Help church read whole Bible in Norwich
 Norwich Central Baptist Church is planning a marathon 75-hour reading of the entire Bible to mark its reopening and is inviting you to join in the attempt.
By David Bale
It is made up of 66 different books and contains about 800,000 words - but one congregation is planning to read it all in one sitting.
From Genesis to Revelations, the Norwich Central Baptist Church is attempting a marathon 75-hour reading session of The Bible to mark its official re-opening after 12 months of refurbishment work.
There are more than 300 separate 15-minute reading slots up for grabs, although people who want to take part can sign up for as many as they like.
The reading will start on Monday October 9 at 3pm and finish around 6pm on Thursday, October 12.
The Duke Street church is holding the event as part of a week of events to celebrate the end of its £1 million makeover.
During the revamp the church remained open, with events working around the refurbishment.
The event entitled 'Making Jesus Known' is being co-ordinated by Sarah Huckel, 31, who has been a member of the church for about seven years.
She said: “Norwich Central is a Bible-based church, which is why we are reading the whole Bible aloud. We are celebrating the opening of our church by focusing on something we really believe in.
“This has been done before around the world, so we know approximately how long it's going to take, but it's mainly done to raise money for the church. We're doing it as a symbol of what we stand for.”
Readers' voices won't just resound in the church. The microphone on the lectern is being amplified so their voices should carry to the immediate area.
Mrs Huckel added: “People over the age of 16 can read as many 15-minute slots as they want. Readers under 16 will just have to read for five minutes, but they can do that as often as they wish. People can read it sitting down or standing up. We have worked out that there will be more than 300 15-minute slots, so we need a lot of volunteers.”
The Norwich Central Baptist church, formerly St Mary's, was formed after the Baptist church in Dereham Road and St Mary's merged. The Dereham Road church was sold to finance the refurbishment programme.
Mrs Huckel, a mother of two from Silver Street, Norwich, added: “There's been a radical refurbishment inside, both structurally and with the décor. A café bar area has been opened which groups can use, and there's a new lighter colour scheme.”
Bev Cant, the churches' office administrator, said refurbishment work started last October and cost about £1million.
Other activities during the celebration week include children's events, youth activities, quiz night and art and craft exhibition.
*The Bible tops the best seller lists every year.
*World sales of the Bible are more than 100 million every year.
*The Bible contains about 800,000 words.
*It is not just one book, but a whole collection. There are 66 books split into two sections. 39 in the first largest part, called the Old Testament. And the second part, the New Testament has 27.
*The Old Testament covers a sweep of history, from the creation of the world, to about 400BC.
*The New Testament covers the life of Jesus.
*The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years by more than 40 authors of every sort - kings, poor people, fishermen, poets, government officials, teachers, prophets.
*It was written in three languages, on three continents - Asia, Africa, and Europe.
To sign up visit www.norwichcentral.org/launch.html
People who wish to book individual slots contact Sarah at sgmh@silverst.fsnet.co.uk
Article courtesy of www.eveningnews24.co.uk
|
