Into the Word: Spring 2026
Week 1
February 19
What Is the New Testament?
Explore the New Testament of the Bible, with a particular focus on the four Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We’ll map out a timeline of how these books came to be, discuss who actually wrote them, and see how together they point to Jesus’s human life.
Janette H. Ok, PhD, is Associate Professor of New Testament at Fuller Seminary and an ordained pastor at Ekko Church in Anaheim, CA. Her research interests include 1 Peter, 1–3 John, the Catholic Epistles, and the formation of early Christian identity, with an emphasis on Asian American, intersectional, feminist, and social-scientific approaches to biblical interpretation. Janette is the author of Constructing Ethnic Identity in 1 Peter: Who You Are No Longer and co-editor of The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary. Currently, she is writing a commentary on the Letters of John and a book on reading the New Testament as Asian Americans.
Week 2
February 26
The Apostle Paul and the Epistles
Who was the Apostle Paul? Explore the man behind the letters that contain some of the most beloved, and debated, passages in Scripture.
Lisa Marie Bowens, PhD, an Associate Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, earned a BS (cum laude), MSBE, and MLIS from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and an MTS and ThM from Duke Divinity School. She received her PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and is the first African American woman to earn tenure in Princeton Theological Seminary’s Biblical Studies department, where she teaches a variety of courses. She is the author of two books, An Apostle in Battle: Paul and Spiritual Warfare in 2 Corinthians 12:1–10 and African American Readings of Paul: Reception, Resistance, and Transformation.
Week 3
March 12
Testimony and Counter-Testimony
How do we deal with contradictions in the Bible? Can an enigmatic book have moral authority? Investigate these questions and more in a session that steps into the complex dialogue happening across the pages of Scripture.
The Rev. Judy Fentress-Williams, PhD, is in bi-vocational ministry as the Professor of Old Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary and the Senior Assistant to the Pastor for Teaching and Preaching at the Alfred Street Baptist Church. Fentress-Williams received her PhD in Hebrew Bible from Yale University in 1999, and she earned her MDiv from Yale Divinity School and her AB in English from Princeton University with certificates in African American Studies and American Studies. She recently published a commentary on the book of Ruth for the Abingdon Old Testament Commentary Series, was a contributor and Old Testament Editor for the CEB Women’s Bible, and is the author of Holy Imagination: A Literary Guide to the Bible.
Week 4
March 19
Reception History and the Bible as Beloved
Explore the literary afterlives of Scripture — from Dante to Shakespeare, John Milton to Toni Morrison — and gain a new understanding of what it means to interpret the Bible for our times.
Nate Wall-Bowering, PhD, teaches the Hebrew Bible and its afterlives as Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Providence Theological Seminary in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He studied a Wycliffe College (University of Toronto), where completed a dissertation on the exegetical habits of John Donne, the 17th-century poet-preacher. He is also currently working on two books: an introduction to reading the Bible poetically and a biblical theology of death in the Pentateuch.
Week 5
March 26
The Tree of Life
Does the Bible tell one story, from Genesis to the Book of Revelation? Trinity’s Summerlee Staten illuminates the sweeping narrative of Scripture, one that points to the redemption of all things.
Summerlee Staten is executive director of Faith Formation and Education at Trinity Church NYC. She has a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Master of Sacred Theology from Yale Divinity School, where she focused on biblical studies and faith formation and education in church communities.
Week 6
April 9
The Bible and You
At the end of our Into the Word journey, join a community conversation to discuss how Scripture has shaped your understanding of our calling as Christians. Together we’ll answer the question Where do we go from here?
Summerlee Staten is executive director of Faith Formation and Education at Trinity Church NYC. She has a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Master of Sacred Theology from Yale Divinity School, where she focused on biblical studies and faith formation and education in church communities.
Ruth Frey serves as director of Community Programs and Public Life at Trinity Church NYC. She previously served as director of programs at Washington National Cathedral and on The Episcopal Church’s General Convention Taskforce on the Theology of Justice Advocacy. Ruth holds a Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary.
Kathy Bozzuti-Jones, PhD, is associate director for Spiritual Practices, Retreats, and Pilgrimage at Trinity Church NYC. Her academic background includes a BA from Smith College, a master’s in theological studies from Boston University, a doctorate in theological ethics from Boston College, and four years of interfaith seminary training at One Spirit Learning Alliance.