MORE than 100 volunteers are helping a Newport church to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James bible, by reading the entire text out loud this week.
Congregation members from Bethesda Baptist Church in Rogerstone are being joined by community groups who use the church to read all the way from Genesis to Revelation in six days.
The challenge started on Monday, with volunteers reading for 15 minutes each during 12 hour sessions from 9am to 9pm.
The church's minister, Rev Keith Glover, said it is hoped their marathon effort will finish on Saturday.
The church has also put on a bible exhibition for the week featuring texts in Welsh, Gaelic, English and Hebrew, as well as a bible made out of cake.
The King James Bible was first published in 1611, and Rev Glover said it marked an important point in the church's history.
He said: "The King James bible was written to bring peace to the different areas of the church. It could be read in any church in the country - it was unifying. We wanted to celebrate that by unifying all the groups within our church. We've had English, Welsh, Chinese, African and Indian nations take part, with readers ranging from teenagers to people in their 70s and 80s."
Members of the public are invited to the church on Saturday morning between 10am and 12pm for tea and biscuits.
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