Thursday Evening Bible Study
Led by parishioner Jay Blossom, Saint Mark’s Bible study meets on Thursday evenings on mostly alternating weeks (see schedule below) from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Rectory Parlor, enter the Rectory door and climb the stairs to the second floor.
A normal Bible study hour at Saint Mark’s involves reading a chapter or two straight from the Bible, stopping frequently for a guided discussion of its meaning. Skeptics and believers alike are welcome, there’s no homework, and no previous experience is required! An outline of the evening is:
5:30-6:00 p.m. - (Optional) Join the parish's daily Evening Prayer service in the Church
6:00-6:15 p.m. - Gathering and conversation in the Rectory Parlor
6:15-7:05 p.m. - Bible study
7:05-7:15 p.m. - Prayer requests, Compline, departure
The primary goal of the study is increasing our familiarity the Bible as a whole, so our readings often alternate between obscure books and “greatest hits.” We never shy away from the hard parts, and we try to employ some recent critical scholarship even as we read the text in a fairly straightforward way.
Jay Blossom, who earned a graduate degree in religion from Duke University, is the convener and leader. He welcomes questions, tries to make difficult passages plain, and invites everyone to participate at whatever level they feel comfortable. Come to converse, study, or listen. For more information, text him at 215-922-6892 or email him at jsfblossom@yahoo.com.
Bible Study Schedule
Join us as we study the Acts of the Apostles, the account of the Church's expansion from Jerusalem to the "uttermost parts of the earth." Along the way, we'll re-familiarize ourselves with some of the church's foundational stories like the martyrdom of St. Stephen and the conversion of St. Paul. And we'll find that women played a surprisingly active role in Christianity's growth.
September 19. Acts 1-2. Jesus' resurrection and the first Christian converts.
October 10. Acts 3-5. Opposition from religious leaders.
October 24. Acts 6-8. The first deacons.
November 7. Acts 9-10. The conversion of Paul, and Peter's vision
November 21. Acts 11-13. The martyrdom of James; Paul and Barnabas set out.
December 5. Acts 14-16. Paul on the move among the Gentiles
December 12 (Note date change!). Corinth and Ephesus.
December 19, 26; January 2: Break
January 9: Bible study reconvenes