Scripture Union (SU) is an international,

interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by various ...

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

organization. It was founded in 1867, and works in partnership with individuals and

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

es across the world. The organization's stated aim is to use the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

to inspire children, young people and adults to know God. Scripture Union is an autonomous organisation in each country, linked together by Scripture Union International. It is primarily a volunteer organisation with a small number of full-time staff training, encouraging and coordinating ministry workers around the world. Scripture Union is also a member of the Forum of Bible Agencies International.

Origin

In 1867 Josiah Spiers spoke to 15 children in a drawing room in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London, and began the work of sharing the Christian message with children in a way that related to their real needs. This led to the founding of the Children's Special Service Mission (CSSM) which was later to become "Scripture Union". At about the same time as Spiers held his meeting in Islington, brothers Samuel and James Tyler and Tom Bond Bishop started a similar meeting in Blackfriars Road, south of the river Thames. Similarly, Henry Hankinson and Henry Hutchinson had started meetings in Mildmay Park; all were influenced by Rev Edward Payson Hammond, a controversial American preacher who had visited London in the early summer of 1867 and held meetings for both children and Sunday School teachers. The following year, Spiers travelled to Llandudno on holiday and began to tell the children there about his faith. He drew the text "God is Love" in the sand, invited children to decorate it, and then told them a

story. Spiers quickly established the CSSM as a mission to oversee his work in Islington. By August 1868 Bishop had joined the committee and by the end of the year, Hankinson was also a member, bringing in the Mildmay Park meetings as well. Whilst Spiers was the engaging children's speaker, Bishop had the organising ability and became the honorary secretary. The working partnership of Bond and Spiers was to last for more than 40 years and be the foundation of the modern Scripture Union. In 1879, CSSM started the Children's Scripture Union, a system of daily Bible reading. A

membership card Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company or business af ...

had a list of daily readings, and this was soon complemented by explanatory notes in children's magazines. Booklets of notes were published for troops in the trenches during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and led to the first issue of ''Daily Notes'' in 1923. In 1892, the first Boys' Camp was started in

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...

by Major Liebenrood, a veteran from the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

. The following year, the Caravan Mission to Village Children (CMVC) was started using a bakers' cart. The CMVC became part of CSSM, but in 1960 Scripture Union became the official name of the organisation. In the 1950s, CSSM/Scripture Union held an annual book writing competition, resulting in the publication of many children's novels, including several by Patricia St. John, such as ''

Treasures of the Snow ''Treasures of the Snow'' is a children's story book by Patricia St. John. Originally published by CSSM in 1950, it has been reprinted over a dozen times by various publishers, including braille versions published by the Royal National Instit ...

'', still in print today. These were hardback books with illustrations and dust jackets by artist L. F. Lupton. The Scripture Union's work is carried out through local people in ways which are seen as appropriate to each country, culture and situation in which a movement is based. This can include running camps, and missions (e.g. holiday

beach mission Children's Special Service Mission was the original name, from 1867, of the organisation now called Scripture Union. Begun by Thomas 'Pious' Hughes and Josiah Spiers in Islington, London, this evangelical Christian movement was less formal than the ...

), working in schools and with student groups or producing resources for Bible reading, family counselling,

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

education, urban

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

and youth

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

and ministry to the '

handicapped Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

'. In Britain, the Scripture Union has been criticised by an independent review for its links with the Iwerne camps, where students from leading public schools are said to have been groomed for sexual abuse during the 1970s and 1980s. Though the camps were not run by the Scripture Union, instead organised by the

Iwerne Trust The Titus Trust, a registered charity in the UK, is the successor organisation to Iwerne Trust. It runs evangelical Christian holiday camps for children and young people at independent schools. The camps provide adventure activities including ka ...

, the SU employed three of the staff at Iwerne and supported its operations. The camp leader, John Smyth QC, who was an SU trustee, befriended youths and abused them.

References

External links

Scripture Union International

Scripture Union Australia

Scripture Union USA

Scripture Union South Africa

SU Bible Notes & Podcasts launched 2008
{{Authority control Religious organizations established in 1867 Evangelical parachurch organizations Christian denominations established in the 19th century

Origin

See also

References

External links