new church life: september/october 2016
With a view to growing
the General Church W.F.
Pendleton proposed,
“that the sphere of the
Church be in the home;
that there be New Church
day-schools, and thus
that the children be
kept in the sphere of the
Church, in the home, in
the school, and in their
social life, until they
reach adult age.”
that he or she will continue to belong.
With this in mind, I looked at New
Church growth efforts. The General
Church was founded in 1897, more
than 100 years after the Writings were
given. Reflecting on previous New
Church growth initiatives, its founders
observed that newcomers struggled
to reconcile New Church beliefs with
contradicting childhood beliefs. In
light of that, they decided that the best
growth would be realized by educating
children in New Church schools and
communities.
Establishment of General
Church Religion Lessons
At its founding, the General Church
identified “isolated” members as
meriting support. Funds were set aside
Pendleton, 1899
for ministers to visit isolated members
in hopes that the infant church would
grow. In 1923 Elizabeth Simons Iungerich proposed that Theta Alpha lend its
support to isolated families by developing educational resources for children.
In 1940 her proposal finally sprang into existence. In fact the program
started so suddenly that families who responded to an advertisement placed in
New Church Education magazine requested lessons that were not yet written,
funded or staffed. Women felt a strong call to the useful service of nurturing
children and their parents, of encouraging children to develop a relationship
with the Word.
Almost immediately the Rev. Harold Cranch volunteered to help write
lessons, and the General Church agreed to cover lesson printing costs from
funds for the isolated. In 1946 the program was brought under the joint
leadership of Theta Alpha and the General Church. This leadership continued
until 1990, when lessons were placed under the auspices of the newly formed
General Church Office of Education.
Impact of Lessons on the General Church
In order to assess the program’s impact I surveyed program participants. I
received responses from 251 individuals consisting of volunteers, parents of
children who received lessons, and adults who completed lessons as children.
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