This Day in Religious History: On December 2, 1831, Francis Peloubet, one of the earliest pioneers of a concept that would become known as Sunday school, was born in New York City. Raised in New Jersey for most of early his life, and educated at Williams College in Massachusetts, Francis Peloubet taught school for nearly a year after graduating college, but soon became inspired to join the ministry. He studied at and received his bachelor’s degree in divinity from Bangor Theological Seminary in Maine, and after graduation he seriously considered going to India as a missionary. In the end he decided to remain in the U.S. and serve as pastor, a position he served in for nearly thirty years, taking time off only to minister to soldiers during the Civil War. Around 1872 however, things changed for Peloubet when he heard of a new concept known as Sunday school. He grew extremely enthusiastic about this new idea, considering it the perfect way to educate a new generation of Christians. Quickly, Peloubet began to write quarterly Sunday school lessons and by 1875 his work became so popular that he was persuaded to write a book which he titles Select Notes on the International Sabbath School Lessons. This work would eventually morph into an annual series, and its popularity soared to heights previously unimaginable, with 150,000 books in circulation among protestant churches. By the time of his death, Peloubet had published forty-four volumes of his Sunday school lessons, all popularly referred to as Peloubet’s Notes.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 14:52:37 +0000