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Bible Reading Marathon Revisited
Loudoun Awakening Brings
Bible Reading Marathon Revisited
"Prayer America's Strength and Shield"
By Annette Scheel
Dear Fellow Travelers of the Way:
The Loudoun Awakening was perhaps the first time in the county’s 250-year history that every participant could find a means to express his or her faith during days and nights of prayer. This was a public reading of the Bible that reflected a very moving and diverse experience which included children of full reading age registered to read. The Bible Readers represented the wide variety of worship expression in the county, for the purpose of glorifying God and extending His blessings to all the citizens of Loudoun County, our nation and the world!
The first Bible Reading Marathon took place on the steps of the old Leesburg Courthouse from Noon on Saturday April 26 through Noon on May 1. To the best of my faulty mathematics it would seem that the reading of the Bible lasted 89 hours. We read through the entire Good Book in approximately 84 and one half hours. After completion of the Bible Reading, the difference was made up on Thursday by those who read their favorite passages from Genesis through Revelation.
I believe most of the Bible reading participants were solid believers in the WORD. Unfortunately the heavy rain, wind and unseasonable cold weather on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday did not assist to increase the crowd of curious bystanders. Rain is a sign of God’s blessing, however the wind did knock down our tent on Monday and it was many hours later until we received a new tent. The Bible readers never missed their time slots using umbrellas until the new tent was installed. All were stoic with the desire to go forward and read through their 5 to 15 minute sessions with the Bible.
Approximately 350 Christians and Jews registered to participate as Bible readers. Perhaps 40 Churches and as many as 30 individual ministries took part in the reading. A total of nine languages were read: Spanish, French, Romanian, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Urdu, Hebrew, and Swahili and of course English. Many different translations of the Bible were used. A number of people cried while reading. Of course everyone had their own personal reasons for coming to this event as people from all walks of life passed by me to speak into the microphone and read the WORD of Life. It is an amazing story that I witnessed for six days with the memories well-established in my mind forever.
Surely more than one hundred children of all ages were able to participate in the readings. Youth groups, young lifers, the home schooled, and even one private secular school had youngsters at the microphone. I am told the readers ages ranged from 5 to 93 years old. I want to thank the Loudoun community for making this dream of an event a much appreciated reality. Nothing is impossible with God.
I also believe that next year the word will be out all over Loudoun with greater impact. More and more folks will want to be involved in the Bible Reading event and spreading the WORD. We could start early in January and seek the Lord in prayer and fasting for warmer, drier and calmer weather. Many commented after the event that they felt privileged to be reading the Bible on HOLY GROUND. Others said they were profoundly impacted by the privilege to be reading on the courthouse grounds and felt that had eternal value.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. [2 COR 13:14]
Shalom, Annette
Note: A Loudoun County’s Faith Community unites with hundreds of millions of people across the world to celebrate the largest prayer gathering in History; The Global Day of Prayer on May 10. Across the globe, hundreds of millions of Christians are planning to meet together in churches, stadiums, parks and homes to celebrate the Global Day of Prayer. This year, Loudoun Church Alliance in association with local churches is facilitating a county-wide event and will be joining an anticipated 200 countries around the world by hosting a number of events to celebrate the Global Day of Prayer and 2008 Loudoun Awakening initiative. For more information on these events, as well as to find out how you and your local church/business/organization can become more actively involved, please visit the website www.loudounawakening.org and the North America web site www.gdopusa.org. For further information, contact Rev. Jack Stagman at 540-338-0409 or jackstagman@comcast.net.
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