“Your word is a lantern to my feet, and a light upon my path.” ~ Psalm 119:105
Dear People of St. David’s,
On January 1st, 2025, we’re going to kick off a project that we’re calling Cover to Cover, where we will be inviting the people of St. David’s to read the Bible together in a year. I’m letting the cat out of the bag early because I want you to consider joining us and to start planning to make this a part of your 2025.
There will be a lot more information coming out on this over the next two months, but briefly, the plan will involve reading four chapters a day: one chapter of the Gospels and three chapters of the rest of the Bible, in order, from Genesis to Revelation. Reading a chapter of the Gospels daily will have us read the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection four times through the year, and it will ensure that we will be in familiar territory every day—which will be helpful when we’re going through some of the toughest parts of the Old Testament.
In my ministry I’ve invited congregations to do this together before, and many people come to me on their own saying that they are going to try and read the Bible in a year. So, I’ve had a lot of conversations with people who have come to me saying that they are struggling with Leviticus and Numbers, wondering why there’s so much blood and guts in Joshua and Judges, and having trouble getting through the nuanced theological arguments of Romans and Galatians.
So, a big part of this project will be making sure that people have the resources that they need to make it from cover to cover. I’ve begun working with Natalee Hill and Elliot VanHoy on some of these resources—but the big one will be a weekly podcast where we will talk about the section of Scripture that we’ll be reading that week to provide some context, helps, and point to some of the larger issues and finer points.
There are three main reasons I want to do this project now.
First, reading and engaging the Scriptures is a foundational spiritual practice. Reading the Scriptures communally has been a part of the Jewish and Christian faiths since their beginning. There’s some evidence that churches who read the Bible more tend to be churches that are growing, and I think the reason for that is that it is a core element of the Christian life and witness. Making the Story of God and God’s People a greater part of our lives only brings us nearer and nearer to the heart and mind of God.
Second, I hope that by doing this together it will bring us closer as a parish family. St. David’s is a big church, and you probably don’t know everyone! If enough of us do this together, reading the Bible will be part of our common experience. It has the potential to unite us and provide energy and direction for our future mission and ministry. When we’re in the toughest sections of Deuteronomy and Romans, and in the most beautiful and inspiring sections of the Psalms and the prophets, we’ll be able to laugh, wonder, and share our insights with fellow travelers.
I hope that those first two reasons are enough to make you want to be a part of this but, if you need a third reason, reading the Bible in this way might give you an insight into your new rector. Reading the Gospels through four times a year and reading the rest of the Bible cover to cover in a year has been a part of my spiritual practice for a long time now. It’s a big part of my day and a big part of my relationship with God. It’s become one of the “non-negotiables” in my day. No matter how busy or crazy things get, spending time in the Bible is never something that gets pushed to the side.
There will be lots more information on this coming out soon! The plan is to start the weekly podcast ahead of January to tackle questions as we prepare to read like “What is the Bible?,” “Which version of the Bible should I use?,” and “How did the Bible get written?”
Right now, I hope you’ll begin considering joining us in this project and make the commitment to have it be a part of your 2025.
God’s Peace,
Rick
The Rev. Rick Morley
Rector
Posted on October 31, 2024