WE VALUE:

Collaborative Conversation

Much of biblical interpretation is founded upon hierarchical systems, reinforced by the stratification of society. This means that primary voices of interpretation often emphasize singular or top-down authority. We are interested in collaborative readings, interpretations that are more like a conversation of people circled up around the text than one person saying "the text says_____ and you should _______," while everyone else passively listens.

Embodied Engagement

Instead of a hyper-rational approach to the Bible that assumes a single interpretation is objective and therefore the only correct one, we equip people to engage with each other and the text holistically, integrating body, mind, heart, and soul. Engaging with sacred texts has been a whole-person activity for most of human history, complete with sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and movement; and such engagement was primarily done collectively, each person part of the larger "body."

Women's Lived Experience

Because of primarily male representation in the circles of power that composed, collected, edited, and interpreted scripture, women's names, experiences, and perspectives have been eclipsed. As a corrective to this reality, we lift up readings and interpretations of scripture that center women's lived experiences. Scripture is replete with female metaphors for God and there is much to be learned about divine-human relationship through women's experiences.