A Brief History
In 1978 many of the MCC members felt the need for an institution to teach the Word of God to the children and after fervent prayers and thoughts MCC Sunday School was formed on 6th January 1978. The initiative taken by Bro. K.C.Punnoose, then MCC secretary, is worth mentioning. Under the leadership of Bro. Kurian George as Principal , the Sunday school started with four classes. Sister Thankamma Thomas, Bro. TM. Abraham, and Bro. Samuel Mathew were the dedicated teachers to work with Bro. Kurian George and there were 30 students attending the classes. When the Sunday School faced the first hurdle for a convenient place , Bro. Thomas Varghese was gracious enough to lend a helping hand by allowing his house for conducting the classes on Fridays. Later the venue was changed to the IPC worship place and to the residences of Bro. M.J. Abraham and Bro. K.G. Samuel. As more students joined the Sunday School, the place was not enough to accommodate all of them and St. Andrew's authority was approached by then MCC Secretary (Late)Bro. Alexander Daniel. By seeing the need for a place, former Venerable Arch Deacon Micheal Mansbridge of St. Andrew's Church granted the permission to conduct the classes in the St. Andrew's community center on Fridays from 09:00 AM to 10:30 AM.
In 1983, when Bro. Kurian George left Abu Dhabi for Kuwait, Bro. Baby Abraham of Abu Dhabi Brethren Assembly was entrusted with the responsibilities of Principal. The year
1988 witnessed many changes with regards to MCC Sunday School. Abu Dhabi Brethren Assembly decided to start their own Sunday School, and Bro. Baby Abraham and other Brethren Assembly teachers moved from MCC Sunday School to the new Sunday School. At this juncture Bro. Samuel Mathew became the Principal of MCC Sunday School for a short while and left Abu Dhabi on 2nd of June 1988. After him, Bro. V. T. Alexander became the 4th Principal of MCC Sunday School and he continued until 1994. Under his strong and capable leadership during the later half of the eighties, Sunday School increased in students strength and reached to 200, with 10 classes, 15 divisions and with 15 dedicated teachers. Now currently we have 375 students with 32 active teachers in MCC Sunday School
Regular Classes
Sunday School functions in two semesters with 18 working Fridays in each semester according to a calendar prepared and published every year. Usually classes start on the first Friday of February and regular classes or other preplanned activities are conducted on Fridays. July and August are vacation time and holidays are also granted if Fridays coincide with UAE Government holidays. Every Friday 9.00AM to 9.45 AM is the time for singing and Praise & Worship and dedicated teachers lead this session. At the end of this, Birthday students are cheered and special prayers are offered . 10.00 AM to 11.00 AM is the class time. In many occasions visitors are invited to address the students after the singing session.
Syllabus
We follow a well prepared syllabus which is tailored to match with the number of Sunday School working days. Students are admitted to the classes according to their age, just the same way they are admitted to secular schools. Text books for all classes are provided to the students by the Sunday School. For class 11 and 12, book of Daniel and Revelation are taught and text books for these classes were written and printed by MCC Sunday School.
Other Activities
Each year competitions are held at class level and group level and general performance and competitive spirit of all students are commendable. In both semesters class wise examinations are conducted. Singing and memory verse competitions are also held class wise. Special prizes are given to the winners and also to the students with full attendance. Memory verse competition is held orally for class three and below, without any prescribed portion , but for class 4 and above it is in writing and from a given portion of the Bible. Our students memorized the New Testament epistles more than once. Since 1994, "Outstanding Student Award", is presented to students who
stand with three first places in class wise competitions or two first places with full attendance. Students are grouped for Elocution, General Bible Quiz and Essay competitions. Classes 4 to 6 are Juniors, classes 7 and 8 are Intermediates and classes 9 to 12 are Seniors. Elocution and Bible Quiz competition are conducted for all three groups, Essay competition is conducted only for Senior group and winners are decided by a panel of judges. A special Championship was also introduced for the student who stands with Outstanding Students award in his or her class and with first place in all group competitions applicable to him or her.
Annual Day Celebration
By the end of each Sunday school year a very special function is organized to celebrate the Annual day . It is praise worthy to mention that MCC Sunday School Annual day function is a land mark event among the Christians in Abu-Dhabi. Distinguished guests are invited to bless the function and it is always filled with inspired messages, both from guests and selected students, and colorful programmes such as action songs, skits, orchestra etc .. which are outstanding in it’s presentation and theme. Principal presents the Annual report and towards the end of the function prizes, awards and trophies are presented to students.
Teaching Body
A well trained, committed and dedicated teaching body of 32 teachers is an asset to our Sunday School. Although MCC Sunday School started with just 4 teachers, over the past 38 years the strength of Teachers increased 32, with 18 male and 14 male teachers. The high spiritual caliber and commitment of our teachers is worth mentioning. In 2001 a special Training was organized for Sunday school teachers by MCC Sunday School in conjunction with Abu Dhabi CEF VBS committee and invited Bro V B Mathew, former National Director of Child Evangelism Fellowship, Singapore, to conduct the training programme. Presently, most of our teachers are Biblical graduates, especially our senior class teachers are graduates from recognized Biblical Seminaries.
