Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice

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Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice

The Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice connects scholars, students, clergy, activists, and community organizers for dialogue and action.

We provide resources to both biblically informed activists and justice oriented scholars including books, periodicals, archival and electronic data in biblical studies and other fields germane to its mission and vision. We aim to create a synergy of theory and practice in a dynamic educational climate that will make full use of the Center and Library resources. In addition, The Center and Library offers ongoing educational programs of lectures, seminars, and conferences on topics and problems central to the social critical study of the Bible and to an empowering use of the Bible for enacting social justice today.

09/22/2026

Blessed Equinox! CLBSJ is excited to announce our next series, Beatitudes and Bodhisattvas: Practicing Together — an interfaith contemplative practice led by Sr. Sharifa Vernice Meytung in which we will explore two life-changing texts of ethical and moral guidance: 8 Blessings of the Good Road (The Beatitudes, First Nations Version), and 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva (Tokmé Zangpo). The sessions will convene at 7:00pm Eastern Time on each New Moon and each Full Moon starting on October 10, 2026. For details and dates, visit https://clbsj.org/events/2026/09/10/beatitudes-and-bodhisattva/

To register, visit https://forms.gle/KTUzaQw7AbjxQwRy6

This series is being offered on a donation basis, open to all regardless of ability to pay. If you wish to contribute a gift, you can do so at clbsj.org/donate

Artwork by Francis Bennett

08/03/2026

STARTING WEDNESDAY: Don’t miss this special opportunity to study and think with the dynamic and passionate Acts scholar, Jeremy Williams! Dr. Williams will be drawing from research toward his next book, tentatively titled “Abolitionist Acts of the Apostles: Reading with Liberti, a Hermeneutics of Imagination.” The four-session online mini-course begins this Wednesday, August 5. Register at https://clbsj.civicrm.org/civicrm/event/register?id=30&reset=1

07/21/2026

CLBSJ is excited to partner with New Church Dallas and Rev. Dr. Jeremy Williams for an online mini-course on abolitionist themes in the Book of Acts. The course will take place on Wednesdays in August (8/5, 8/12, 8/19 and 8/26) at 6:30 Central Time / 7:30 Eastern Time. In each session we will dive into a portion of the book of Acts that addresses the themes of imprisonment, truthtelling and release, and consider what these stories have to say to our movements for abolition democracy today. This course is part of CLBSJ’s Black August series.

Learn more about the course at https://clbsj.org/events/2026/06/23/acts-for-abolition/

Click here to register: https://clbsj.civicrm.org/civicrm/event/register?id=30&reset=1

NOTE: The option to make a donation of any size will be offered during the registration process. These gifts go toward covering our costs and your generosity is appreciated. All are welcome to attend regardless of your ability to pay!

06/30/2026

As Pride month draws to a close, and we remember its origins in the Stonewall Uprising (June 28 – July 3, 1969), CLBSJ stands with the continued unfurling of the flag of q***r liberation throughout the year. In memory of those who witnessed bodily and verbally to the dignity of trans and q***r people 57 years ago and since, we share several teachings from our co-conspirator Lynn Huber, Professor of Religious Studies at Elon University and longtime community activist, on LGBTQIA+ themes in the Book of Revelation:

LGBTQIA+ activists and the witnesses in Revelation 11:
https://www.tiktok.com//video/7656574335146085646

Gender and nonbinary social identity in Revelation:
https://www.tiktok.com//video/7523793534508469559

You can follow Lynn on tik tok () and instagram () for more insights on themes of gender and color in the Book of Revelation.

Image: Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, participants in the Stonewall Uprising and co-founders of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) to support homeless transgender youth and street queens.

03/29/2026

"Christ, Collapse, and Coming"
An Easter Season Mini-Course

CLBSJ is excited to announce our first mini-course, led by James W. Perkinson! Sessions will take place on Tuesday April 7, Tuesday April 14 and Tuesday April 21 from 7:30-9:00pm Eastern Time.

Jim will lead us in ushering in the Spring and the Easter liturgical season with an exploration of three earth-based and indigenized ways of understanding Christ: Lady Wisdom, The Vulnerable One, and Cloud Rider. This course will build on the overview of these Christological aspects which he provided during our Advent session “What are We Waiting For? Christ and the Earth”. Each session will unpack one of these aspects in detail, in conversation with eco-spiritual and indigenous perspectives crucial to understanding the way Jesus talked about apocalyptic change. We will then delve into the question of the relevance of these perspectives for our current times.

