Why reading the Bible aloud is scary even for a pro

Winchester Cathedral have under taken the epic task of reading the whole Bible aloud over three days. Our Hazel Southam went along to do one of the first readings. She tells us all about it... 

I do Bible readings at my local church regularly and I love it. My mother got me into it when I was a small child, making me practice at the front of the church, projecting my voice, giving emphasis to the right words, bringing the Bible to life by telling a story vividly.

The enjoyment of doing this has stayed with me for more than 40 years. So, when I noticed that Winchester Cathedral was doing a 75-hour Bible-reading marathon, I had to get involved.

Bible Society sponsored the event, giving each of the 150 readers a Bible to take home with them, much to their obvious delight.

No chance to practice

Everyone would read for 20 minutes, so it was impossible to tell where your slot would be. So, unlike a church reading, you couldn’t practice.

This unnerved me. So I tried working out where my turn would come and practiced that section. Imagine my horror when the person before me read that section!

Unlike a church reading, you couldn’t practice

The Bible’s full of great stories and stuff about people’s lives. And people’s lives are messy. So I ended up with the bits of Genesis that concern themselves with Abraham being circumcised at the age of 90, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the men of Sodom asking Lot about the two men who were visiting him. Yikes.

But I ended on a high note, with the story of the birth of Isaac to Sarah, so that was a lovely way to finish my 20 minutes.

Just me and the Bible

Beforehand I’d been acutely aware of the hubbub in the cathedral. It’s a public space after all and the whole morning cathedral guides were leading groups of people were round, showing them Jane Austen’s grave, the Winchester Bible and many other highlights.

There was a constant buzz about the place. People stopped and listened and watched as the reading happened.

I thought I’d find that distracting, but when it was my turn, it was just me and the Bible. I focused on the story that I had to tell and was only dimly aware of the two cameramen and photographer who were working all around me. The Bible really is an absorbing book!

However tricky I might have found some of the section that I had to read, at least I don’t have the job of the Acting Dean, Canon Roly Reim. He’ll be up all of the first night, reading for six-and-a-half hours by himself, finishing at 8am.

‘I expect to find some bits challenging and other bits comforting,’ he said with a stoical smile. I wish him luck. Twenty minutes was plenty for me and hopefully, I didn’t make too many mistakes!