Every world religion has in common the tradition of a set of sacred texts. We all believe that these texts transcend time and space. They are relevant to us today, and relate to our daily lives. We find rich meaning in “reading between the lines” of the text.

In the United Church we take the Bible seriously, not literally. We read the Biblical stories, letters and poetry metaphorically United Church Ministers are educated at a Masters’ degree level in the scholarly study of the Bible. Every Sunday, one passage of Scripture is chosen as the sermon text and interpreted for the people in our contemporary context.

It is amazing to discover that many people have been Christians their whole life, and yet have never even read the Holy Scriptures of their own religion. A life of discipleship is one of continual reading and study of the Bible. Here are a few ways you can begin your study of the Bible:

• begin with a newcomer's course (8 weeks or less) such as "Christianity 101" to familiarize yourself with the Bible (contents, and how to read it)
• participate in a small group (they study the Bible at their bi-weekly meetings, and there is no preparation necessary)
• sign up for the Leadership Course - you will read the whole Bible over two years