Editor of Disciple Bible Study dies at 72
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Nellie Moser |
May 6, 2005 By United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE,
Tenn. (UMNS)--Nellie Moser, who was instrumental in the vision and
development of the Disciple Bible Study for the United Methodist
Publishing House, died May 3. She was 72. Moser
retired from the Publishing House in 2003, after 37 years of service.
She had been executive editor of adult resources and also worked on
Christian Believer and Jesus in the Gospels. In
March 1986, Bishop Richard B. Wilke had a vision for a Bible study to
train Christian disciples. He said Moser also had that vision and was
pivotal in the development of Disciple. “She
also had a vision that people, when challenged, would read and study
the Scriptures in a Wesley-like class meeting,” he said. “She brought a
passion for the Lord, a lifelong study of the Scriptures and a editor’s
skill to the development of the Bible study. Everything I wrote, she
edited and made it better.” More
than 1 million people have completed the 34-week Disciple Bible Study
since it was published, according to Neil M. Alexander, the Publishing
House’s president and publisher. “She
(had) a profound reverence for the gift of Scripture, great affection
for the church and a deep and abiding love of God. These aspects of
Nellie’s character were consistently and expansively expressed,
radiating a light that shone the way for hundreds of thousands of
disciples of Jesus Christ across the world,” Alexander said. “Nellie
Moser was a servant of the church for her entire life,” said Harriett
J. Olson, senior vice president for publishing. “Her exemplary
development and editorial leadership of Disciple Bible Study is a
visible expression of her faithful commitment to Christ and her
conviction that the Scripture demands of us serious and dedicated
study.” In
1997, Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., conferred upon Moser
the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters for her contributions
to Disciple Bible Study.
She was a teacher of Bible in Rockingham
County in Virginia, was assistant dean of women at Asbury College,
taught in the public schools system in Lexington, Ky., and served as
director of Christian education at Centenary United Methodist Church in
Lexington, Ky. She
continued her education throughout her life and was especially active
in archaeology, having participated in archaeological fieldwork in
Israel, Majorca and Swaziland. Mark
Price, senior editor for the Disciple series, who worked with Moser,
said she was a “classic and a true student of the Bible” and “knew which
scholars knew what about the Bible, because she read what they wrote.
She knew the land of the Bible, because she owned every Bible atlas in
print and spent her summers digging in the land of Israel. “She
knew how artists across the centuries and from around the world had
visualized the Bible, because she was always on the lookout for art
books to add to her collection. She knew the music and hymnody inspired
by the Bible, because she listened to it regularly. Nellie knew her
Bible because she studied it like few others dared.” Moser
is survived by two sisters, four brothers, and nieces and nephews. A
memorial service was held May 6 at Calvary United Methodist Church,
Nashville, Tenn. News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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