Diane Jacobson, director of the Book of Faith Initiative for the ELCA, led the gathering theme exploration through the Bible study Friday (and Saturday) mornings. The “of many generations” study is in the June and July/August issues of Gather magazine, which were included in registration materials.
“We are gathered as women of many generations with calls to repair, rebuild, restore not only our relationships, but also the world around us,” Jacobson said during Friday morning’s plenary.
“To do this, we look to scripture for stories that take us into this calling. I know of no better group in the world than the Women of the ELCA to do such a thing. So many of you have been doing Bible study for years, faithfully and creatively. I have learned a lot from you, as has the whole church.”
Jacobson said she “thought long and hard about what text we should use this summer to flesh out and speak to this theme ‘of many generations,'” and she chose the Lukan stories of Elizabeth and Mary and the concluding song of Mary, as well as the story of Lydia, “which unfortunately we won’t have time to do in our times together here. But I commend the study to you.”
Jacobson is professor emeritus of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minn. where she taught from 1982-2012.
Terri Lackey/Gather magazine