Clergy Learning Day – Text and Textures
EOORC Clergy Learning Day – Thursday May, 7, 2026.
St.John’s United Church, Kemptville, ON.
Registration/coffee at 9:30 – Workshop begins at 10am.
Free event, and lunch is included. Event will end by 3:30pm.
*If you would like to attend, please register here by April 29th at noon. We will need to share numbers and lunch info with our caterer.
TEXTS AND TEXTURES: An introduction to midrashic imagination for reading scripture in community.
Midrashic imagination is as old as the Bible itself. Midrashic study of Scripture involves an imaginative, faithful, and at times playful “turning and turning” of a biblical passage in order to uncover its multiple interpretive possibilities, especially as we bring that biblical text into holy conversation with our own lives.
In this one-day workshop, Rev. Dr. Elisabeth Jones will share with us highlights and insights she has gleaned through over 10 years of research and practice of midrashic biblical imagination as a way to prepare preachers and congregations to hear echoes of God’s “lively word,” not only in Scripture but in the holy conversations we have as we turn the texts.
BIO
The Rev. Dr. Elisabeth Jones has recently retired from her role as Lead Minister at Cedar Park United, in Pointe Claire, Qc, giving her more time to devote to writing, workshops, and teaching preaching and formation for pastoral ministry. She has served the United Church as teaching professor at VST and UTC (now United Church Studies at Dio), and in pastoral ministry in Quebec. She holds a D. Min in Biblical Preaching from Luther Seminary, St. Paul MN, is author of Lenten Prayers for a Pandemic Season, and is “Gan” to seven amazing grandchildren, who can all ski faster than her.
BOOK
You will also be able to pre-order Elisabeth’s forthcoming book, Midrashic Imagination: Texts and Textures for Pulpit and Pew, (Fortress Press), coming off the presses (and in e-book format) on June 9th.
Endorsements for Midrashic Imagination:
- In “Midrashic Imagination,” Elisabeth Jones shares a profoundly Jewish way of reading sacred text with a broader audience. She does so with the integrity of a scholar, the sensitivity of a minister, and the imaginativeness born of a true love of scripture. Rabbi Dr. Lisa Grushcow, Senior Rabbi, Temple Emanu-El Beth Sholom, Montreal.
- Drawing on the deep well of the midrashic tradition of rumbling with sacred text, Elisabeth R. Jones expertly guides us from a place of theological anemia to a rich and deep practice, grounded in that which is wholly love, allowing us to aspire to the bold discipleship we dare to claim. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, Emmanuel College, Toronto, and 44th Moderator of the United Church of Canada
- “Midrashic Imagination” is a gift to anyone looking to inspire Christian communities to new depths of scriptural engagement and together find new ways to proclaim good news in challenging times. Jesse Zink, Principal, Montreal Diocesan Theological College, and author of Faithful, Creative, Hopeful: Fifteen Theses for Christians in a Crisis-Shaped World.