Black August: Integration and Reflection — a Participatory Closing Session with Sr. Sharifa Meytung and Dr. Alice Yafeh-Deigh

August 31, 2024, 11am Eastern US Time

Our closing Black August session will be a participatory format in which we will gather the threads of what we have learned in the previous four sessions and weave them together, with the aid of a deep contemplative engagement with Mark 11:15-19. This session will be facilitated by CLBSJ Board Member Sr. Sharifa Meytung, and will include a sharing by New Testament scholar Dr. Alice Yafeh-Deigh.

Logistical Notes:

Please register separately for each session that you wish to attend. Donations are encouraged on a sliding scale basis, based on what you can pay. All are welcome regardless of ability to donate. We are using a new “cart” technology which allows you to register for multiple events at once – please reach out to info@clbsj.org if you have any questions or technical issues with it!

Speaker Bios

Sr. Sharifa Vernice Meytung An African-American artist and haijin (a writer of haiku poetry), Sr. Sharifa is a teacher and lay religious practitioner in the Catholic and Buddhist traditions. Her practice is also steeped in and informed by West African, Native and HipHop traditions. Her media books and CDs include Oil For The Lamp: 7 Virtues of Human Character Development, Hiphop H.A.I.K.U. Vol 1 and 2, Rough Ground, and she is currently producing an online video series focused on the study of the Jataka Tales of early Buddhism. Sister Sharifa serves on the Board of CLBSJ and the Philadelphia Buddhist Association. See full bio at https://clbsj.org/about/leadership/sr-sharifa-vernice-meytung/

Dr. Alice Yafeh-Deigh Originally from English-speaking Cameroon, Alice Yafeh-Deigh is a professor of biblical studies at Azusa Pacific Seminary, a human rights consultant and a Scrum-Agile-DevOps Practitioner. Her areas of expertise, research, and teaching interests include New Testament exegesis, Greco-Roman sexual ethics, cultural hermeneutics, feminist hermeneutics, postcolonial hermeneutics, and literary and rhetorical methods of biblical interpretation. Her approach to the study of the New Testament strongly emphasizes the historical and sociocultural influences that gave rise to individual texts. As a teacher, she prioritizes inclusivity, teamwork, adaptability, and creative thinking and utilizes Scrum-Agile practices in service of these values. Dr. Yafeh-Deigh currently serves as an elected member of the Council of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), a Co-Chair of the SBL African Biblical Hermeneutics Section, and a member of the Concerned African Women Theologians.