If you’ve ever felt like you have all the pieces to your faith, but you’re not sure what the picture is supposed to look like, the Denver Catholic Biblical School has the answer.
For nearly 40 years, St. John Vianney Theological Seminary Lay Division — one of more than 40 ministries supported by the Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal — has students on a path to deeper understanding of their faith and themselves.
Catholics have a good sense of scripture, they know the stories of Noah and David and Jesus and the mysteries,” said Dr. Nick Lebish, longtime director of the school. “They have the puzzle pieces, but if you don’t crack open the Bible and read the context, they’re just puzzle pieces without the box cover to know how the pieces fit together.”
The Denver Catholic Biblical School, and the other flagship offering, the Denver Catholic Catechetical School, serve 2,500 students throughout the Archdiocese of Denver and the Diocese of Colorado Springs.
Typically, classes are small with 35-40 students to a classroom at locations all over the state.
Derek Barr has been an instructor for 11 years and his favorite part of teaching is the diversity of the students. From cradle Catholics to Protestant converts and people of the Jewish faith, the Word of God speaks to everyone, he said.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a doctor or you never finished high school or whether you’re rich or poor, everyone sees themselves in the stories…it’s God’s love story with us,” said Barr, who teaches the Old Testament to first-year students.
If you’re not ready for four-year and two-year courses, the school also offers one-year enrichment courses for people who want just a taste of what the Biblical school is about, Lebish said. And this year may be the year for you to try it out.
COVID inconsistencies from county to county forced the Biblical school to host classes online this fall. They will still be small and with a live instructor, but as soon as courses can continue in-person they will return to the classroom. Lebish said the school is dedicated to its mission of “live instruction that creates fellowship with community and like-minded people with a desire to learn God’s Word in communion with each other.”
This is your chance to “never stop learning,” Lebish said.
