I invite you to join me on a pilgrimage, a journey to last well into next year, an adventure challenging in many ways, fulfilling, I hope, in even more ways.  Beginning next Sunday, September 23rd, at 9:15 a.m. and finishing by 10:05 a.m., I’m starting a series called Dusting Off the Bible.  The time slot itself, an opportunity for lifelong growth in faith for adult disciples, will be called “The Dean’s Forum.”  For the next thirty plus weeks I’ll lead a survey of the Scriptures we call The Holy Bible, which have always been and remain normative and authoritative for the Church, the whole Body of Christ in the World.  In the future, others will be invited to lead short series, or even individual sessions, on topics related in some way to our life of faith as disciples of the Crucified and Risen One, Jesus the Christ.  But this year, it’s Dusting Off the Bible.

A few practical tips if you can come…  BYOB!  Bring Your Own Bible, that is.  In worship we use the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, as recommended by the Anglican Church of Canada, but there are many other good translations, and even a few helpful paraphrases.  If you have a Bible, and use it, bring that one, whichever version it is. 

Next week will be an introductory session, with discussion on the Book (Bible is a transliteration of the Greek word, Biblion, which means, ‘book.’), and how it’s been studied, and how we might go about doing that, what it means to you, to me, to us, to the Church, to many.  I think it will be a good discussion to have before we launch out together on our voyage of exploration.  I’m excited about the next months; I hope you’ll come and join with me and with others to make this a community experience, part of our growth together as disciples of Jesus, and part of our future as St. John’s Cathedral.  But do bring your Bible, even next week, and hang onto it for worship too.  Finally, pray; pray for me, pray for us, pray for this community we call St. John’s, that we might listen together to hear what the Spirit is saying to this church and so discern more clearly the future into which we are being called.  Thanks be to God!