Hexham: Studying the New Testament in Greek

Logos group in Hexham, Ash Wednesday 2024.

The LOGOS group in Hexham was founded in May 2005, by the late Paul Burgess, a parishioner of St Mary's (RC), Hexham. His idea was to get people to start studying the New Testament in Greek.

A small group came together, including members of other churches and of friends, from the town and surrounding area. Some of them had no prior knowledge of Greek, not to mind Koine Greek, the dialect in which the New Testament was composed. The late Colin Rendall, a friend, had taught Greek so he took on the role of (unpaid) tutor. It helped that Colin was a member of Hexham Canoe Club which Paul had also founded. One or two of the new students were retired/semi-retired church ministers. I think there are some current members who are 'working' church ministers.

LOGOS decided to meet one evening a week during academic term times. The group was self-funding in terms of buying texts, paying room hire costs etc. The Group is now in its 19th year. Membership has varied and numbers went down in recent years as older members (some of them 90+) died. A little flurry of publicity in church bulletins and pew-sheets has brought it back up to 12 members at present - probably the ideal number. I think at least one of the current members is a founding member.

I was blessed to be a member of the group for eight or so years until ill health made it too difficult. When I joined LOGOS, I never mentioned that I had studied Koine Greek before (for a BD degree at Heythrop College during 1991-4). I'd also been earning my living at the same time as studying at Heythrop and I'm sure that's the reason the grammar never quite embedded itself in me!

It was a lovely group of people; I was not the only one who was not English; a Swiss woman who lives in the town (and who speaks a handful of European languages) joined at the same time. In my 60s, when I joined LOGOS, I was almost a generation younger than some of the founding members who were still in thrall to their studies.

One or two might have been more interested in the Greek rather than the New Testament itself. When a new member joined, they did not have to say if they were believers or members of a denomination or a Friend. None of us have ever heard of a similar group elsewhere in the UK or Ireland.

Each session started with a Blessing and ended with a Grace (both read in Greek and English verse by verse). Members took turns to take on these as well as note-taking and refreshments tasks.

I recently persuaded a fellow-parishioner, now retired, to join the LOGOS group. He has attended his first session and liked it. I was able to give him my Greek texts (and the lovely grammars!).