Almost 100 people gathered at Winnipeg's Beautiful Savior Lutheran School to launch a Bible reading program
Staff members at Lutheran Church–Canada’s office in Winnipeg meet each workday for a devotion and Bible study with President Robert Bugbee when he’s in town. During those times together he often mentioned how his wife, Gail, has read Scripture every day for years using the Today’s Light Bible. The reading plan uses the 1984 NIV Bible text broken down into manageable daily readings covering the entire Bible in two years. It takes about 15 minutes a day.
Recently, when Concordia Publishing House advertised a sale on the Today’s Light edition, several LCC co-workers decided to buy the edition and follow the reading plan. Before placing an order, Winnipeg-area congregations received information about the sale in case others wanted the “good prices” too.
Then the whole thing exploded in a startling way! Based on conversations with neighbours and friends, the Synod staff thought possibly another 15-20 people might take advantage of the sale. Imagine the surprise when more than 150 individuals chose to join in! God’s Spirit seemed to be moving among His people.
With all this interest, Pastor Bugbee and Gail agreed to speak to a group of participants at a “launch” to provide encouragement and to share their thoughts. On September 28, almost 100 people attended the event at Beautiful Savior Lutheran School.
Many people wanted to gather with others to discuss the readings or to ask questions. Some groups have already formed, while others are in the process. Regular e-mails between participants encourage and share information about upcoming group events. By staying in touch and scheduling several larger gatherings, the hope is for people to develop the habit of reading the Word that will extend far beyond the initial two years. Some pastors are following the schedule and make the week’s readings the basis for Bible study on Sunday mornings.
The effort was not organized by Synod, the district, the circuit, or even by a congregation. There was no formal committee, just committed Christians excited over the idea of reading through the entire Bible. “The most beautiful part is how Christians are committing a few minutes every day to reading God’s Word” said Iris Barta, who serves as assistant to LCC’s executives in Winnipeg.
President Bugbee summed up the concept well: “In launching this daily discipline of reading and studying Holy Scripture, there is far more involved than a program, or getting a one-time ‘achievement’ under your belt. To some degree, the soul of our churches, and of your own spiritual life are at stake in an effort of this kind.”
Anyone interested in trying something similar can contact Iris Barta at Synod’s office (pres_sec@lutheranchurch.ca) for more details.