When Julia Graham retired from teaching Sunday School at Wilshire, it took four people to replace her.

For more than 20 years, she taught the Peace Class, whose members are among the most senior of Wilshire’s senior adults. Universally revered as a dedicated and gifted teacher, she retired this year at age 91 but remains a member of the class.

She exemplifies the qualities found in volunteer teachers at Wilshire, which are to be recognized in October, Teacher Appreciation Month, said Minister to Adults Carolyn Shapard.

Julia “set a precedent in our class for missions, and she is a firm believer in basic Bible teaching,” said Jessica Capps, Wilshire’s senior adult Sunday School coordinator.

The members of this class are “especially blessed to have been led by Julia,” added Lynn Hamon, one of the four people who now teach the class on a rotation basis. “She is one of those exceptional people who are so attuned to God’s will that he has been able to use her in remarkable ways.

“She has lost almost all her eyesight, but no matter, for she has hid his word in her heart. She has such vast command of the Scriptures that she can call up the appropriate verse for any situation. What an honor it is to know her, and what a blessing for us that she is a member of Wilshire.”

Julia became legally blind several years ago and thereafter relied on friends to read her the lesson background materials as she prepared.

“Now I can’t see what I’ve written any more, and without notes I forget too much of what I wanted to say,” she explained. “I felt like I was letting the women down.”

Julia and her husband, Finley, joined Wilshire in 1987 after retiring from a career as missionaries in Lebanon. “I wondered when we retired if we would be able to find a church where we’d feel at home,” she said, and they were so happy to find Wilshire.

Not long afterward, Dort Miles, the Peace Class’s previous teacher, asked Julia to take over. “The women just took me in,” she recalled.

She first began teaching when she was in high school and for many years taught women’s Bible studies in the Middle East—in Arabic, of course.

Joanne Niemann, Karalyn Thames and Ann Tucker are the other three teachers who now have stepped in to Julia’s shoes to teach the Peace Class.

“All these teachers are exceptional and have a nurturing spirit,” Jessica said. “They stepped in out of admiration and respect for Julia, and they fell in love with the class members, who are loving and giving and have a passion for Wilshire and for the Lord.”

Teaching in the Peace Class has been “a joy,” Joanne Niemann affirmed. “The members are wonderful examples of Christian womanhood. They are still excited about studying God’s word, open to learning new things and faithful in taking care of each other.”

“God blesses us in so many ways,” Karalyn Thames added. “The privilege of being associated with these accomplished women is one of his great blessings to me.”

The key to the success of this new class has been “finding women who have a heart for teaching, who love senior adults and who wanted to teach on a rotation basis so that they wouldn’t lose their connection with their own Sunday School classes,” Carolyn Shapard said. “This is a new model in senior adult Sunday School classes.”

The Peace Class and the Friendship Class form the Harmony Department, the name chosen by members of the former Agape and Love, Live and Learn departments when they merged for this new Sunday School year.

“Other transitions have occurred in the same department,” Carolyn said. The Love Class and the Ruth Class combined in May 2008 to become the Friendship Class. The class has two rotating teachers, Carol Smith and Pat Cullum.

These changes have brought about “new energy and excitement,” she said. “Our seniors are grateful for excellent teachers who love them, and attendance is strong. They don’t want to miss coming if they can help it.”

“I almost always learn more than the class members do,” Ann Tucker said. “This class is an avenue for study, for growth and finally, with God’s help, for arriving at an answer.”

“I have taught several age levels for many years at Wilshire, but I have never had such an uplifting experience as working with the members of the Peace Class,” Lynn Hamon concluded. “Imagine sitting across from, collectively, about seven centuries of accumulated Christian service, wisdom, Bible study and enriched life experiences. I just present the literature’s Scripture and commentaries and then let them teach me.”