Little Rock Scripture Study
"Great Expectations" Realized
Beginnings
When Little Rock Scripture Study (LRSS) was set to begin in 1974, newspaper and bulletin headlines read, “Course Limited to Fifty Participants” and “Registration Closed.” Modest plans were to provide a Bible study for interested Catholics in central Arkansas.
But as early developers stood and watched in amazement, the limits they had set were shattered, their plans recast, their vision emboldened. Abbot Jerome Kodell, OSB, co-founder and author of LRSS, remembers that people started arriving early. “The stream didn’t slow down at fifty, or at seventy-five. In the final minutes before starting, the air was filled with the clatter of folding chairs brought out of closets for additional seating.” Eventually 150 people showed up that first night at the doors of St. John Catholic Center, formerly the site of the diocesan seminary. The leaders would have to use some of the initial registration money to buy more chairs before the next week’s gathering!
“The source of the joy and excitement that first night came,” Abbot Jerome is convinced, “from hunger for the Word of God. Vatican Council II [1962–1965] had a few years earlier proclaimed a reawakening of biblical studies and biblical spirituality in the Catholic Church, which had been subdued and muted for four hundred years as a result of polemics of the Reformation period. The Constitution on Divine Revelation spoke glowingly of the Scriptures and their place in the spiritual life of all the faithful, encouraging new studies, translations, and programs opening the Bible to everyone.”
Just after Vatican Council II, most attempts by Catholics to study the Bible were dependent on the excellence of local pastors or religious educators. There were some outstanding efforts in local communities, a variety of new biblical translations, and a growing number of popular-level commentaries to help make sense of the Scriptures. But in the decade after the Council there was still very little practical guidance for study of the Bible in parishes.
In the early 1970s Little Rock Scripture Study was planted as a small seed in the lives of a Catholic couple from Little Rock, Fred and Tammy Woell. Through them the seed grew within the Church. As a young married couple they had moved from San Francisco to Little Rock, and were invited to attend an interdenominational study called Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). Tammy was particularly hesitant as she had just joined the Catholic Church after three years of discernment and did not want to “become confused again.” However, once they became involved in BSF they were impressed with the way so many Protestants were living out the Christian message.
Faithfully studying the Bible with their Protestant neighbors, the Woells asked over and over again, “Why can’t we Catholics have this?” Conversations with other lay Catholics and with several Catholic priests changed their “Why” to “Why not?”
The Woells were introduced to Jerome Kodell, OSB, an Arkansas native and Benedictine monk of Subiaco Abbey. His biblical studies in Rome equipped him with the expertise needed, and he too was enthusiastic about forming a Bible study group. Searching for the desired combination of scholarship and personal application, the Woells and a few friends studied Bible materials already in print and found that none met the standards they had set. In the end, a “home grown” study emerged.
At the suggestion of Fr. Albert Schneider of the Diocese of Little Rock, the group decided to begin their studies with the Acts of the Apostles. They hoped to focus on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in renewing the Church and individuals. Fr. Jerome agreed to write a set of questions to help participants apply the Scripture readings to their own lives. The Collegeville Bible Commentary, published by Liturgical Press in Collegeville, Minnesota, was chosen as a companion to the Bible and the questions. It provided popular-level scholarship in keeping with the methods of research and study encouraged by Pope Pius XII in Divino Afflante Spiritu and by the teaching of Vatican II in Dei Verbum.
Meetings followed between the Woells, Fr. Schneider, Fr. Jerome, Fr. James Mancini, and the staff of the diocesan Office of Religious Education. With the permission of Bible Study Fellowship, they developed a format that was similar in some ways, including study questions, small group discussion, and lectures. They found a method of prayer they felt would best lead people to a level of authentic sharing and adopted the principles taught by Rosalind Rinker in her book Conversational Prayer. Finally, they knew that the strength of such a process of Bible study would be found in well-trained leaders or facilitators. With some guidance from Dr. and Mrs. Carl Wengar of BSF, the Woells put together what was originally a five-week leadership training component that could be used in local communities.
A Catholic Mission
Little Rock Scripture Study is designed to bring people to a greater understanding of the Bible, an awareness of God’s living presence in Sacred Scripture, and an appreciation of how the Bible can be applied to daily life.
The exegetical basis of Little Rock Scripture Study is that which is found in Dei Verbum. Leaders and participants receive direction in the Roman Catholic Church’s approach to biblical understanding and interpretation. The use of acceptable translations of the Bible, along with footnotes and cross-references, Catholic commentaries, and wrap-up lectures by qualified speakers, helps to make this a uniquely Catholic experience. With emphasis on small group prayer and faith-sharing, LRSS is not only informational but formational as well. Ultimately, LRSS encourages a way of life that can lead to real and lifelong conversion.
Early on, it became clear that LRSS could not be confined to Little Rock. People from parishes outside the central Arkansas area were asking that inevitable question, “Why can’t we start this in our own parish?” Gradually the program began to expand. Parish representatives from across the Diocese of Little Rock learned to train group facilitators and establish studies in their own parishes.
In 1977, Bishop Andrew J. McDonald named Little Rock Scripture Study as the official vehicle for promoting adult education in the Diocese of Little Rock. At his request, LRSS was explained and promoted at deanery meetings which he attended. Each parish in the state was encouraged to initiate this program of Bible study. At that time materials were still being produced on a mimeograph machine, stored in and shipped from the Woell’s garage. Convinced that the program had grown larger than their garage and more time-consuming than her young family would allow, Tammy asked Bishop McDonald for $1000 for commercial duplication.
