The first school was not about teaching religion, however, but concerned teaching reading and writing, morals and manners to the children who often roamed the city streets while their parents slaved to make a living in the nearby factories.
Raikes' idea caught on and spread across the ocean to the fledgling nation of the United States. But, somewhere along the way it began to change. No one knows for certain when, why, or how, but it experienced a metamorphosis. In a relatively brief time, the Sunday School came to be attached to churches, especially the Protestant ones. Education came to be focused on the Bible and the values taught became distinctive Christian ones.
Sunday School appeared to develop into something new as it began to have a profound influence on the spiritual climate of America. However, in retrospect, the American Sunday School was not new at all, but rather a Christian version of something quite ancient, the Jewish Synagogue. Synagogues began in about 586 B.C., in Babylon after Jerusalem was destroyed and many Jews were taken into captivity. While in captivity, it was in the synagogues that the Jews learned to "sing the Lord's song in a strange land." Centuries later the synagogue would play a vital role in the life of Jesus, the Apostle Paul and other leaders of the early church. Now centuries later the synagogue is still the foundational institution of Judaism.
Synagogues have fulfilled three primary roles as illustrated by the three Hebrew names given to it. The first, Bet ha-K'nesset means house of assembly, reflecting also the meaning of the Greek word "synagogue" which means "to come together." Synagogues were places where people could go to get to know one another, to share in one another's lives, to develop long and lasting friendships.
The second name is Bet ha-Tefillah which means house of prayer. Prayer was not merely an individual act, but a corporate one, indicating the power of a united voice of the people seeking to be in communication with God. The third name is Bet ha-Midrash or house of learning. The Hebrew language, instruction in Bar/Bat Mitzpah, and studies in Jewish history complemented the primary task of studying of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. Does the meaning of these names sound familiar? They should, for they form the essence of what we call Sunday School. Fellowship, prayer and learning comprise the heart of any class here at JPC. In following in the pattern of the synagogue we are also following in the footsteps of Jesus whose life was shaped by his participation in a fellowship which supported one another in good times and trying times, which prayed and worshipped as a community of faith, and which studied God's Word together.
Through our Lifelines ministry this fall, we will be offering classes for all ages to advance our Biblical knowledge, but even more importantly, to grow our faith, our love for God and love for one another. Plan to be a part of one of the classes for as you do, you are following in the learning pattern of Jesus, his earliest disciples and countless others down through history. We at JPC seek to take seriously our commitment to obey God's command to love with our heart and mind, as well as our soul and strength. May we continue to grow in each aspect of our personhood as we seek to be faithful in our calling as Jesus' disciples.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Paul
When most people think of Sunday School, the image that comes to mind is a place where religious education takes place. But that was not always the case. The first Sunday School is attributed to an Englishman by the name of Robert Raikes, who in the 1790'S in England started a school for the children of the local chimney sweeps in a place called Sooty Alley. The first school was not about teaching religion, however, but concerned teaching reading and writing, morals and manners to the children who often roamed the city streets while their parents slaved to make a living in the nearby factories.
Raikes' idea caught on and spread across the ocean to the fledgling nation of the United States. But, somewhere along the way it began to change. No one knows for certain when, why, or how, but it experienced a metamorphosis. In a relatively brief time, the Sunday School came to be attached to churches, especially the Protestant ones. Education came to be focused on the Bible and the values taught became distinctive Christian ones.
Sunday School appeared to develop into something new as it began to have a profound influence on the spiritual climate of America. However, in retrospect, the American Sunday School was not new at all, but rather a Christian version of something quite ancient, the Jewish Synagogue. Synagogues began in about 586 B.C., in Babylon after Jerusalem was destroyed and many Jews were taken into captivity. While in captivity, it was in the synagogues that the Jews learned to "sing the Lord's song in a strange land." Centuries later the synagogue would play a vital role in the life of Jesus, the Apostle Paul and other leaders of the early church. Now centuries later the synagogue is still the foundational institution of Judaism.
Synagogues have fulfilled three primary roles as illustrated by the three Hebrew names given to it. The first, Bet ha-K'nesset means house of assembly, reflecting also the meaning of the Greek word "synagogue" which means "to come together." Synagogues were places where people could go to get to know one another, to share in one another's lives, to develop long and lasting friendships.
The second name is Bet ha-Tefillah which means house of prayer. Prayer was not merely an individual act, but a corporate one, indicating the power of a united voice of the people seeking to be in communication with God. The third name is Bet ha-Midrash or house of learning. The Hebrew language, instruction in Bar/Bat Mitzpah, and studies in Jewish history complemented the primary task of studying of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. Does the meaning of these names sound familiar? They should, for they form the essence of what we call Sunday School. Fellowship, prayer and learning comprise the heart of any class here at JPC. In following in the pattern of the synagogue we are also following in the footsteps of Jesus whose life was shaped by his participation in a fellowship which supported one another in good times and trying times, which prayed and worshipped as a community of faith, and which studied God's Word together.
Through our Lifelines ministry this fall, we will be offering classes for all ages to advance our Biblical knowledge, but even more importantly, to grow our faith, our love for God and love for one another. Plan to be a part of one of the classes for as you do, you are following in the learning pattern of Jesus, his earliest disciples and countless others down through history. We at JPC seek to take seriously our commitment to obey God's command to love with our heart and mind, as well as our soul and strength. May we continue to grow in each aspect of our personhood as we seek to be faithful in our calling as Jesus' disciples.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Paul
