“Come to the Well” is inspired by the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.  Once a month residents from a variety of Christian traditions gather to encounter scripture together.   We covenant with each other to respect the traditions and words of the others at the table, realizing that world peace cannot come about unless individuals develop the skills to dialogue about religious beliefs around small tables, and that includes us.  In the narrative of John 4:5-29, Jesus shatters social barriers of gender and nationality by speaking to the Samaritan woman, sharing the gift of living water with her, and inspiring her to testify to others that he is the messiah.  Jesus gives us the example, to look beyond our differences to search for our commonalities when we discuss scripture.

When we gather, Rev Victoria briefly leads us in what is called “exegesis”.  We consider the context of the writing, who wrote it, why it was written, and to whom.  Believing that God can speak to each of us through scripture, we each share our unique understanding, which is based upon our previous religious learning and experiences.  Our conversation is rich and we each leave with a deeper appreciation of scripture and a new level of understanding for our neighbors at The Sarah Community.