People of all faiths and backgrounds are warmly invited to participate in this exploration. Click here to register: https://clbsj.civicrm.org/civicrm/event/register?id=29&reset=1

Image: “Keep Awake” by Lauren Wright Pittman © A Sanctified Art LLC (used under license)

03/19/2026

SATURDAY, MARCH 21: Going Deeper Together on Women, Power and Misogyny in Scripture

Our closing Lenten Bible Detox session will be a participatory gathering in which we revisit the scriptures discussed by Katy Valentine and Abby Mohaupt — as well as other scriptures that are arising in our hearts and minds — in dialogue and contemplation. In supportive community, we will seek to understand and articulate the mindset shifts and action steps that these teachings call us to. This session will be shepherded by CLBSJ Contemplative Traditions Advisor Sr. Sharifa Vernice Meytung and CLBSJ Executive Director Amy Lorraine Dalton.

Click Here to Register: https://clbsj.civicrm.org/civicrm/event/register?id=28&reset=1

NOTE: In order to make a more intimate space, this session will not be archived for future viewing.

Image: “Women Harvesting” by Paul Klee

03/15/2026

TUESDAY MARCH 17: Lenten Bible Detox Mini-Series Continues

Join Abby Mohaupt to read Judges 19 resiliently

One of the most gruesome texts in the Bible is the story of the assault of the Levite’s concubine in Judges 19. Several years ago, this passage was presented for interpretation to candidates for ordination in the Presbyterian Church USA, which triggered a controversy about the appropriate handling of texts with violent content by faith leaders and congregations. Should these texts be avoided entirely? What if difficult texts have something to teach us about liberation and God’s justice? In this session, rev. dr. abby mohaupt, a Presbyterian pastor and popular educator, will facilitate a conversation on how reading Judges 19 in a trauma-informed manner opens the possibility for lessons about how we believe women and welcome immigrants.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: https://clbsj.civicrm.org/civicrm/event/register?id=27&reset=1

Image: “The Levite and the Concubine” by Gustave Doré

03/11/2026

SATURDAY MARCH 14: Join Katy Valentine to read Acts 16:16-24 in conversation with Shamanic Practice

When we think of Acts 16, we usually think of the iconic moment when Paul and Silas’s singing brings the prison walls down. We usually ignore the prelude to this moment, in which an unnamed “slave girl” with psychic abilities draws attention to Paul and his entourage by proclaiming the truth about them. In this teaching, Dr. Katy E. Valentine will look at this fascinating character not as someone in need of an exorcism, but as a woman who stands in the company of shamans. Katy will guide us through contemporary research about shamanism as well as her own experience as a Shamanic Practitioner to unpack what might have been going on with this mysterious fortune-teller. While this story has been used to demonize the magically inclined, maybe it does just the opposite and shows how intuitive gifts are indeed holy. We will consider how patriarchy can disrupt shamanic spiritual power but never shut it down completely – and what this might mean for us today.

We will gather online at 1pm Eastern Time. Click here to register: https://clbsj.civicrm.org/civicrm/event/register?id=26&reset=1

Image: “Fortune-Telling Slave Girl” by Claire Elam

03/04/2026

Blessed Full Moon! We're excited to announce that CLBSJ's 2026 Lenten Bible Detox mini-series will focus on detoxing and reclaiming scriptures that have been read in service of patriarchy and misogyny. We will gather for three sessions: The first session on Saturday, March 14 at 1pm Eastern Time will feature a teaching by Katy Valentine on Paul's interaction with the enslaved diviner in Acts 16:16-24. For the second session on Tuesday, March 17 at 7:30pm Eastern Time, Abby Mohaupt will share her research and pedagogical work regarding the r**e of the Levite's concubine in Judges 19. The third session on Saturday, March 21 at 1pm Eastern Time will be a participatory study that will draw from Katy and abby's teachings as well as other scriptures, guided by CLBSJ Contemplative Traditions Advisor Sr. Sharifa Vernice Meytung and CLBSJ Executive Director Amy Lorraine Dalton.

People of all faiths are welcome to join these conversations! Please visit clbsj.org/events/bible-detox for more information and links to register for each session.

02/19/2026

When sacred seasons overlap, maybe it is not coincidence. Maybe it is invitation. In this audacious reading, CLBSJ Program Associate Sherly Fabre reflects on how the convergences of the Christian Season of Lent, the Muslim month of Ramadan, and the Chinese Lunar New Year and Spring Festival call us to
🔥 Burn brighter, with purpose
🐎 Move forward, with humility
❤️ Grow stronger, with compassion
Read her full reflection at https://clbsj.org/news/2026/02/18/a-sacred-invitation/

Address

5 Cricketown Road
Stony Point, NY
10980

Telephone

+18456032508

Website

https://clbsj.org/

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