Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC) and Congregational Ministries Publishing (CMP), publishers of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), are pleased to be collaborating on a new lectionary based curriculum founded on the award-winning lectionary commentary series Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary.
Launching fall 2011, this ecumenical, downloadable resource incorporates the uniqueness of the commentaries, which provide four different approaches to each of the biblical passages for each of the lectionary readings in the Revised Common Lectionary. Feasting on the Word Curriculum: Teaching the Revised Common Lectionary is designed for classroom use in the church among various age levels, including children, youth and adult. Its uniqueness is in adapting the Feasting on the Word commentary approaches to study one of the lectionary passages in ways suitable for all participants.
"Teachers eager to lead learners of all ages into fresh encounters with ancient texts will find two important things in this series," says Barbara Brown Taylor, co-general editor of Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary. "First, a host of practical resources designed to engage the teacher’s own imagination and second, a team of creative colleagues who know how to put their collective experience into words."
David L. Bartlett, co-general editor, Feasting on the Word, and professor of New Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary adds, "This new curriculum provides a splendid way to take the rich insights we received from Feasting on the Word and to apply them to whole educational ministry of our congregations. I am excited by this very promising the enterprise."
Marc Lewis and Clare Lewis, publishers of PPC and CMP, respectively, are thrilled with the appointment of Carol Wehrheim as general editor for the project. "Carol brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion. Her input will ensure this curriculum becomes a valuable resource that inspires and equips clergy and educators through the integration of worship and faith formation."
Wehrheim has written and edited curricula for the leading Protestant publishing houses in the U.S. and Canada. She is an ordained elder and clerk of session at Nassau Presbyterian Church, is on the advisory board for The Thoughtful Christian, and in 2001 was selected Educator of the Year by the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators.
Last week the initial Feasting on the Word Curriculum writers' conference was held in Louisville, Ky. Writers and editors representing most mainline Protestant denominations from across the country met to begin shaping the foundations of their work. "I think we are off to a tremendous start, certainly the most positive one I have experienced for any new curriculum series. I have never seen such a solid base for writing curriculum resources as the Feasting on the Word commentaries," says Wehrheim. "Their availability to writers will ensure a solid biblical and theological foundation for the Feasting on the Word Curriculum and connect the pastor and the educational ministry in a new way."
The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC) is the official denominational publisher of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It is a completely financially self-sustaining agency of the General Assembly and receives no mission funding from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Congregational Ministries Publishing (CMP) is the denominational curriculum publisher of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) and is an agency of the General Assembly Mission Council of the PC(USA).