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.

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/

02/10/2026

THIS THURSDAY: Join us on February 12 at 7:30pm Eastern Time for a deep dive into the scriptural understandings behind the slogan “Jesus was an immigrant.” Hebrew Testament scholar and Egyptian Presbyterian pastor Rev. Dr. Safwat Marzouk will provide a teaching on the time that the Holy Family spent as migrants and refugees in Egypt, and the devotional traditions surrounding their sojourn. Dr. Marzouk will be joined in dialogue by Rev. Dr. Stephany Rose, a pastor and activist who has been deeply engaged in truth telling around immigration and race. We are pleased to have the Society of Biblical Literature and the Committee on Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession (CUREMP) join us as co-sponsors for this important conversation. People of all faiths and perspectives are invited to join. Advance registration is required. Visit https://clbsj.org/events/2026/02/12/epiphany-in-exile/ for more information and to register.

01/30/2026

In these trying times, CLBSJ invites all who are yearning for change and justice to join us for a participatory Bible study on Thursday, February 12. During the last week of the season of Epiphany, we will gather with Rev. Dr. Safwat Marzouk, a Hebrew Testament scholar and Egyptian Presbyterian pastor, to focus our attention on the time that the Holy Family spent as migrants and refugees fleeing political violence. How can this story and the devotional traditions surrounding it provide guidance and sustenance for today’s struggle for immigrant rights? People of all faiths and perspectives are invited to join the conversation. Advance registration is required. Click here for more information and a link to register: https://clbsj.org/events/2026/02/12/epiphany-in-exile/

01/04/2026

Reading Epiphany with Patti Smith
an audacious biblical reflection from Amy Lorraine Dalton

Today is the day that the Church celebrates “Epiphany,” also known as Three Kings Day — though the actual holiday is on January 6. This day is when almost all of our beloved Christmas imagery comes from – the star, the gifts, the creche with the kings and shepherds gathered ‘round. But Epiphany should not be remembered as only a happy and harmonious gathering, but one which also contains the seeds of deep anguish. In specific, the arrival of the magi to the place where the holy family was gathered had the effect of triggering the jealousy of King Herod, who then ordered the killing of every male child below the age of two in order to try to eliminate the possibility that the Christ child would survive. Due to the intercession of a dream, this plot is exposed and the Holy Family flees across the border to Egypt in order to keep the baby safe. As a result of these events, for the first few years of the child’s life, the holy family lives as exiles and migrants.

This year, the need to wrestle with this co-incidence of hope and horror seems all the more pronounced, from where I stand. For just days after the New Year — when the whole world has been sending out heartfelt yearnings that 2026 might bring a new song and a better day — we yet awoke the day before Epiphany with news of the latest fools errand, aka war, aka manufactured distraction. As my family and I were staring into the abyss of this latest news of human failure, I found myself graciously provided with a counterpoint. The lifeline that Grace extended to me was a memory of a lyric in Patti Smith’s anthem, “People Have the Power” (co-written by Fred Smith). Wanting to understand more, I searched up a rendering of this masterpiece that contained the lyrics, and my family and I gathered ‘round. To my surprise and humble delight I found that this activist anthem offers not only strength for the journey in this current moment, but also a rich scriptural reflection on Epiphany.

Read Amy’s full reflection at https://clbsj.org/news/2026/01/04/reading-epiphany-with-patti-smith/

Image from Wikimedia Commons

12/29/2025

Thank you so much to all who have given to CLBSJ’s end-of-year campaign so far. As of now we are 60% of the way to making our goal. If you haven't yet given, can you chip in to help us get the rest of the way there? Make your gift at https://clbsj.org/donate/

Click here to read our latest e-newsletter with more details on this campaign: https://mailchi.mp/clbsj/end-of-year-campaign

12/15/2025

THURSDAY December 18: Christ, Mary and Peacemaking

The final session of our Advent Mini-Series will take place this coming Thursday, December 18, at 7:30pm Eastern US Time. Will O’Brien and Rabia Harris will explore different ways of understanding Mary and her pregnancy, drawing from Muslim, Christian and Hebrew scriptures. Together we will consider how these readings either impede or unlock the radical call to peacemaking that is embedded into the birth narratives. This event is co-sponsored by the Alternative Seminary and the Muslim Peace Fellowship.

For more information and a link to register, visit https://clbsj.org/events/2025/12/18/what-are-we-waiting-for-christ-and-peacemaking/

NOTE: Registration will be open until 30 minutes prior to each event's start time. An optional sliding scale donation is encouraged; all are welcome regardless of ability to donate.

Image: “Our Lady of the Qur’an” by Br. Robert Lentz OFM

Address

5 Cricketown Road
Stony Point, NY
10980

Telephone

+18456032508

Website

https://clbsj.org/

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