Another Bible study ... how helpful could that be during a busy time getting ready for a busy season? Last fall I found out that a new context and a new perspective can make all the difference in the world. Spending an afternoon in an ICJS Advent Preaching Colloquium allowed me to view old stories in new light, particularly those stories about John the Baptist. New minds and hearts with whom to engage in the familiar stories and a fresh set of questions provided me with new insights into the background of this controversial character. I felt better prepared for Advent preaching.

Two other experiences with ICJS have been equally invigor-ating. I was privileged to be a part of a conversation at the Bishop Claggett Center co-sponsored by the ICJS and the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. Coming new to the conver-sation about supersessionism, I found that I was not all that new to the concerns raised about preaching the Christian gospel while honoring the roots of the Gospels in the Jewish tradition.

Concerns about "Christian" seder celebrations were highlighted in the Lenten Preaching Colloquium in spring 2000. I was moved by stories told by rabbis of various traditions about their own seder celebrations as children and as adults. Learn-ing some history of the seder was helpful. I had always thought that Jesus and his companions were celebrating a seder meal at the Last Supper; now I understand that they were celebrating a Passover meal, one that had not yet become a seder. Thus, celebrating any kind of seder does not re-enact the Last Supper.

I am sorry that my schedule did not allow participation in the spring 2001 Preaching Colloquium. My Lent and that of my congregation would have been richer for it. I look forward to the Advent and Lenten series this coming academic year. I will be beginning a new position this fall that will afford me new preaching and teaching opportunities, and even more oppor-tunities to explore the Christian-Jewish experience.

The Rev. January E. Hamill is Canon for Christian Formation at the Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore.