NUUC is excited to announce a new Adult Education Opportunity: Stories of Power and Passion: Reading the Hebrew Bible, led by Rev. Joan Van Becelaere. “Hebrew Bible” is an alternative term for the books of the Bible called the ‘Old Testament’ by Christians and Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvi’im by Jews. We will explore stories, legends, poetry, songs, prophecies and scandals from passages well-known and others that are pretty obscure. Drawing on the tools of literary, historical, and sociological criticism, we will discuss questions of: Who wrote the Hebrew Bible? Why and when was it written? What role has it played in our western culture? And what lessons can we draw for our day and age, especially from the Literature of Resistance? Then, starting February 2020, there will be a follow up series, “Once Upon a Time in Judea,” when we will look at the New Testament.

The class will meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, at 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall of NUUC, starting Sept. 10 – and ending January 2020. You do not have to attend all of the classes to participate, but do understand that if you join late or miss some classes there might be some catch up to do. SIGN UP for the class by signing the sign up sheet on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall, or by emailing minister@nuuc.org, or through this link to an online sign up: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BibleSignUp

Rev. Joan Van Becelaere is the Director of UU Justice Ohio and a passionate lover of the Hebrew Bible, after having the honor of studying with some of the great modern biblical scholars in seminary. In the past, Rev Joan taught a much shorter version of this class at Summer Institute and for the regional online leadership school.