Lectio Divina
Want to change your relationship with the Bible? Want to try a spiritual practice of reflecting on scriptural passages once a week for eight weeks? Want to do it with Quakers?
Sign up for this eight-week experimental session of Lectio Divina led by David Coletta of Three Rivers, a worship group under the care of Fresh Pond Monthly Meeting of Friends in Cambridge, Mass.
What is Lectio Divina?
Lectio Divina is an individual spiritual practice, done in a group. In this practice we learn to recognize the words, feelings, and invitations to faithfulness that can arise when reading the Bible.
How is this different from Bible study?
Bible study is more like, "I want to understand this, I want to get the context, I want to think about it." Lectio Divina is more like, "How does this land with me? What feelings rise up for me when I hear it? What kind of faithfulness does it call me to?" Bible study might be a place to discuss and disagree about what a passage means; Lectio Divina is individual sharing with no crosstalk and no discussion: just reflection.
What do we do during the hour?
Each week we get together for an hour, we read a scriptural passage, and we respond to it out loud, as led, kind of like worship sharing. So first, there's the question: What word rises up for you? And each person says a word. Then there's the question: What feeling rises up for you? and each person mentions a feeling. And then there's the question: what is the call? And people respond with a sense of the call that they're feeling from that scriptural passage, if they feel one.
Do I need to know the Bible?
Lectio Divina is a great way to start getting to know the Bible. It works whether you have done a lot of Bible reading in the past or none at all. And because each person shares from their own experience, with no crosstalk, it's possible to come at it from where you are, without that feeling of having been behind the door when Bibles were first handed out.
Do I need to like the Bible?
We each bring our own experiences with the Bible, some positive, others not so much. Lectio Divina can be a great place to wrestle with the parts of the Bible that just don't work for you. It can also be a place to hear how differently the same passage can land with different people. You don't need to like the Bible, and venting about it is welcome. Loving it is also welcome! It's all good.
What do I need to bring?
Each week we will have an online handout that contains all the text we'll be working with. It's available in advance, but you're encouraged not to read it in advance if that works for you, but instead to allow it to land afresh at the start of our time each week. If you have your own copy of the Bible and you like to have it handy when you're reading scripture, feel free to bring it, but it's not necessary.
Do I have to come to all the sessions?
Doing Lectio together develops trust, which grows more with more consistent attendance. So it would be great if you could make all eight sessions! But it's okay if you have to miss one or two. Please sign up only for the sessions for which you know you don't have a schedule conflict. If that's not at least six of them, you might consider waiting until next time!