Jim contacted me about parish Bible studies.

He's probably working with Bob Bursley of Small Groups in the Office of Parish Life to ascertain diocesan "coverage": which parishes hold regular Bible studies and where is there a need for a study to be set-up, in geographic terms. From Jim's perspective, "geographic" translates into "the Route 9 corridor", from his home down south to his job up north.

But my parish isn't too far off that beaten path, so Jim asked whether St. Joe's offers a study. Not to my knowledge, not ever.

That's his finding across the diocese: very few parish-based Bible studies. Any wonder why I go "out of network" to study the Scriptures with Christians? It's either do that or do nothing. If I had my druthers ... well ... but I can get frustrated with just about any group of people. I don't discriminate.

Maybe it's a case of the glass being half-empty vs. half-full, but I think he's mistaken about the actual number of parishes holding regular Bible studies.

There are many Catholic Bible studies offered across the diocese. One simply has to know where to look. Now that parishes are putting their weekly bulletins online, usually in PDF, finding Bible studies is easy. The real need is childcare at these Catholic studies. That's the advantage of Protestant daytime studies, although the service has its troubles.

Anyway, if Jim started something in my parish, the turnout would probably be good because it's a young parish, young adults and young families and everyone is very involved.