I have participated in ICJS programs since my ordination as a Roman Catholic priest in 1994. As a parish priest in the Balti-more metropolitan area, I have always enjoyed these events, from scripture study programs to seasonal preaching colloquia. I knew that with each encounter I was growing in my own knowledge and understanding of both the Jewish and Christian traditions, but I wasn’t always sure what difference my parti-cipation in the programs made in my active, daily ministry to others.

The opportunity to participate in the Christian and Jewish Educators Study Group came at an important time for me. It allowed me to expand my learning with Jewish and Christian colleagues from text-based study to a more systematic focus, from a primarily conceptual approach to a more practical one, and from a process that enriched me personally to one that benefited others as well.

Unlike the scripture study programs, which consisted mainly of Jews and Christians studying sacred texts together in small groups, the Educators Study Group took a decidedly different approach. This program asked us to study and critique essays by Jewish and Christian educators that presented general religious themes -- sin and repentance, ethics, redemption, salvation, and life after death -- in each of our traditions. It demanded that we be more systematic and comprehensive in our consideration of Jewish and Christian perspectives. In many ways, this charge was a more difficult one because it covered a broader range of topics. And it had a strong practical bent, since we were asked to study the essays, critique them, and make recommendations that might improve their use by a general lay audience. As a result, it was not sufficient to ponder ideas out of mere interest in how they played themselves out intellectually; we had to make our work useful for others who would later engage these same essays. In the end, this process proved to be more enlightening for me than our study of texts because we struggled together to put into words ideas that were fundamental to our religious iden-tity and self-understanding.

While other ICJS programs enrich my understanding of, and relationship with, the Jewish tradition, the Educators Study Group requires that I work for the good of others. I had to take what I knew and what I was learning and make it acces-sible to others.

As a parish priest in active ministry, the practical aspect of the Educators Study Group has a definite appeal. Self-enrichment is always a good thing, and I always learn some-thing when I participate in ICJS programs. But our meetings this year gave me a sense that my own improved under-standing of our two traditions might not only indirectly benefit others. Our work on the Learning Resource gave me a sense that I had an opportunity to affect others directly.

In short, my participation in this program was not simply an act of self-improvement; it was an act of ministry itself, an experience that will keep me coming back to the ICJS for more.

Fr. Rich Bozzelli is the pastor of Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, Bolton Hill.