APCE: Praying through Scripture Workshop

M.Div. student Amanda Kathryn Hill shares her reflections on attending the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) 2017 Annual Event in Denver, Colorado.

On the second day of our stay in Denver, Colorado, for the APCE annual conference, I attended a workshop entitled “Praying through Scripture: On the Road with Jesus to Jerusalem.” This workshop was led by Mary Marcotte, who currently resides in Houston, Texas. Mary compiled a wonderful resource packet full of pictures and scripture that the class used during the workshop. Mary invited us to consider this practice of praying through scripture as an “opportunity to be grounded in scripture and rest in scripture.” It was made clear that what we were learning in this workshop would be a tool that we could take home and use. A practical application that I was very appreciative of. These types of resources (one that I could directly adapt to ministry back home) are exactly why I attended the APCE conference.

First, we read Matthew 4:1-11 which describes the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. We were asked as group members to consider some “wondering questions.” For example, “how was it to be in the desert?” “what was Jesus going through?” and “How small did Jesus feel?” These questions allowed us readers to dig deeper into the story, and attempt to place ourselves within the narrative. The answers offered up during this time expanded my mind and my understanding of this section of scripture. I had never before considered just how lonely Jesus must have felt in the desert, nor had I pondered how his divinity compared with his loneliness.

After spending time with both the transfiguration passages and the healing of the blind man, we moved to the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). We read the story together as a class and then we were asked to write a short poem about Zacchaeus. In a sort of haiku style, Mary told us these poems would consist of 5 lines. The first line would be Zacchaeus’ name, then the second line would be two adjectives to describe him, the third line would be three verbs Zacchaeus was doing, the fourth line would be four words about Zacchaeus and the last line was one single word about what happened.  Here is my poem:

“Zacchaeus
Climbing Hiding Wanting
He just needed love
Transformed”

We then read Psalm 122, a song of ascents.  Mary read through the psalm three times and asked us to pick out words that stand out to us each time. This style is known as lectio divina and is commonly practiced within the Christian Education field. After hearing the psalm read three times and picking out the words that stood out to me, this is a prayer I wrote to God:

“Gracious and loving God,  allow me to faithfully feel comfortable within your gates. Plant me firmly in your will. Teach me to keep my house as your house. I pray for my dear friend who has recently spent time in the hospital. I pray for peace and comfort for them and their family. May we as your children who love you continue to reflect the love of your son in this world, Amen.”