In 1978, making good on his promise to help, Bishop McDonald provided office space in the diocesan complex and appointed Fr. Richard Oswald to direct the program and form a support staff. Also in 1978, priests from all over the U.S. heard Fr. James Mancini explain Little Rock Scripture Study at the national meeting of Diocesan Liaisons for the Charismatic Movement. Between the enthusiastic response from leaders of the charismatic renewal and the “word of mouth” expansion that was beginning, Little Rock Scripture Study groups began to dot the country.
A National Ministry and Fruitful Partnership
As early as 1982, the advisory board that had been formed began to ponder whether to try to promote LRSS nationally. By 1984, fourteen studies had been developed, each using the corresponding commentary from the Collegeville series. In a 1984 letter, Rev. Daniel Durken, OSB, then director of Liturgical Press in Collegeville, Minnesota, wrote to Fr. Oswald: “A tremor of joy and excitement runs through our offices—from the mail sorting table to the shipping room—whenever one of your gigantic orders is received.” Fr. Daniel saw potential growth for Liturgical Press and for Little Rock Scripture Study if the program could be promoted and marketed professionally.
In 1985, Little Rock Scripture Study and Liturgical Press entered a partnership, calling for Liturgical Press to undertake national marketing, order fulfillment, production, accounting, and maintenance of inventory. The diocesan office in Little Rock continued to develop new studies, improve existing products and resources, and provide workshops to potential users. The strengths of the two partners fitted hand-in-glove. Little Rock Scripture Study flourished, became well used and well known, and the scope of the program broadened dramatically.
Also during the 1980s, the staff of LRSS, along with several dedicated volunteers, began to offer Informational Workshops through various dioceses around the United States. By the late 1980s, under the direction of Deacon Johnson Mattingly, the workshops became a regular feature of the expanding ministry of LRSS. Both Informational and Enrichment workshops continue to be a significant and effective way for diocesan staff members to become familiar with this ministry, and for parishioners around the United States to have an opportunity to use the materials.
Expanding the Mission
Beginning in 1988, the staff of LRSS began to write a newsletter as a way to stay in touch with the growing number of users. This newsletter has been updated over the years but has remained a valued resource used by customers who want to stay up-to-date about new materials, hear from others who have found innovative and effective ways to use LRSS or train leaders, learn about ways to continue to grow as facilitators or students of the Bible, and be enriched by scriptural reflections. The newsletter continues to be available free of charge for home or parish delivery or can be read online at www.littlerockscripture.org.
In June of 1990, Fr. Carroll Stuhlmueller came to Little Rock for the first Bible Institute sponsored by LRSS. Each year since, an experienced teacher and respected scholar comes to Little Rock for an intensive weekend of learning, prayer, and faith sharing during the month of June. This weekend event usually draws people from Arkansas and around the United States and helps to continue the growth of this ministry.
By 1994, twenty years after the first group met in Little Rock to begin study, Little Rock Scripture Study was being used in approximately seven thousand parishes around the United States, and groups were even appearing in some other countries as well. In that same year, Fr. Steve Binz, director of LRSS, and now Abbot Jerome Kodell, OSB, organized the first of three Holy Land pilgrimages. Over three hundred people have traveled with Little Rock Scripture Study to the significant biblical sites in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, and Rome.
One of the most surprising areas of expansion has occurred in Australia, where Jan Heath, a wife and mother of four, had committed herself to the work of evangelization in response to the 1990s call of Pope John Paul II. As she began her work with several priests and religious it became clear to her that what Catholics needed was Bible study. She had looked diligently for materials that were solidly Catholic and were user-friendly, and was led to a program she only knew as Little Rock.
After many phone calls through international operators and directory assistance, Jan finally narrowed it down to the Diocese of Little Rock and reached the offices of LRSS. Her desire to introduce the LRSS process in Australia led Jan and her husband Graham to purchase large volumes of the resources available. Around the same time, Fr. Paul Shannahan of the Catholic Enquiry Centre had also begun promoting LRSS throughout New Zealand.
By 1998, “Little Rock Down Under” had made its home in the Petrie Catholic Community near Brisbane, Australia, and a partnership was formed. Now materials are made available in Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and other parts of Asia Oceania through the offices of Little Rock Down Under, with the help of the Heaths and their friends Kathy and Shane Robbie. These couples, along with their Catholic parish, have housed and publicized the materials, and offered all kinds of support and inspiration through phone calls, newsletters, workshops, and pastoral visits. In 2000, the current director of Little Rock Scripture Study, Cackie Upchurch, spent a month in Australia and New Zealand presenting workshops and meeting with groups of interested Catholics as a way to help firmly establish this growing ministry on the other side of the globe.
Our most recent international partner is Noah's Ark Creations PTE LTD in Singapore. Here, Gerardine Yee, a Catholic bookstore owner and distributor, has begun to spread the Word by spreading the seed of Little Rock Scripture Study. She communicates regularly with groups throughout Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, trying to ensure that Catholics throughout the region have access to the solid scholarship and faith building that is central to Little Rock Scripture Study.
Conclusion
Bible study is an opportunity to encounter God as well as learn about who we are as a Church. When people study God’s Word together in groups it becomes an opportunity to know each other on a deeper level than is usually possible. It becomes an opportunity to build community and to extend that community in care for others.
Bible study leads to mature faith and active faith. It is not an end in itself, but a path that leads to greater involvement in parish and social ministries. Little Rock Scripture Study provides the tools needed to enter into God’s Word in a way that will lead to transformation.
Current staff of Little Rock Scripture Study:
Cackie Upchurch, Director
Lillian Hess, Associate Director of Administration and Production
Cliff Yeary, Associate Director for Development of Study Materials
Susan McCarthy, R.D.C., Workshop and Promotion Coordinator
Nancy Lee Walters, Customer Service Representative
Liturgical Press:
Peter Dwyer, Director
Hans Christoffersen, Editorial Director
Jerry Furst, Director of Finance
Joe Riley, Director of Sales and Marketing
