From February 19 to April 10, around 30 people deepened their relationships with each other and with Jesus, as they spent more than 30 hours immersed in the study of Scripture. It's safe to say our Lenten Bible Study series was an overwhelming success. Here's a quick recap:
Get Out of Your Head (Thursday evenings) – This six-week women's Bible study on Paul's letter to the church in Philippi by renowned Christian author Jennie Allen had four participants and began Feb. 19. Sessions involved discipleship-based scripture readings, video lessons, discussion and workbook activities on how to use scripture as weapons in the war over our thoughts, especially to identify the enemy's lies in favour of Jesus’ truths. Positive feedback and a request for repeating the study were given by all. - Alpha Generation Pastor Karen Petkau
Outside the Spotlight (Friday evenings) – We used the Book of Common Prayer's evening lectionary to sample chapters throughout scripture. Each session was started with a prayer for guidance before a passage was chosen, then continued similar to an inductive bible study style. The focus of this bible study was to approach the texts with more questions than answers and to work together to understand what God is telling us through them. At the close of the evening there was a "go away question" related to what we had read, which we would discuss at the beginning of the next study. Attendees were a mix of both older and younger gentlemen and ladies, which was a blessing, as it encouraged intergenerational dialogue in relation to our experience of faith. - Youth Assistant Liam Getty
Psalms for Guys (Saturday mornings) – It was my honour to lead eight very engaged guys (including one from outside our parish family) on a journey through the Book of Psalms. We learned about the structure and style of Hebrew poetry, as well as the makeup and trajectory of the Psalter. More importantly, participants were challenged to write their own psalms of lament, cursing, thanksgiving and praise. They rose to the challenge, and shared some stirring and powerful words. We concluded our series by digging into the psalms Jesus prayed and quoted during the week leading up to Good Friday, and the experience was profound. It was a joy to explore what it looks like to be a man of prayer; to pray like a man after God's own heart. As one attendee recently said, by the end we were no longer just a group of guys, we had become a community. Praise God for that! - Associate Priest Rev. Rob Petkau
It's safe to say that there will be more Bible studies and similar activities in the fall, so stay tuned!