What's New in October
A Letter from Pastor Jakob
Texts of Terror: A Spooky October Wednesday Series. If you only read this first sentence, here’s the bottom line: on Wednesday nights in October we’ll gather for a special study called Texts of Terror, exploring some of the Bible’s most haunting stories through the eyes of feminist scholar Phyllis Trible. It’s honest, heavy, and timely.
Here’s why this matters to me. I love the Bible. I love it not because it is safe or simple, but because it never stops surprising me. It’s full of fantastic stories and strange characters, moments of breathtaking beauty and moments of raw brutality. The Bible will not be tamed into a book of slogans or positive affirmations. Instead, it mirrors life back to us as it really is—messy, unpredictable, tragic, wondrous—and then dares to claim that God is somehow present even in the middle of it all. Sometimes that presence is radiant and hopeful. Other times it is obscure, as if God is hidden in the shadows, grieving alongside us.
That’s why I want to spend this October facing some of the hardest passages together. Phyllis Trible’s Texts of Terror takes us to four stories that most preachers skip, stories filled with violence against women, cruelty, and loss. They are not redeemable “happily ever after” tales. They resist being tidied up. And yet, when we read them carefully, they reshape how we see Scripture, how we name injustice, and how we search for God’s presence in a world that is not as it should be. Here’s the lineup:
Here’s why this matters to me. I love the Bible. I love it not because it is safe or simple, but because it never stops surprising me. It’s full of fantastic stories and strange characters, moments of breathtaking beauty and moments of raw brutality. The Bible will not be tamed into a book of slogans or positive affirmations. Instead, it mirrors life back to us as it really is—messy, unpredictable, tragic, wondrous—and then dares to claim that God is somehow present even in the middle of it all. Sometimes that presence is radiant and hopeful. Other times it is obscure, as if God is hidden in the shadows, grieving alongside us.
That’s why I want to spend this October facing some of the hardest passages together. Phyllis Trible’s Texts of Terror takes us to four stories that most preachers skip, stories filled with violence against women, cruelty, and loss. They are not redeemable “happily ever after” tales. They resist being tidied up. And yet, when we read them carefully, they reshape how we see Scripture, how we name injustice, and how we search for God’s presence in a world that is not as it should be. Here’s the lineup:
We’ll close the month with lament, prayer, and the conviction that telling the truth about these stories matters, not only because they are in our sacred text, but because they echo into the present day.
So if you’re looking for a way to lean into the spookiness of October with something more substantive than candy and costumes, I invite you to join us. We’ll face the darkness together, not to glorify it, but to remember that even there, God has not left the scene.
So if you’re looking for a way to lean into the spookiness of October with something more substantive than candy and costumes, I invite you to join us. We’ll face the darkness together, not to glorify it, but to remember that even there, God has not left the scene.
Upcoming Events
October 5: Doug Crabb
October 17: Deborah Hicks
October 19: Norma Stephenson
October 21: Judy Warren
October 23: Lynndi Cox
October 29: Andre Leone
October 30: Sandra Tucker
October 17: Deborah Hicks
October 19: Norma Stephenson
October 21: Judy Warren
October 23: Lynndi Cox
October 29: Andre Leone
October 30: Sandra Tucker