All are welcome at our two weekly opportunities for study and conversation. Both are currently meeting online on Zoom.
Beloved’s Bible Study Group, led by Rev. Sally Harris, meets every Wednesday at 6 pm to pray, study scripture, and discuss films or books. Topics of discussion vary widely but have included social justice and our church’s response, lecture series from Biblical scholars, discussions of essays or films, reflecting on the Bible using our own knowledge and experiences, and in-depth study of weekly lectionary passages.
The group recently completed a study of the Psalms based on Walter Brueggemann’s approach and read The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong by Karen Gonzalez.
The Liberation Theology Study Group, facilitated by Rev. Jennifer Sanders, meets on Sunday afternoons at 3 pm to read and discuss works from different contemporary liberation theologies. It adopts a praxis-based approach to informing our work in the community and in the world.
A cumulative list of the books we’ve read in the group since it began in October 2016 can be found at the bottom of this page* – we recommend them all!
Our Children’s Ministry provides creative and holistic opportunities for young people to learn, grow and develop through the the Whole People of God curriculum
For our youth, we offer opportunities for learning, friendship, and service through our participation in the Birmingham Cooperative Youth Ministry, a collaboration among several area progressive churches.
To learn more about or join in any of these learning opportunities, please Contact us.
* Liberation Theology Study Group Reading List
2016
Spirit and Resistance: Political Theology and American Indian Liberation – George E. Tinker
“Grace Lee Boggs: A Century in the World” – On Being interview with Krista Tippett
A selection of poems brought by the group
2017
In the Company of the Poor: Conversations with Dr. Paul Farmer and Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez – editors -Michael Griffin and Jennie Weiss Block
Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God – Kelly Brown Douglas (co-facilitated with T. Marie King)
Idolatry: A Reading Key for the Market Economy? (article) – Jung Mo Sung from Dialog: A Journal of Theology
The Cross and the Lynching Tree – James Cone (co-facilitated with T. Marie King)
Spirituality and Liberation: Overcoming the Great Fallacy – Robert McAfee Brown
Rainbow Theology: Bridging Race, Sexuality, and Spirit – Patrick Cheng
Jesus and the Disinherited – Howard Thurman (facilitated by Gabriel Cabán Cubero)
2018
Pedagogy of the Oppressed – Paulo Freire (facilitated by Gabriel Cabán Cubero)
Nobody Cries When We Die: God, Community, and Surviving to Adulthood – Patrick Reyes
Reading the Bible From the Margins – Miguel de la Torre
Blessed are the Consumers: Climate Change and the Practice of Restraint (started) – Sallie McFague
2019
Blessed are the Consumers: Climate Change and the Practice of Restraint (finished) – Sallie McFague
Intersectional Theology: An Introductory Guide – Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Susan M. Shaw
2020
Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire – Rebecca Ann Parker and Rita Nakashima Brock
I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation – Chanequa Walker-Barnes.
Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World (2nd ed.) – Serene Jones
Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity – Robert Chao Romero
