Join us for a series of evening discussions with authors of the Barclay Press Illuminate Friends Bible study summer curriculum on Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Speakers will share insights from their studies as they prepared this summer’s lessons and “Friendly Perspectives.” The Illuminate curriculum is used by Friends groups all over the country. A copy of the Summer 2021 study guide – A Community of Belonging – can be purchased when you register or ordered separately by clicking on the booklet image, below.

From the Illuminate study guide:

“The letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians are considered Paul’s prison letters, written while under arrest for preaching the good news of Jesus, a message that was good news to many who were marginalized within the Roman Empire. Written in a particular time and place, these letters also speak across the years, bringing to mind imprisonments experienced by early Friends in the 1600s and Civil Rights leaders in the twentieth century as they lived Jesus’ message as good news for the poor, stood for equality, and rejected empty religious practices. How will the Spirit speak to Friends through these letters today?”

Schedule:

Session 1: June 14 ~ Ephesians 1, with Cherice Bock and Sammy Sanders
Click here to register for Session 1 only.
Session 2: June 28 ~ Ephesians 4, with Jennifer Higgins-Newman and Sara Beth Terrell
Click here to register for Session 2 only.
Session 3: July 12 ~ Ephesians 5, with Jaimie Mudd and Melinda Wenner Bradley
Click here to register for Session 3 only.
Session 4: July 26 ~ Philippians 1, with Cherice Bock and Dennis Edwards
Click here to register for Session 4 only.
Session 5: August 9 ~ Philippians 4, with Dennis Edwards and Carolyne Jordan
Click here to register for Session 5 only.
Session 6: August 23 ~ Colossians 2, with Brian Drayton and Rhiannon Grant
Click here to register for Session 6 only.

Leader(s)

Cherice Bock

Cherice Bock edits Illuminate, the Friends Bible study curriculum of Barclay Press. Since 2019, she has completed quarterly Bible studies on 22 books of the Bible. Bock also teaches Bible and ecotheology to undergraduates and seminary students. A Quaker from Oregon, Bock is a recorded minister and a member of North Valley Friends and Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends. She co-edited the book Quakers, Creation Care, and Sustainability with Stephen Potthoff and speaks and writes about – and advocates for – faith based climate justice.

Jennifer Higgins-Newman (Photo Credit: John Kim)

Jennifer Higgins-Newman is a Quaker, theologian, writer, activist, and currently the Program Manager at Beacon Hill Friends House. She is a member of Beacon Hill Friends Meeting, New England Yearly Meeting, holds a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School, and spent several years working in advocacy around human rights, the public interest, and the environment before coming to BHFH. In addition to her work, Jen writes for the Barclay Press Illuminate series and serves on the NEYM host committee for gatherings on spiritual life and ministry.

Melinda Wenner Bradley

Melinda Wenner Bradley is a member of West Chester Meeting and serves Philadelphia Yearly Meeting as the Youth Religious Life Coordinator. Her ministry weaves together interests in spiritual formation, program development, and support for parents and adults who care for youth. Melinda is the co-author and editor of Faith & Play: Quaker Stories for Friends Trained in the Godly Play Method. She has led workshops and teacher training for meetings, schools, and at international gatherings of Friends in Peru, England, and Kenya.

Rhiannon Grant

Rhiannon Grant works at Woodbrooke, where she teaches in the Centre for Research in Quaker Studies. Her research has covered liberal Quaker theology, how Quakers talk about God, changing Quaker practices such as the use of ‘threshing meetings’ and ‘afterwords,’ and wider topics in religious studies such as feminist and queer theologies, multiple religious belonging, and Wittgensteinian understandings of religion. Her next book, Hearing the Light, will be published by Christian Alternative in September 2021.

Financial aid may be available. If you are seeking funds to participate in this program, click to review and complete our Financial Assistance Application and a Pendle Hill staff member will follow-up with you shortly (please do NOT register online). Thank you for your interest.

Travel directions to Pendle Hill. Click to view the flyer.