The Scriptures principally teach: 1] what man is to believe concerning God, and 2] what duty God requires of man. The purpose of the School of the Word is to train believers in both theology and practice, with the goal of getting them captivated by the greatness of God as He is revealed in His Word in such a tremendous measure that it transforms them more and more into the image of Christ.
The in-depth teaching of the Word is intended to minister to people who are at various levels of maturity in Christ. The bibilical studies cover a wide range – verse-by-verse Bible study, theology and bible doctrines, and Christian life skills like parenting, marriage, finances, apologetics, world religions, etc.
The Chirst the King Parish Greenmeadows’ School of the Word (SOW) every Wednesday is sponsored by Verbum Dei, a Catholic missionary community deeply rooted in prayer and grounded in theological training. It is committed to bringing the Gospel to life by inviting people into an intimate relationship with a loving God through contemplative prayer with scripture and living testimony. The Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity keeps the motto of the first disciples of Jesus, i.e., ‘We shall dedicate ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word of God’ (Acts 6:4).
CTK’s Wednesday’s SOW is scheduled from 9:00 am to 11:00 am at St. Luke’s Room. There is no fee for attending a Wednesday session. Simple snacks are served.
On average, some 30 to 40 CTK parishioners and non-parish people attend. Some are regulars but some attend irregularly, and there’s a wide range of Christian maturity and knowledge in the Scriptures. And there’s no pressure to keep attending after a first session. School of the Word is also held at the Verbum Dei house near Katipunan Avenue on other days, so those who miss a session there sometimes show up at the CTK session. Interestingly, females outnumber the men, 70 to 30.
What does a regular Wednesday morning session look like? The class starts with a prayer, followed by Reflection and Sharing, focusing on the readings for the coming Sunday moderated by the lead missionary. Then there is personal quiet time and reflection on the key points brought up by the facilitator. The class then ends, as it started, with a prayer.
Fr. James McTavish himself attends every Wednesday session at CTK, except when he’s out of the country. Fr. Iwao Ikigama will usually substitute for him and in some cases, accompany him even when Fr. James is leading. The bible study program began at CTK in 2013.
