Over the past few years, the Saturday Study Group at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation, West Long Branch, has focused on a wide range of topics, secular and religious.

Mother Teresa, the pyramids of Egypt, the pathways trod by St. Paul and even the adventures of Harry Potter have all been discussed over pot luck suppers after the 5 p.m. Saturday service.

Facilitated by folks with expertise on the subjects under discussion, the sessions are lively and inquisitive, just the venue for expanding knowledge in matters of faith said church member Joan Hamrick who helps organize them.

When group members decided they wanted a session that would focus on the differences between the Catholic and Protestant bibles, they looked at it as an opportunity to do just that, Hamrick said.

“As Christians, we wanted to increase our learning about the faith,” said Hamrick who invited Father Sam A. Sirianni, director of the diocesan Office of Worship, to lead the session.

The group knew him not only as a native son, but as the former pastor of Holy Trinity, Star of the Sea and St. John the Baptist Parishes which have since merged to form Christ the King Parish and as someone who was active in the Long Branch Ministerium during that time.

For Father Sirianni, the invitation to speak on a biblical subject such as this one before a non-Catholic group was a “first.”

He greeted it as an opportunity to “step out after concentrating on the liturgy for 18 years and focus on what I learned in the seminary about the Scriptures. It was a great opportunity to do some research on a complex subject. It gave me the chance to work with a variety of sources on the Internet, though truth to tell, the Jerome Biblical Commentary on my shelf in the office was the best.”

In an informal, relaxed setting in the church social hall, Father Sam unwrapped that research in a way that was both scholarly, easy to understand and often punctuated with humor.

His nearly two-hour presentation offered a sweeping look at scriptural evolution which began with the Jewish scriptures in rabbinical times and would not come to an end until the Council of Trent in 1546.

The presentation provided a glimpse at how complex and nuanced the arguments often were that resulted in both Protestant and Catholic bibles in agreement on the same New Testament Canon but differing in the number of books in the Old Testament Canon.

Indeed, Father Sirianni led the group further in pursuit of the ancient texts with information on the Eastern Orthodox and Coptic canons.

The Copts, he explained, didn’t write the Scriptures down, they memorized the books and passed them on orally. “That’s how important it was to them,” he told the group.

He talked of the overall importance of the Scriptures down through the ages as the mirror of creation to which they turned in times of trouble. “The stories in the Bible reflect challenging times, they mirror the history of the day,” he said. “They were a source of comfort, insight and inspiration in times of trouble.”

Father Sirianni, pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold, talked to the study group about the importance of Scripture in his own life. “From my experience as a parish priest, proclaiming the word of God is such a vital, moving experience.”

He said he often reflects on the people who lived the stories. “They have enlivened society” down through the ages, he said. “Theirs is a great gift... the stories of the Bible are so important. They speak to all humanity.”

Days later, Father Sirianni and Hambrick reflected back on the evening.

“It was a wonderful night of Christian sharing,” Hamrick said.

“It was informative, educational and entertaining. It helped us understand our differences and our common ground.”

Father Sirianni said “it was especially good to find that there was real interest in the topic. I thoroughly enjoyed presenting the Catholic view on a topic of interest.”