Toward gender justice: reimagining religion, race, gender, and sexuality in acts 8:26-40

Abstract

This article reflects on our experiences of facilitating the Bible studies for the Just Community of Women and Men pre-assembly gathering to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in August–September 2022. Working with the text of Acts 8:26-40, commonly known as the baptism of an Ethiopian eunuch, the article reflects critically on our own facilitation as well as participant feedback from the workshop. It begins with a description of how the Bible studies were planned and developed, based on an adaptation of the contextual Bible study method. Thereafter, it reflects on how participants brought three aspects of the eunuch's identity – gender, race, and religion – to bear on the multiple and intersecting challenges faith communities experience in their various local contexts. The participants’ insights and the facilitation of the Bible study revealed the ongoing importance of embodied and lived experiences in the process of biblical interpretation. This article contributes to the ongoing reflections on the pedagogical and transformative underpinnings of contextual Bible study as a method of faith engagement in diverse ecumenical contexts. © 2023 The Authors. The Ecumenical Review published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of World Council of Churches.