Berea College

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BEREA, Ky. – Berea College’s Special Collections and Archives and the Campus Christian Center is offering the public a closer look at the Heritage Edition of the Saint John’s Bible, which became a permanent addition to Berea College’s religious book collection in 2016.

The program is part of the library’s “Friday Finds” special events held throughout the year. The tours will be from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays throughout February.

“This impressive, multi-volume Bible&nbsp;is a beautiful work of art&nbsp;created to draw new generations and a global audience into the ancient, sacred stories of faith,” said Tim Binkley,&nbsp;Head&nbsp;of Special Collections and Archives. One volume of the Saint John’s Bible is always on display in the Hutchins Library foyer. During “Friday Finds,” Binkley brings the other six volumes into the reading room&nbsp;for visitors to view up close, turning the pages at their own pace.&nbsp;

The Saint John’s Bible is the first hand-written and illuminated Bible&nbsp;commissioned by the Benedictine Order&nbsp;since the invention of the printing press. The project started in the early 1990s when the community of Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota commissioned calligrapher Donald Jackson – who was also the official scribe to Queen Elizabeth II – to lead an international team of calligraphers and artists and produce the book. The project started in 2000 and was completed in 2011.&nbsp;

Due to its significance, and in an effort to expand&nbsp;the book's impact&nbsp;beyond Minnesota,&nbsp;the St. John's Bible team created a set of 299 full-size "Heritage Edition" reproductions.&nbsp;Berea owns the 111<sup>th</sup>&nbsp;set.&nbsp;Hutchins Library is the only place in Kentucky where the St. John's Bible can be viewed.&nbsp;

“I encourage students and visitors to spend time paging through these seven volumes, taking in all the artistic details,"&nbsp;said Binkley.

&nbsp;Friday Finds Tours are free and open to the public. To&nbsp;pre-register for this experience, visit &nbsp;<a href="https://bctrace.com/explore/">https://bctrace.com/explore/</a>.&nbsp;For more information or to request group viewings of the St. John’s Bible on other days, please contact Tim Binkley at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:binkleyt@berea.edu">binkleyt@berea.edu</a>&nbsp;or 859-985-3267.

Berea College, the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, focuses on learning, labor and service. The College only admits academically promising students with limited financial resources, primarily from Kentucky and Appalachia, although students come from 45 states and 70 countries. Every Berea student receives a Tuition Promise Scholarship, which means no Berea student pays for tuition.&nbsp;Berea is one of nine federally recognized Work Colleges, where students work at least 10 hours a week to earn money for books, housing, and meals.&nbsp;The College’s motto, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” speaks to its inclusive Christian character. <a href="http://www.berea.edu">www.berea.edu</a>

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“Friday Finds” offers public a look at the Saint John’s Bible

Berea, Ky. – Berea College will welcome Flamenco Louisville to campus on Feb. 15 as part of the College’s Stephenson Memorial Concert Convocation Series.

Flamenco Louisville is the oldest flamenco organization in the area. With a group of talented teachers, musicians and Spanish-trained dancers, they perform authentic flamenco in the <em>puro</em> tradition.

The group consists of six dancers and two musicians. Dancers Paula Collins, Diana Dinicola, Larissa May, Grace Mican-Work, Mercedes Nelson and Becca Barrett all began their careers as young as two years old. Musicians Paul T. Carney and Suzanne Allen also grew up surrounded by music.

Dinicola is the co-founder of Flamenco Louisville. She started dancing when she was only two years old and is now a graduate of the advanced-level intensive training program at the Fundacion Cristina Heeren de Arte Flamenco in Sevilla, Spain. She attended the National Flamenco Institute at the University of New Mexico and continues her professional development by making yearly trips to Spain. Moreover, she brings flamenco into Kentucky schools as a Showcase Kentucky artist and a Kentucky Arts Council teaching artist.

“I’m so grateful that Flamenco Louisville, under the direction of Diana Dinicola, will be back at Berea College as they delighted our audience with their amazing flamenco performance in 2019,” said Dr. Thomas Ahrens, director of Convocations at Berea College.

The performance begins at 8 p.m. on Feb. 15 in Phelps Stokes Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.