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In late 2024, the Tarsus Scripture School team were asked if we would accept a bursary to help fund a new, annual event aimed at bringing the Bible to "the people in the pews" of Ireland today. We were delighted to accept and began planning a day-long event which included presentations from an invited speaker, and workshops on different ways of reading or praying Scripture, both individually and as a community.
The Dromantine Retreat House in Newry was a location of great spiritual significance to the donor of the bursary, and was a natural and fitting choice of venue for the event. Our inaugural event took place in September 2025 and was a resounding success, one which we hope to build upon in future years.
We hope that these events highlight the enduring importance of the Bible in the 21st century and offer new avenues towards encountering Scripture within our life of faith today.
Our Dromantine Scripture Day for 2026
We are delighted to announce our second Dromantine Scripture Day. We have invited Prof. Luca Mazzinghi, an expert on wisdom literature, to be our keynote speaker for this year.
The day will include two presentations from our speaker, a variety of workshops on the Bible in our lives, and a hearty lunch. Further details on the presentations and workshops will become available in late July.
Limited accommodation will be available and can be booked directly through the Dromantine Retreat and Conference Centre.
* There may be minor adjustments to the arrangement of this schedule to ensure there is ample time both for workshops and for discussions over coffee and lunch.
Keynote Presentations for 2026
Workshops for 2026
In order to create a variety of choices, some workshops in the afternoon sessions will build upon their morning session through further information or practical examples. We would recommend attending only the afternoon sessions for these workshops (Bible Journaling and Bible Study Groups) if you were present in the morning. Other workshops will offer a repeat of their content in the afternoon session, albeit using a different biblical text. You can find more information on each workshop below, with recommendations from their facilitators on how to get the most out of their session.
Please note that the recommendations are not requirements — please feel free to attend whichever workshops you are most drawn to.
This session explores how the practice of Bible journaling has grown around the world, and how people use it to record their prayers, reflections, and personal encounters with God in the Bible.
This workshop takes place only during the morning session.
This session gets hands-on. We'll walk through simple techniques and materials, then create a page together — no experience necessary, just a willingness to try something new.
This workshop takes place only in the afternoon session. Although this session will build on the morning session, no previous experience is required.
This workshop will discuss why you might consider gathering others around you to set up a Bible Study Group in your parish. It will clarify what Bible study is, and what it is not. It will examine the importance of Bible study for faith, and the positive results than can ensue from this group approach. It will also provide practical advice and assistance as to how to set up and facilitate such a group, with suggestions of websites, books and other resources that may prove helpful.
This workshop only takes place in the morning session. Mary offered a similar workshop in 2025, and she recommends those who attended last year to consider her afternoon session.
Vatican II's Dei Verbum encouraged investigating “what meaning the sacred writer intended to express and actually expressed, in particular circumstances” (§12). To do this, we use various tools or methods to examine the "worlds of the text": its context and background, the content of the text itself, and how the text speaks to us, the Church, today. This workshop will help you to understand these approaches and provide an opportunity to discuss this method with examples from the Gospel of Mark. Bringing along a good study Bible is recommended!
This workshop only takes place in the afternoon session. As this workshop builds upon her morning one, Mary recommends only attending if you were at her earlier workshop (this year or last year), or have some prior experience with Bible Study.
Simply the Story is an engaging oral approach to Scripture in which a biblical story is told rather than read, and is explored together through attentive listening, retelling, questions and conversation. Drawing on Jesus’ own use of stories and questions, Simply the Story offers a fresh way of engaging deeply with Scripture and connecting it with our lives.
This workshop will take place in the morning and afternoon sessions, and each will explore a different Biblical text. You are welcome to attend one session, or both.
Lectio Divina, Latin for “Sacred Reading,” is an ancient method of reading the Bible that approaches the text as the living Word of God, is performed by reading, meditating, praying, and contemplating. This workshop will offer an introduction to Lectio Divina in practice by experienced members of the Newry Lectio Mission Team.
This workshop will take place in the morning and afternoon sessions, and each will explore a different Biblical text. You are welcome to attend one session, or both.
Registration is Now Open!
Please note that this event is in-person only, and will not be available online. Places are also limited: registration will close September 25th, or when all 120 places are filled!
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