by
Sylvia Dooling
Some years ago, at an annual meeting of the VOW board, we set aside a substantial amount of time to consider producing a Bible study that could be given to the church as a gift. To be candid, the discussion arose out of our frustration with what we have found to be Horizons’ inability to produce consistently excellent Bible studies for the women of our church.
When we decided to move ahead with the project, what quickly became clear is that producing curriculum is difficult and complicated work. So, in the spirit of humility, a small digression is in order – Kudos to all the folks throughout our denomination who write consistently biblical curriculum.
We began by appointing a team of women pastors, with one assigned to do the actual writing. This task fell to The Reverend Terrye McAnally, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Sevierville, TN. Terrye is a past moderator of our VOW board and remains an active part of our work. Therefore, while the new study (Straight to the Point: Do you See Him Now? A study of the Gospel of Mark) was produced by a committee that is acknowledged in the document’s introduction, Terrye is its author.
We have elected to publish Straight to the Point at this time in the church’s calendar precisely because it is not intended to replace this year’s Horizons study of Joshua. Rather, it is designed to be used by anyone who wants to study the Gospel of Mark. And, it is free – VOW’s gift to the church.
Let me be clear. It is VOW’s sincere desire that all future Horizons Bible studies will be biblically faithful in order that they may build up the whole Body of Christ. We earnestly hope to be able to recommend all Horizons studies in the future. However, should we be unable to do so at some future time, one use of Straight to the Point might be as an alternative.
Let me also be clear that this is a onetime project. The purpose of VOW is to pray and work for reform in women’s ministries in the Presbyterian Church, encouraging and equipping Presbyterians across our denomination to each do their part. But, we have discovered that curriculum writing requires more resources than are regularly available to us.
The VOW board is grateful to its task force, and in particular to “TerryeMac” for their willingness to commit to this project while remaining faithful to the work to which God has called them in the congregations which they serve and in their presbyteries.
If you believe that Straight to the Point could be useful in your congregation, we – as always – encourage you to submit it to your session for their review and approval.
You will find the study by clicking here.