Entering the Passion
Jewish History and the Lenten Season
An Asynchronous Lenten Study for All
Hosted by the Moving Outward Ministry of Friedens United Church of Christ, based on the book, Entering the Passion, by New Testament scholar, Amy-Jill Levine, and facilitated by Adam Hayden
Introduction
In the Christian Liturgical calendar, Lent is a time of fasting and sacrifice in anticipation for the final days of Jesus’s life, often called Holy Week. The six weeks of Lent are bookended by the solemn day of prayer, Ash Wednesday, and the celebration of new life, six weeks later, the Christian holiday of Easter. The season of Lent is a sacred time for Christians that calls for study, repentance, and moving forward from the season with refreshed commitment to following the Way of the One Christians follow, Jesus. Read on for more details, or skip right to signing up by completing this Google Form!
“To study Jesus and the Gospels is, in fact, to study Jewish history.” Amy-Jill Levine
Entering the Passion
Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She is a professor, author, facilitator of Jewish study in Christian settings for Christian clergy, and editor of the acclaimed, Jewish Annotated New Testament. Professor Levine reminds us that “to study Jesus and the Gospels is, in fact, to study Jewish history,” and our study will take that seriously.
A Lenten Study
This year, the community of Friedens shapes the season of Lent with the theme: Luke Poses Questions to Ponder. At Friedens, Sunday worship services during Lent will study the Gospel according to Luke and reflect on open questions raised and addressed by the text. Special homilies offered on Ash Wednesday and Holy Friday feature younger voices at Friedens: Council President, Lisa Soard, on Ash Wednesday, and Friedens Moving Outward Council member and study leader, Adam Hayden, on Holy Friday.
Asynchronous
Our approach to this study is borne out of commitments to accessibility and maximum participation. By asynchronous, we mean that all study and group interactions occur on participants’ own schedules, facilitated through pre-recorded video messages, regular emails, and blog post discussion prompts. Unlike a traditional book study when all participants gather regularly to discuss assigned readings, in our study, these interactions are open to participants when and where it works best for them! To foster relationship building, we encourage replying and commenting on blog post discussion prompts, and for those who feel comfortable, in-person worship attendance create opportunities do deepen our connection with each other and to study themes. But we emphasize that Friedens is an inclusive community, where folks of all belief backgrounds are welcome. More on that in the following sections!
Format
The study begins with an introductory email message and video on Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2022. The following week, beginning Monday, March 7, 2022, and continuing for six weeks, through the week beginning Monday, April 11, 2022, participants can expect three emails each week to guide the study.
The conclusion of the study is Holy Friday, also called “Good Friday,” Friday, April 15, 2022. Also the first night of the Jewish holiday, Passover. Study Facilitator, Adam, offers a reflection during that Friday service, and all study participants are encouraged to attend, in-person or virtually by live stream, to see how study themes are incorporated into this traditional Christian service. Attendance is encouraged to enhance the connection to the study, but is optional, and not at all required to participate in the study.
Regular Emails
Participants will receive three emails each week during the study: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Monday
A link to a video “talk” to introduce that week’s themes, along with a discussion prompt and link to a blog post to comment and share with other study participants.
Wednesday
A summary of that week’s theme, with quotes from the study material, and a reminder to comment on the discussion prompts on the blog post.
Friday
Passages from Sacred Texts that correspond with that week’s themes. This is an opportunity to read the primary material that Professor Levine is explaining and commenting on in her book. This material may also be helpful for a time of reflection during the weekend
Video “Talks”
Short videos—around 5 minutes in length—introduce each week’s theme, from the facilitator, Adam, and he shares his perspective on that theme.
Discussion Prompts
Participants are expected to comment at least once each week to demonstrate your commitment to the study and interact with other participants. In an asynchronous format, participating in these discussions is how we grow and learn together.
Worship Opportunities
A Church can be an unfamiliar place for those who didn’t grow up in one, and it can serve as a flashpoint of trauma for those who have been rejected, disenfranchised, or otherwise made to feel unwelcome. Plus, the ongoing pandemic means large gatherings may feel unsafe for many people. Friedens offers in-person and live streamed worship opportunities. Although not required for participation in the study, we suggest that attending worship opportunities during the study may help to illuminate themes that are discussed in Professor Levine’s book. As a secondary benefit, these services may create relationship-building opportunities, both for local participants who may feel comfortable attending in-person and for virtual attendees to share common experiences that can be incorporated in our virtual discussions.
Audience
Friedens leaders have not been shy about sharing the reality that attendance, membership, and affiliation in American mainline Christian congregations is on the decline. More, we admit that these wounds are often self-inflicted. The tradition of the “big C” Church, meaning the American Christian Church, in all its varied denominations and practices, has too often marginalized communities and refused to take a stand on issues of injustice. In the worst cases, injustices have been defended by misguided appeal to the Sacred texts that Christians hold dear. Though we cannot erase the wrongs of the Church, at Friedens, are pursuing new ways to equip our members with the tools to address past injustices, and we are on a path to welcome, include, and amplify the voices of those who have fallen victim to the hegemony and narrow thinking of too many Christian communities. In this study, and in many other ways, we seek maximum participation from the voices who have been silenced. We acknowledge this is difficult and lifelong work, but we must begin with a first step. Please join us.
About the Facilitator
Adam Hayden is a pastor’s kid whose dad, two uncles, and granddad are current, retired, or late pastors in the United Church of Christ. He grew up in the church, and in his late teens, Adam’s family discovered a vital heritage connection to Judaism, on his mom’s side of the family. Adam went on to study Religious Studies and Philosophy in college, and he set out on a quest to explore the significance of Judaism in his religious identity. For twenty years, Adam has studied in Christian, Jewish, and interfaith settings, and he’s come to understand through Christian, Jewish, and secular scholars that though Judaism and Christianity have diverged in belief and practice—and this is good, to celebrate differences—that the early Jesus movement that Christians read and study in the New Testament are about a thoroughly Jewish teacher in Jewish communities, interacting with Jewish leaders. Without understanding this, we misunderstand Jesus. In a time in our country when we see the rise of overt and implied anti-Semitism, a commitment to Jewish study is a powerful antidote to ugly discrimination.
Registration Details
To register, complete this Google Form, or email Adam Hayden before Monday, February 28, 2022.
To purchase the book, please find Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week by Amy-Jill Levine on Amazon, or better yet, order directly from your local, independent bookstore, like Indy Reads. If purchasing the book is not an option, please let Adam know privately, and copies of the book can be made available.
About Friedens
Friedens United Church of Christ is an Open and Affirming and Just Peace congregation that means we intentionally commit ourselves to creating safe and inclusive spaces for all people.
Excerpt from our Open and Affirming Covenant: At Friedens all means all. Every race, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, marital status, education, background, age, physical and mental ability and attribute, and political belief. You can help us to expand the circle of love.
Excerpt from our Just Peace Covenant: We acknowledge that the work toward justice and peace is a continuing process, and we commit to ongoing education, public witness, and action. We recognize accountability as a Just Peace congregation to actively dismantle systems that impede peace and justice and disrespect the dignity of others, such as racism, sexism, heterosexism, homophobia, ableism, and ideologies that separate us from the Creator and one another.
