The Year of the Bible 2011

1. The Year of the Bible 2011 in the Diocese of Southwark

2. Why the Year of the Bible in 2011? 400th anniversary of the printing of the KJV The Bible accessible to all in the English language • a time to celebrate its beauty and influence • a time to take stock

3. Taking Stock • How do we engage society with the Bible today in this parish beyond our congregation? • How are we translating the Bible into today’s languages, across cultures and different media so that it is accessible to all, young to old? • How are we reading the Bible transformationally, in ways that continue to influence our society? • What is the role of beauty in calling society’s attention to God through the Bible today?

4. General Synod 2010 Following a motion from Diocese of Chelmsford “This Synod believes that the 400th anniversary of the KJV of the Bible is an obvious opportunity to celebrate the exceptional contribution which that translation has made to shaping the life, language and culture of this and other nations.”

5. General Synod 2010 “This General Synod requests that Dioceses, Deaneries, and parishes undertake local initiatives to celebrate and teach the Bible both within the church and throughout wider society” that is both internally within our congregationand externally within our local community

6. The Year of the Bible in Parishes Engaging with the Bible internally and externally: • What could we do as a congregation? • What could we do in our parish? • What could we do in our local school?

7. The Year of the Bible • not about information but transformation • reading the Bible so it drives us out (Tutu) to engage with our local community In one survey: (CODEC, St John’s College, Durham) • 75% owned a Bible • 72% heard Bible stories as children • 47% never found the Bible relevant

8. Ideas for the Year of the Bible • What could we do as a congregation? • What could we do in our parish? • What could we do in our local school?

9. Hold a ‘Biblical Songs of Praise’ Sing favourite hymns with an introduction by a member of the congregation or clergy Which passage does the hymn draw on? How does it capture your imagination? Why has it become a favourite? How does it affect you when you sing it?

10. Use your church’s architecture, stained glass windows, statues, or artwork to open up the Bible in school visits, Bible studies, or as part of an Open House day through temporary plaques, booklets or short presentations

11. Hold a photographic or art competition on biblical themes relevant to your local context justice, exodus, peace, healing, exile, hope, Babel, reconciliation, wilderness, renewal, creation How do these themes resonate today?

12. Encourage your choir, flower festival, theatre or drama group to take a biblical theme or story How do these interpretations shed light on Bible themes or stories? How does beauty help us engage with the Bible and God on a different level?

13. Hold a Taize service for the youth of your Deanery Taize chants are deeply biblically rooted Taize’s experience is that their Bible reading ‘echoes the searching of the young’

14. Invite children to create an Easter Garden in Holy Week through that garden tell the story of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ can also work well with school classes

15. Introduce a short reflection after one of the Bible readings at Morning or Evening Prayer Reflections for Daily Prayer provides off-the-peg resources from Church House

16. Give your congregation online or mobile resources to daily prayer with imaginative Bible reading Adults: www.sacredspace.ie www.pray-as-you-go.org Youth: www.sacredgateway.org Children: www.catholicireland.net/talk2god

17. Draw on Godly Play for telling Bible stories to children a reflective, creative, transformative approach to Bible reading with children in Lent or Advent groups, after school groups, first communion preparation, holiday clubs, clergy visits to schools... www.godlyplay.co.uk

18. Southwark Cathedral’s new Lancelot Andrewes Awards for translating the Bible into today’s culture encourage your amateur artists, photographers, & poets to enter

19. Write ‘home grown’ Bible study notes as a congregation Pairs or individuals from the congregation could contribute one week of short Bible study notes (250 words a day) to share in your parish see www.sanderstead-parish.org.uk for helpful resources

20. Preach the stories of Genesis and Exodus this Summer The lectionary in ‘Ordinary Time’ (the green Sundays after Pentecost and Trinity Sunday) is written with this in mind. Hear the stories of: the sacrifice of Isaac, Isaac & Rebekah, Jacob & Esau, Jacob’s ladder, Leah & Rachel, the Wrestling of Jacob, Joseph, the Cry of the Hebrews, the Birth of Moses, Passover, the Crossing of the Red Sea, Manna from Heaven, the Grumblings in the Wilderness, the Ten Commandments.

21. Hold a live crib service Invite children from your parish providing costumes for them to dress as the biblical characters Tell the story interspersed with excerpts from favourite Carols

22. Read the Bible one different way in your services this Lent or Advent • Include the Old Testament reading (if you don’t already) • Explore readings with the preacher before sermon writing • Discuss the sermon & readings in more depth after coffee • Focus your Advent or Lent groups on the Bible • Read the Gospel dramatically during Lent • Read Isaiah from the KJV in Advent • Sing a responsorial Psalm or Psalm based chorus in Lent • Read from the KJV in BCP Evensong or Holy Communion

23. Celebrate the anniversary of the King James Bible • Hold a reading competition for youth from the KJV • Hold a ‘remembering the KJV’ evening where older members are invited to remember favourite Bible passages • Bring out your church’s oldest & most beautiful Bibles and display them or even read from them • Ask your local library to display your beautiful Bibles • Host a poetry evening with cheese & wine and read excerpts from the Song of Songs, Psalms, Isaiah, and other beautiful passages from the KJV • Hold a Bible festival, celebrating the Bible in art & craft

24. Hold an ‘Understanding the Bible’ series or ‘Bible Academy’ Run a course on the Bible, aimed at: • the wider public • or deepening the Bible knowledge of your congregation

25. Ideas for Parishes with Schools

26. Parishes with Schools Telling the Bible’s stories in our schools is vital. Research suggests that it is in primary and secondary schools that most people hear the Bible’s stories. However, they are not always clear about the relevance of these stories.

27. Tell Biblical stories in assemblies or collective worship which stories is your school telling?

28. Check that the story of Abraham is being told in your local school The story of Abraham lies at the roots of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and so is an important shared story in the Diocese of Southwark today.

29. Encourage your school to visit Southwark Cathedral Bible trails, dance and drama days The tomb of Lancelot Andrewes, who led the company translating Genesis – 2 Kings lies in the Cathedral

30. Encourage (or fund!) a Barnabas INSET Day with a biblical theme How confident are your teachers in engaging children in Bible reading? Could you join with other parishes in your Deanery to fund an INSET Day for 30 teachers (£150 + expenses)

31. Suggest an RE Day with a Bible theme How about gifting a ‘What’s so special about the Bible day’ run by the Barnabas team. Cost is £325 per school. www.barnabasinschools.org.uk

32. Lead an assembly or class on the significance of the King James Bible on culture, language, politics, faith Martyn Payne’s, The People’s Bible (£5.99) provides good resources for History, English, or RE classes as well as assemblies

33. Introduce Godly Play to your Church school Godly Play is a creative, reflective approach to Bible storytelling It includes ‘wondering’ questions It is recommended by the National Society for promoting RE Could you fund the training of your school’s RE Coordinator in Godly Play?

34. Encourage your Church school to adopt the new Bible scheme of work Available from the Southwark Diocese Board of Education from September 2011 Which biblical modules are currently included in your school’s schemes of work? When and how are biblical stories told in your Church school?

35. The Year of the Bible in Parishes both Internally and Externally • What could we do within our congregation? • What could we do within our parish? • What could we do within our local school?