THOUGHTS FROM THE CENTER AISLE

Comments and Meditations from the Rev. Robert Bergner, Priest-in-Charge

Welcome to Thoughts from the Center Aisle.

What follows are mainly my reflections on lectionary scripture, but also other theological and spiritual musings. Sometimes there will be a full sermon, sometimes just notes and sketches.

Please feel free to comment in a constructive, civil way. I will be happy to learn what you have to say.

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Here are three things to keep in mind when reading, thinking about and discussing scripture:

The Bible is a multivocal compilation of documents written over the course of more than a thousand years. Its authors (with several authors sometimes team writing—willingly or not—the same document) say different things in different places—even within their own writings. And that's okay!
As with any text (or anything), each reader reads and interprets biblical text from the perspective of her or his own personal experience, education and preferences (which inevitably change over time). Like snowflakes, no two readers are alike and no two interpretations are the same.
The Bible was written in three ancient languages—Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. None of these languages have been used in their ancient form for hundreds, even thousands, of years. Those ancient languages are then translated in myriad variations into hundreds of languages that are spoken today. Given the impressive linguistic complexities of translating defunct languages and the transformation of life and culture that has taken place over several thousand years, it is nearly impossible that the sense we take from, say, a modern English translation of a biblical text is precisely what its original author or authors intended. Translation is interpretation.

Cheers,

Bob

Wardens’ Weekly Message, July 26, 2020

We wish Rev. Bob a restful vacation and look forward to spending the next three Sundays worshiping with our lay leaders along with Father Joseph on August 2 and 9. We want to take a moment to acknowledge Bob for going way above and beyond the call of duty during the Pandemic. Right from the start, Bob’s desire to maintain our connections with each other and provide meaningful worship has been met with an incredible amount of energy and good spirit. We know this is not an easy

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, July 19, 2020

Dear Grace and St Peter’s and St John’s, This is likely going to be my last mid-week message for a few weeks so I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for coming on our great ecclesial adventure of the past few months. There have been many challenges and, also, many discoveries and delights. Yes, meeting and worshiping on Zoom and Facebook has not been without regular surprises and annoyances. At the same time, we have learned new ways of being together and have made

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, July 12, 2020

Dear Grace and St Peter’s, Hamden, and St John’s, North Haven, Two weeks in, I think I can safely say that our summer experiment in combined outdoor worship is going well. We’ve had over fifty people attend our service on the side lawn at St John’s with more following on Zoom and Facebook and even more watching the recorded video of the service later in the day. Thanks to those who have put in extra effort to make all of this happen. And, thanks to St John’s for welcoming al

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, July 5, 2020

Dear Grace and St Peter’s, Hamden, and St John’s, North Haven, I am delighted that so many of you were able and willing to join us on the side lawn at St John’s for Morning Prayer this past Sunday. I understand that, due to health and safety concerns, the service was not the fully festive reunion that some of us might hope for. Nevertheless, after many weeks of talking into a camera, I was inspired to see you, live and in person, and to share a time of prayer and worship wit

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, June 28, 2020

Dear Grace and St Peter’s, Last Sunday, we completed the first part of our Covid-19 communal worship journey—a journey that has taken us to some of the most beautiful and most important sites in Hamden. Thanks to Allison Batson and Aldon Hynes’ technological handiwork, we were able to broadcast services from The Keefe Center, Town Center Park, Edgerton Park, Lake Wintergreen (ah, the international Zoom collapse), Sleeping Giant State Park, York Hill and our own sanctuary and

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, June 18, 2020

Dear Grace and St Peter’s, Somehow this week seems quieter than the last few. Or maybe I’m just getting used to new rhythms of life. Perhaps I am comforted by the Supreme Court’s recent decisions on LGBTQ rights, DACA policies and gun regulation. Though something tells me not to get too comfortable with SCOTUS. There are important decisions yet to come that will shape the nature of representative government in our country for decades to come. Keep our Supreme Court justic

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, June 14, 2020

Dear Grace and St Peter’s, It has been another week of strong impressions even if events have been somewhat less dramatic than those of last week. Impression 1 On Sunday, a rally for justice took place at Hamden’s Memorial Town Hall. The peaceful protest was welcomed and attended by Mayor Leng and Police Chief Cappiello. Rally speakers made impassioned, yet certainly not unreasonable, calls for equitable civic policies, police reform, and an end to racial bias and discrimi

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THOUGHTS FROM THE CENTER AISLE

Here are three things to keep in mind when reading, thinking about and discussing scripture:

The Bible is a multivocal compilation of documents written over the course of more than a thousand years. Its authors (with several authors sometimes team writing—willingly or not—the same document) say different things in different places—even within their own writings. And that's okay!

As with any text (or anything), each reader reads and interprets biblical text from the perspective of her or his own personal experience, education and preferences (which inevitably change over time). Like snowflakes, no two readers are alike and no two interpretations are the same.