RIPTON — Reverend Andrew Nagy-Benson, pastor of The Congregational Church of Middlebury, will deliver the annual Rabbi Victor E. Reichert Bible Talk at the Ripton Community Church at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22. He has been at the head of one of Middlebury’s largest congregations since 2009, and has recently co-sponsored a series of “Community Conversations” on issues at the heart of our nation’s struggle to bridge cultural, political, and racial divisions.
Rev. Nagy-Benson came to Middlebury from pastorates in Connecticut and New Hampshire following his ordination in the United Church of Christ and graduation from Yale Divinity School, where he lectured on homiletics and served in the office of the University Chaplain. A 1992 graduate of Colby College, he was an avid lacrosse player, editor of the literary magazine, and student of the poetry of William Carlos Williams.
Before entering divinity school, Rev. Nagy-Benson worked in Alaskan salmon fisheries, did environmental education in Costa Rica, and taught high school English. He lives with his wife, Gwen, and their three daughters in Weybridge.
In keeping with Rabbi Reichert’s traditional practice, Rev. Nagy-Benson will challenge his listeners to discern what scripture or text from the Hebrew Bible he will present in his talk.
The annual Reichert Bible Talk is a tradition that reaches back to the years just after World War II, when poet Robert Frost invited Rabbi Reichert to visit him at the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference in Ripton. Frost had met Reichert while giving a reading in Cincinnati, where Reichert was rabbi of the Rockdale Temple, the oldest synagogue west of the Alleghenies, from 1924 to 1964. Their friendship deepened, and Rabbi Reichert and his wife Louise eventually bought an old one-room schoolhouse near Bread Loaf as a summer cottage.
For many summers, the Reicherts attended the nearby Ripton Methodist Church, and Rabbi Reichert would give a talk in the late summer on one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, of those scriptures common to Jews and Christians. The “Bible Talk” became an annual event, and the Ripton congregation named Reichert the church’s “Rabbi in Residence.”
Since Rabbi Reichert’s passing in 1990 at the age of ninety-three, Havurah — The Jewish Community of Addison County — and the United Methodist Churches of Middlebury, East Middlebury and Ripton have collaborated to sustain this interfaith tradition, co-sponsoring the Bible Talk every year.
The Ripton Community Church is located on Route 125 in the village center. Call Norm Tjossem at 802-388-0338 for further information.