From the Bridge Pastor
“The Work of Christmas” . A Facebook friend of mine posted this poem written by Howard Thurman, an African-American theologian, educator, and civil rights leader. I hope you appreciate it as much as I do.
“When the song of the angles is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.”
The Baptism of Our Lord. In the waters of the Jordan, Jesus is revealed as the beloved Son of God. Through this great epiphany, Jesus fulfills all righteousness and becomes the servant of God who will bring forth justice and be a light to the nations. In the waters of baptism we too are washed by the Word, anointed by the Spirit, and named God’s beloved children. Our baptismal mission is to proclaim good news to all who are oppressed or in need of God’s healing.
Annual Meeting on January 15. Please plan to remain after worship for the 166th Annual Meeting of First Congregational United Church of Christ. Those of you with reports which need to be included in the booklet, please get them to Michael by Wednesday, January 10. Thank you.
Bible Study Women and men of First Congregational United Church of Christ, please join us for a weekly Bible study at 1920 Pierce Street on Thursdays at 1:00 PM. Weather permitting, we will have our first meeting on January 5. The study is open to female members of First and any guest they would like to invite. Please bring a Bible, a pencil, and your curiosity for details of a select number of women in the Bible. We will utilize a Yale Divinity School Bible Study.
Reading about the women in the Bible reveals a great deal more than simply the stories of a few individuals. Through the women’s trials and triumphs, the text offers various (sometimes contradictory) pictures of gender, family life, and relationships. Our modern understanding of gender may not translate directly onto the functions of gender in the Bible.
What are our pre-conceptions about gender in the time of the Hebrew Bible and in the Greco-Roman world? We may imagine that ancient women were universally oppressed or powerless, relegated to their roles as wives and mothers. This unit challenges these pre-conceived ideas as it seeks to understand the many roles women hold in biblical stories. We will read the stories with special attention to the power dynamics, including those surrounding gender, enslavement, and empire.
It is important to remember that these women’s stories do not necessarily reveal what was normal or even ideal about gender in the ancient Near East or the Greco-Roman world. Instead, they show us glimpses of those worlds from which the authors of the texts made meaning.
“Women in the Bible” sheds new light on familiar characters like Mary Magdalene in the New Testament and Sarah, Abraham’s wife in the Hebrew Bible. It also studies characters who are less well known to many Bible readers, such as the city of Babylon, styled as a whore in the Book of Revelation. Through the stories of these women, discover how gender can inform your reading as you explore how these stories relate to your own faith journey.
