September 2022
This is a repeating eventOctober 5, 2022 7:00 pm
Time
(Wednesday) 7:00 pm
Location
House of Ruth and Junia
618 West Grafton Place
Event Details
FALL BIBLE STUDY 2022 Mary Magdalene, The First Apostle: The Struggle for Authority Come join our learning community on Wednesdays—at “House of Ruth and Junia” (618 West Grafton Place, Anaheim) Dinner at
Event Details
FALL BIBLE STUDY 2022
Mary Magdalene, The First Apostle: The Struggle for Authority
Come join our learning community on Wednesdays—at “House of Ruth and Junia” (618 West Grafton Place, Anaheim)
Dinner at 6 PM
Seminar at 7 – 8 PM in person or by Zoom
Join the Saint Matthew Bible Study group on Facebook (and view the Bible Study recording at a later time)
Search for “Saint Matthew Bible Study” or visit facebook.com/groups/2790944940960983/. The group is open to Saint Matthew members and anyone else from all over the world who would like to participate.
If you are unable to meet with us in person, you are welcome to join live on Zoom (details will be available on the Facebook group page)
Description
Why did some early Christians consider Mary Magdalene to be an Apostle while others did not? Some Christian texts, underlying her role as one of the very first witnesses to the resurrection, portray Mary Magdalene as the ‘Apostle to the Apostles,’ while other sources exclude or replace her in their resurrection accounts. We will examine how the conferral, or withholding of apostolic status operated as a tool of both canonical and non-canonical literature in this study. There are some interesting contrasts and correlations between the prominence of Peter in a text and a corresponding diminishment of women’s leadership and apostolicity in others. The patterns are quite clear and compelling across the four canonical Gospels. Historical study of early Christian tensions has serious implications for our current day perspectives about leadership in the church. Authority, apostolic status and women’s ordination continue to be highly disputed topics in the Roman Catholic Church and within many protestant circles today.
Please Note: Printing is very costly. This fall, we are putting all our materials including a Study Guide, and our text, Ann Graham Brock (2003): Mary Magdalene, The First Apostle: The Struggle for Authority. Harvard Theological Studies on a memory stick which you can pick up at the first meeting if you come in person, or at church, or we can mail it to you. Send an email to Rev. Martha with your snail mail address, phone number and she will put you on our Bible Class Roster: rogersmartha@sbcglobal.net ~ Links and instructions will also be posted on Facebook and on our website.
If you are coming for dinner, we would appreciate an RSVP by Wednesday morning each week so that we can plan food but come anyway, even if you forget to let us know! If you can’t travel because of distance or other reasons and want to hook up by zoom, we will post the link and will help you come to class if this is new for you!
Schedule
9/28/22 – First meeting: 7-10 PM, thereafter 7-8 PM Film: Mary Magdalene (2019, Netflix, 2 hours) and brief overview
10/5/22 – What is the origin of the term, Apostle’? What were biblical ‘qualifications’ or definitions of ‘Apostle’ and how did they change?
10/12/22 – How were the Magdalene and other women portrayed in Luke and John?
10/19/22 – How were the Magdalene and other women portrayed in Mark and Matthew compared to the apocryphal book, the Gospel of Peter?
10/26/22 – Advocacy of authority and women’s leadership as seen in apocryphal books, the Acts of Paul and the Acts of Peter
11/2/22 – How was Mary Magdalene replaced? strategy for eliminating the competition
11/9/22 – Apostolic contradictions and the crisis of authority in the early church as seen in the four canonical Gospels and letters of Paul
11/16/22 – Recovering lost apostolic traditions: Implicit challenges: Diminishing Mary’s status as a witness, as a presence as a witness, as a role model and her status as an Apostle
11/23/22 – Explicit challenges to Apostolic Authority and Recovering Apostolic Status
Directions to House of Ruth and Junia – 10 minutes from Saint Matthew
1. Get on 5 North to Lincoln Avenue [approximately 5 miles]
2. Get off at Lincoln and turn right. Go to Citron [3rd light]
3. Turn left on Citron. Cross over Citron and North, then make an immediate Right on to Grafton Place. 618 West Grafton Place, Anaheim 92805
The Magdalene by Lex Leonard on our front piece is copyrighted © 2022) and used by permission of the artist. For further inquiries, please contact lexanneleonard@gmail.com. Lex is a Red Thread Guide and Intentional Creativity facilitator. Her love of Magdalene has spawned a one woman show about Magdalene, as well as this painting. Ceremony, ritual and the arts have been a part of her life since she was a child, building May altars for Mary to today showing her Muses and other paintings in galleries and arts shows throughout Colorado. You can see more of her work at https://lexleonard.squarespace.com