1/23/2021

Quaker Bible Study at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's 2020 annual sessions

Last summer I led two online Quaker Bible studies during Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's annual sessions in summer 2020. It was PhYM's 340th annual sessions, and their first-ever conducted entirely online.

Earlier in the week, civil rights leader and US Representative John Lewis had died, and his memorial services were held as PhYM sessions were starting. I remembered a clip of Rep. Lewis giving words of encouragement to a young man who asked him to record a message for his sister:

For the first session, on 7/31/2020, I embedded the video in my slide deck, and found biblical passages that resonated strongly with many of the phrases he used. In the context of that week, and the presence in mind of Rep. Lewis's legacy, it was a very powerful time together.

Here's the slide presentation from that session.

For the second day, on 8/1/2020, I looked at some passages from Psalms and explored how they may resonate for us today. Here's that slide show.

To be honest, it did not feel nearly as focused as the first session.

Here's an interview that PhYM staff did with me by email afterwards.

Truly, it was a privilege to be able to lead Bible study with Philadelphia Friends. This library of ancient texts from very different cultures and societies can still speak to us today, if we enter into that Spirit that still inhabits those texts.

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