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As director of this ecumenical project, Rev. Dr. Tammy Wiens, NCC Director of Christian Education and Faith Formation, writes about the annual CUS meeting:

Memphis Theological Seminary (MTS) hosted the 150th annual meeting of the Committee on the Uniform Lessons Series, March 8-10, 2022. Their state-of-the-art hybrid classroom was perfectly suited for the committee’s two- and half-day meeting, drawing more than 30 participants representing a diverse range of denominational partners and publishing houses. About half of those in attendance traveled to the MTS campus with the other half joining via Zoom.

In addition to the business of electing officers and getting Committee approval of each stage of curriculum development, the primary task of the CUS annual meeting is its collaborative writing project. We were enriched for the task by the teaching of Dr. Dennis Edwards, New Testament professor at North Park University and the preaching of Dr. Jody Hill, president of Memphis Theological Seminary. This year age-level teams were responsible for writing the Knowing, Loving, and Serving elements of the Learning Objective for 2026-2027. Though our committee numbers are small, the task of developing the Guide to Lessons and the Home Daily Bible Readings reaches thousands of congregations across the United States and throughout the world.

During the closing worship service, several committee members shared stories of how CUS has played a role in the history of Christian education as a tribute to our sesquicentennial anniversary. Further acknowledgement of the 150-years long contribution to the Christian education is planned for this year’s Christian Unity Gathering in October.

Dr. Wiens shares what she most values about CUS, “it is the space we create for one another. There is room for those who traveled to Memphis and room for those who joined us through Zoom. There is room for the Nigerian Baptist Convention and the for the Disciples of Christ in Puerto Rico. There is room for women and men, for the old King James and the new NRSV, for the big box publisher and small church editor. CUS is the embodiment of the space Jesus makes available to us now and will make perfect in the age to come.” 

If you are interested in learning more about the various lines of curriculum that use the CUS outlines, please email Tammy.Wiens@54.159.10.228