Chickasha native Nolan Peek, Regional Director of Partnership Relations with the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., spoke to Rotary about the organization and its four pillars of outreach.The October 6, 2022 meeting of the Rotary Club of Chickasha was called to order by President Lewis Knisley. Rot. Mitch Williams led the club in singing "How Firm a Foundation".
Pres. Kinsley made announcements:
- October Trivia Night will be held on Friday, the 14th, at 7 pm at Jungle Ice Fun Zone. The theme is Halloween.
- A time is being arranged for volunteers to help with the assembly of the Clothes Closet at Bill Wallace Early Childhood Center. The options are Oct. 17, 19, or 24 at 1 pm. If you would like to help, contact Lewis.
- The first bike presentations for the Rotary Roll Call program will be at 2 pm on Oct. 18th at Grand Elementary, and 1:15pm on Oct. 12th or 20th at Lincoln Elementary.
Rotarian of the Day Tim Elliot introduced his speaker, Nolan Peek. Peek is originally from Chickasha and graduated from Chickasha High School and Science & Arts. He began working at the Museum of the Bible in the spring of 2018. As of January of this year, he is the Regional Director of Partnership Relations for the North Central region. He began his presentation by sharing a video.
The Museum of the Bible is located in Washington, D.C., in close proximity to the National Mall. Peek explained that the goal of the Museum of the Bible is not to preach a certain viewpoint, but to present historical artifacts in such a way as to "engage people with the Bible".
The "Gutenberg Gates" at the main entrance of MOTB. Museum of the Bible, (C) 2016 Museum of the Bible.
The organization has four pillars of outreach: the museum itself, biblical education, research, and traveling exhibits. The education portion includes the production of a biblical curriculum that will be distributed to Christian schools nationwide. The curriculum will also be available to public schools for religious education. The museum is involved with active archeological dig sites near Jerusalem. They present the Hebrew Bible and Jewish texts as well as Christian texts.
The museum has 6 floors, 4 of which are dedicated to temporary and long-term exhibits. Peek presented photos to the club. He estimated that a casual visitor might spend an entire day in the museum; a more invested visitor might need a few days to go through it all.
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Museum of the Bible Grand Hall, with view of the digital ceiling. Museum of the Bible. © Museum of the Bible, 2016. | Bible in America exhibit on Floor 2 of Museum of the Bible. Museum of the Bible. © Museum of the Bible, 2016. | Inside The World of Jesus of Nazareth exhibit on Floor 3 of Museum of the Bible. Museum of the Bible. © Museum of the Bible, 2016. | The History of the Bible located on Floor 4 of Museum of the Bible. Museum of the Bible. © Museum of the Bible, 2016. |
The fifth floor of the museum includes the World Stage Theater, a 360-degree experience. The sixth floor includes a restaurant, the Gathering Room, and rooftop garden.
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| Museum of the Bible. © Museum of the Bible, 2016. | Museum of the Bible. © Museum of the Bible, 2016. | Museum of the Bible. © Museum of the Bible, 2016. |
The museum has presented traveling exhibits all over the world, even before the brick-and-mortar museum opened. Exhibits have been shown in the Vatican, Jerusalem, and other places throughout Europe and the United States. The museum's relationship with the Vatican allows them to display some of the Catholic Church's artifacts at the museum in D.C.
Finally, Peek presented a 500th-anniversary Reformation Bible as a gift to the Rotary Club. At the suggestion of members, the Bible will be auctioned off later in the year.
Lunch was provided by Interurban.