When you found out we spend a lot of time time studying the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) at 40 Orchards, you may have wondered:

Why?

You may feel about the Old Testament like many people do—that it’s filled with patriarchy and judgement and violence. You may experience it as a lot of language and names that aren’t relatable. You may wonder if those stories of creation have any basis in reality. Or, you may believe there’s more to be gained from Jesus and the New Testament.

But…what if there’s more there than meets the eye?

What if understanding the Torah could help us understand Jesus?

And what happens to our experience of a story if we skip the beginning?

We sent our next Perspectives teacher, Kiah Glenn, the following question: Narratives of the human experience invite us to find ourselves somewhere in the story. When thinking about Scripture, where are you in the story right now?

Here’s how she responded: “This question is interesting because I think that I am often in this place in regards to my relationship with AL-Mutakabir ( the Majestic). Muslims have one source of scripture, the Quran, but also utilize the Hadiths (sayings of the Prophet). In this instead of looking at the scripture I want to reflect on a Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh)…”

The pandemic has not brought us to a singular place. It has engaged us in an unpredictable journey.

Even now, as we shift into the vaccine season, we are not “out of the woods” or “back to normal,” we are just at a new stage of wandering in this covid-19 land.

It reminds me of the biblical journeys through the wilderness.

It’s easy to think about the wilderness as a singular place—especially when we contain it within geography. We might think of it as the desert areas in a particular part of the Middle East—the land in which the Israelites wandered after Egypt and the land to which spiritual leaders traveled when they wanted to hear from God.

But the wilderness is not a singular destination.

Whether we are physically or metaphorically there, the wilderness is a place that brings us on a spiritual trek as we process our lives in new ways….

Read a bit about the biblical wilderness experience. Then join us for a Wilderness Scripture Circle to continue the conversation.

We sent our next Perspectives teacher, Kelly Sherman Conroy, the following question: Narratives of the human experience invite us to find ourselves somewhere in the story. When thinking about Scripture, where are you in the story right now?

Here’s how she responded: “... Storytelling takes on many forms, but the common thread is that no matter what art we choose to tell our story, it is fascinating to us as human beings, because the art in which we choose is like a portal to a memory, and it holds the important power of keeping stories alive…”

I don’t know that words will ever be able to capture the significance of the final day with my Cohort this July, but I will try.

One of my biggest struggles in life has been feeling inadequate. I’ve gauged my self worth on my achievements, performances, perfections, and imperfections. I’ve placed far too much value on what others think of me. I’ve always been my biggest critic and I’ve never lived up to my own expectations.

This is why it was so important for me to find my “Sabbath”…

I’m a pretty big fan of love, justice and mercy, and I’ve got the other nine commandments down pretty well. But asking a perfectionist, people-pleasing, full-time working mom of three elementary-aged kids, with a husband who struggles with bi-polar II disorder, to rest is laughable. There simply isn’t time.

On our first night together, as we studied Sabbath, I dove in with the intent to find any loophole I could…

We sent our next Perspectives teacher, Rev. Jia Starr Brown, the following question: Narratives of the human experience invite us to find ourselves somewhere in the story. When thinking about Scripture, where are you in the story right now?

Here’s how she responded: “...I believe a huge part of growing (stretching!) our faith is when we challenge ourselves to step into the narrative that we DON’T commonly - or comfortably - gravitate toward…”

“One of my biggest reminders of God’s unconditional love is my body. It does not judge an injury. It simply moves towards healing and life.” - Joe Davis

When Joe said this in our Perspectives Listening Session earlier this month, I just about fell off my chair. I have never had this thought in my entire life. Like many of us, my relationship with my body is complicated. I’ve been learning to embrace my own embodiment, but it is slow and difficult work.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul paints a picture of human community as a body. As Joe taught us from this passage, I realized that I had never put my own physical body into this imagery.

How are we to embrace the body of a community if we cannot even hold our own embodiment with tender care?

We recently sent our first Perspectives teacher, Joe Davis, the following question:

Narratives of the human experience invite us to find ourselves somewhere in the story. When thinking about Scripture, where are you in the story right now?

Here’s how Joe responded: “When I think about the personal narratives we share with each other, I wonder if we can listen long enough to hear the humanity. That, to me, is…”

We believe we have much to learn from others—especially from voices we don’t often hear in our insulated, echo-chamber lives. That’s why we’re so excited to announce a whole new series at 40 Orchards, called Perspectives. We’ll be inviting local BIPOC leaders to teach us Scripture, and we’ll be wrestling through it together.

Our first session will feature Joe Davis, a Minneapolis artist, poet, and teacher.