Seventeen church members enjoyed a day at The Bishop’s Palace last Saturday, hopefully channelling some of Bishop Martin’s vision for the forthcoming Year of the Bible. You might think that we should all already have known all there is to know about the Bible, but part of the aim of the day was to be reminded that we approach the Scriptures not only with our heads but with our hearts and lives. So we began by telling something of the story of the particular Bible each of us had brought along, such as a Family Bible or Christening Bible. We had an excellent overview of the Bible from curate Jo, including the ubiquitous quiz: for example, how many books are in the Bible, including the Apocrypha? (Sorry, not telling you!) We also did some Bible study, one group looking at a chapter from the Old and one from the New Testament.
We engaged the soul as well by praying with the Scriptures and the body by eating them – no, we did use a scriptural grace but then ate the delicious customary Pagham food. Relating to the Bible is about relating to the God who loves us and so like other loving relationships this is a lifelong business where there is no limit to intimacy and delight. The vicar’s favourite person rounded off the Bible overview, (St) Tom Wright reminding us that the story of the Bible is continued in the stories and lives of believers, which is an exciting thought for us all on the threshold of the Year of the Bible.
Words – Rev’d Mark Eminson
Pictures – Stephen Cox-Rusbridge
