Starting this May we will be reading the entire bible over the course of a year! We are starting with the story of Pentecost from Acts and will continue on through the story of the early church and the letters to the faithful written by the apostles and their followers. After reading through the prophecies of Revelation we will start the Old Testament in August. From there we will read through the Torah, the history of the Hebrew people, the words of prophets, and the wisdom books before concluding our time with the story of Jesus.
I was inspired by the work of Rev. Magrey deVega at his church in Tampa. I learned about their process when I attended the Leadership Development Institute in Kansas City in October. Of course I had to adapt what they did for our schedule, but as part of our work we will be using videos created by their leadership and other scholars and leaders reflecting on the scriptures. I am using different texts for Sundays so that we can begin with the story of Pentecost on May 28th 2023 and end with John on Sunday May 26th, 2024. We are also not starting in January like their church did. I think it it better for us as Oregonians to read through some of the difficult passages in Deuteronomy in the sunny days of September rather than in dreary February! It also doesn’t seem fair for me to start a big program like this with the reality of our Methodist system and not knowing if I will be around to finish it in the second half of 2024. So here we are. With our own version of bible in a year.
I am so excited to read with you and to learn together. I am excited to spend Advent reading the psalms and lent dwelling in the wisdom of prophets. I can’t wait to hear your insights and to see how we all grow as a community of faith! You can find all the info on our website here so that you can begin to prepare for the kick of on Pentecost. We’ll celebrate with an ice cream truck and a holy embracing of the spirit in our midst!
-Eilidh
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