For many United Methodists, a new year is a good time to plan to read more, research a new area of interest or dig deeper in the Bible. We have recommendations to help with those studious endeavors.
“The Bible Year”
“The Bible Year,” a 2021 Abingdon Press release written by Margrey deVega, is a tool to help readers develop a daily discipline of studying scripture and reading through the Bible in 365 days. What’s new this year is a video component. In a partnership with Amplify Media, Abingdon presents 52 sessions (most are 5-7 minutes long) to accompany “The Bible Year.” Veteran United Methodist leaders, including Rachel Billups, Jevon Caldwell-Gross, Ken Carter, Matt Rawle, Barb Roose and Melissa Spoelstra, offer context and insight to Bible passages. The videos may be used for individual or group study.
“Living the Wesleyan Way”
For those interested in learning more about John and Charles Wesley’s vision for the church tradition, a free four-week online study will provide insight into the theology and spirituality of the Methodist movement’s founders. “Living the Wesleyan Way,” led by the Rev. Dr. Paul W. Chilcote and sponsored by UMsConnected, will gather participants via zoom. Meeting every two weeks, the group will read and discuss “Recapturing the Wesleys’ Vision: An Introduction to the Faith of John and Charles Wesley.” The book study, which is begins January 10, is offered free of charge, but registration is required by emailing pwchilcote@aol.com.
“American Methodism Revised and Updated”
If learning more about American Methodism interests you, you may want to put the newly revised and updated “American Methodism” on your reading list. The volume explores the Methodist Movement in the 19th and 20th centuries, positioning the denomination’s history in the context of U.S. historical periods, including the impact of Circuit Riders, the schism between abolitionists and enslavers, the years that encompassed World War II and the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement and ordaining women in the 1950s.
Methodist teachers Ashley Boggan D., Russell E. Richey, Kenneth E. Rowe and Jean Miller Schmidt collaborated on the 2022 revised edition that was first published in 2012.
This content was compiled by United Methodist Communications and published December 21, 2022. Contact is Joe Iovino.
