St. Michael's Church, Litchfield, CT

St. Michael’s has joined other Litchfield County Episcopal churches in giving away free bibles. The program was coordinated by the Rev. Christopher Webber, Dean of the Litchfield Episcopal Churches, who says, “What’s important is that people have their own Bible so they can read it and let God speak to them through the written word. We expect good things to happen.”

St. Michael’s members are welcome to take a bible from a basket at the back of the church, or to pass the word along to friends or family members who may wish to have their own bible. We expect good things to happen, too!

Warning: strlen() expects parameter 1 to be string, array given in /data/18/1/119/121/1608447/user/1733315/htdocs/stmichaelslitchfield/blog/wp-content/themes/techozoic-fluid/archive.php on line 60

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. ~23rd Psalm

Warning: strlen() expects parameter 1 to be string, array given in /data/18/1/119/121/1608447/user/1733315/htdocs/stmichaelslitchfield/blog/wp-content/themes/techozoic-fluid/archive.php on line 60

There’s an initiative sweeping through the church to help more people read the Bible – to read more of it and read it more deeply. It’s called, appropriately enough, the Bible Challenge. It started when the Rev. Marek P Zabriskie, rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Forth Washington, PA, challenged his congregation in January 2011 to read through the Bible in a year. He hoped for 15 participants and got more than 200 including people outside their church.

Since then he and others started The Center for Biblical Studies to promote the Bible Challenge more widely – even globally. The website, www.thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org  has a chart of daily readings (Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament) linked at the bottom of this page. There’s also a meditation, question or two, and a prayer that will be posted on this page every day, Monday through Saturday, throughout 2012. The website has tons of helpful resources for individuals, clergy, and parishes, and it offers options to consider for succeeding years of the Bible Challenge.

Connecticut connections:
Four of the Center’s founding members are from the Diocese of Connecticut: the Rev. John Branson, rector of Christ & Holy Trinity; the Rev. Jim Lemler, rector of Christ Church, Greenwich; the Rev. Joe Pace, rector of St. John’s, West Hartford; and the Rev. Peter Walsh, rector of St. Mark’s, New Canaan. All three of those churches are participating.

The Center’s advisory board includes international and US members, some from this diocese. The Rev. Carolyn Sharp, Yale Divinity School professor and curate at St. Thomas’, New Haven – and part of the Bible in the Life of the Church project of the Anglican Communion, will be one of the leaders in a related conference to be held in April 2012.

Bishop Ian T. Douglas made a New Year’s resolution to take up the Bible Challenge, and emailed Bishop Curry and Bishop Ahrens and all the diocesan staff with an invitation to join him, so your bishops and many on the diocesan staff are participating.

The Center would love to know if your parish is participating. Writes the Rev. Marek Zabriski: “If your church or you decide to join The Bible Challenge, please let us know so that we may learn from your experience and support your efforts. Together we can start a spiritual revolution that changes the world.”

Email them at join@thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org. We’ll have a link to the Center’s website, with its resources and list of participating parishes, on www.ctmissionconnect.org  under a heading called Bible Study.

Warning: strlen() expects parameter 1 to be string, array given in /data/18/1/119/121/1608447/user/1733315/htdocs/stmichaelslitchfield/blog/wp-content/themes/techozoic-fluid/archive.php on line 60

The Wednesday late morning Bible study group at Suzanne Switzer’s home. Diane Damerau says, “We like meeting there because little Robbie is such a delight. He always welcomes us with a smiling ‘hello ladies’.   Everyone is welcome. We thrive on different viewpoints.”

Warning: strlen() expects parameter 1 to be string, array given in /data/18/1/119/121/1608447/user/1733315/htdocs/stmichaelslitchfield/blog/wp-content/themes/techozoic-fluid/archive.php on line 60