The Upper Room marks 70th anniversary

Devotional periodical
traces roots to class
at Travis Park UMC

By Claudia M. Williams
Staff Writer
In the 1930s, the Great Depression was choking the United States like Dust Bowl dirt. Then—as in anxious times today—many people asked, “Where is God in the midst of this?”
A group of women at Travis Park UMC, San Antonio, was praying regularly for a revival of family religion to help people struggle through the stress of economic hardship. They turned to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for a daily devotional guide.
What began as a prayer by a small group of women in Southwest Texas became The Upper Room daily devotional guide in 1935. This month marks The Upper Room’s 70th year of publication.
From the initial 100,000 copies of the “April, May, June 1935” edition, the bimonthly magazine now reaches some 3 million people. It is published in 44 languages and is circulated in 100 countries.
The Rev. Stephen Bryant, a Southwest Texas Conference clergy member, oversees publication of The Upper Room from the General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, Tenn. The Upper Room devotional booklet is the cornerstone of The Upper Room Ministries, which includes not only publications but other spiritual movements, such as the Walk to Emmaus.
“The Upper Room booklet was originally intended for families, to hold families together through tough times,” Bryant said. “Now it offers spiritual companionship for families and individuals alike.”
With 3,000 to 4,000 meditations submitted every year, how do The Upper Room editors choose which 365 to publish for the worldwide readership?
“The Upper Room is unique from other devotionals in that it’s people speaking to people,” Bryant said. “We don’t choose meditations that speak in the abstract. The meditations have to relate to people.
“Is there a life story with a faith insight? Will the meditation help someone see the meaning of scripture? Those are the kinds of questions we ask. Where does the story intersect with the Bible? That’s the weaving we want. Is there an insight here that will bless someone else? That’s the reason for the devotional.”
From the regular flow of letters and e-mail messages that arrive in Bryant’s office, it’s clear that the devotional is doing what it is meant to do.
“We get notes that say, ‘How did you know I needed that meditation on that particular day?’” he said.
For a recent example, he pointed to an e-mail he received from a woman in California. She had read Scendes Percek, the Hungarian version of The Upper Room, with her husband until his death. (Although she subscribes to the English version today, she said her Bible is bookmarked with pages torn from Scendes Percek.)


The woman wrote about devastation caused by the loss of her 20-year job. She told of opening The Upper Room for Feb. 13 and finding this Thought for the Day: “If we let God choose our path, we will discover new blessings.”
“These words have become my emotional support,” the woman wrote, “as I wait upon the Lord. …The page dated Feb. 13, 2005, now adorns my refrigerator. It is a daily reminder that God will lead me toward new fields where I can be of service to Him. …”
In 1997, The Upper Room added another translation: electronic. The devotional is available on the Internet and through e-mail subscription (http://www.upperroom.com/devotional/ and http://www. umcswtx.org).
A month ago, Bryant received a message from a Tennessee man who had just discovered he could download the daily devotionals to his personal digital assistant. (For instructions, go to http://www.upperroom. com/devotional/mobile.asp.)
“How cool is that?” the man wrote. “You have taken your little book, which was great for my mother … and turned it into something I will have with me at all times on my PDA. You have turned my mother’s old Upper Room into mine.”
The man said that as he prayed with his 4-year-old son one night, he had thought about the importance of The Upper Room in his mother’s life and wondered if he’d find inspiration in it himself. He wrote, “Now my son will know the importance of daily devotionals.”
The Upper Room reaches millions of people around the world who need to hear how God can touch anyone’s life. In developing countries, Bryant said, churches are finding The Upper Room along with the Bible to be accessible resources for families. The booklets are then passed on to others.
The Upper Room ministry publishes a study guide to accompany the daily devotional. More and more groups are coming together to discuss the meditations for the week, Bryant said.
“If I were a pastor,” Bryant said, “I would be looking at how many groups I could get together in a month’s time to use The Upper Room to nurture spirituality in the church.”
With group study, in a sense The Upper Room has come full circle, back to people studying and praying together as the women of Travis Park UMC did in 1935.