January 2017
Library Shares 'Gift' with Cincinnati Neighborhood Church
Parishioners view Saint John's Bible in Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church lobby after service.
Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church’s Interim Pastor/Head of Staff Rev. Mary Gene Boteler preached from University Library’s Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition on January 29. The occasion marked the first time a local community borrowed the special collection. Two of the three volumes, Psalms and Gospels & Acts, served as a centerpiece for the church’s Sunday theme “The Word of God.”
The effort was spearheaded by church Elder and Adult Christian Education team member Joan Sigmund, who felt compelled to learn more about the Saint John’s Bible after attending two community events.
“I had first heard about [the Saint John’s Bible] through Walter Brueggemann’s presentation when [Xavier University] got the book of Psalms. It just captured my imagination having seen it [at Bellarmine Chapel] and having studied the Book of Kells prior to that a little bit,” Sigmund said. “Then I had seen it at Books by the Banks. You guys [University Library staff] were so good, you said, ‘if you want to do something we’re interested in getting this out to the public’ and I was very taken by that. It was a nice way to feel – yes – come partner with us.”
The message from Brueggemann during his fall lecture also became important to University Library Director Ken Gibson.
“Owning the Saint John’s Bible is about making it available to our campus community and to our community more broadly,” Gibson said. “We don’t want it to be a museum piece; we want it to be used and we want it to be shared. When Walter Brueggemann said in such a simple yet eloquent way, ‘thank you Xavier University for purchasing the Saint John’s Bible; this is a gift to the city of Cincinnati,’ it made me think that’s exactly what it is and for that to be true we have to share it.”
The two volumes were utilized throughout the church’s service. Library staff members Marty Ferrell and James Green and congregation members walked the volumes to and from the communion table during the processional and postlude hymns, Sigmund presented an introduction and video about the history of the Saint John’s Bible, a reproduction volume helped explain illuminations during the children’s sermon, and Boteler read from both volumes.
“What was nice about the service was that they didn’t use the volumes as a prop, but that they incorporated them into their service,” Gibson said. “From the song selection to the sermon… I thought it was beautiful and what was really nice about this particular event was being able to sit farther back in the congregation and watch the large monitors zoom in as the pastor read from the actual volume itself.”
Boteler reflected on the Saint John’s Bible while she read to the congregation.
“It was a deeply spiritual experience for me because as I read, just thinking about the time and the effort that people took to write that particular line that particular pericope – deeply moving,” Boteler said.
She also reflected on its importance as she penned her sermon.
“We wanted to lift up the Word and for Presbyterians and the Reformed Tradition the Word is so incredibly important to us,” Boteler said. “As children [the congregation] understood the Word, but how do we bring a more nuanced understanding of the Word to our lives today. That’s what we were trying to do, not only touch people intellectually, but to also move in their hearts.”
A sentiment Boteler shared in her sermon reflects University Library’s position on its responsibility with the Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition.
When I was in the fourth grade I received another Bible from my church family. It was the same rite-of-passage that many young people experience. The Bible I received was a black faux-leather Bible. It didn’t have the gold-edging, but the cover was flexible enough that it would flop open when held in one hand—a sure sign that it was a serious Bible. Receiving the Bible from the congregation indicated that these adults, who had faithfully read the Bible to me and taught me the stories of faith, believed that it was time for me to take some responsibility for reading the Bible on my own and sharing its message.
- James Green
Interim Pastor/Head of Staff Rev. Mary Gene Boteler preaches from Saint John's Bible.