March 9th, 2011 | 
Author: 
Bigger Conversations: Time to dust off your Bible for 2011’s Big Read!
8th March 2011 was Shrove Tuesday, and an opportunity to partake in the Fair Feast to kick of The Big Read 2011, in which people across Great Britain (and the world) prepared to feast upon the Gospel of Matthew during Lent.
The Big Read is part of the Big Bible project, an online digital community that promotes regular Bible reading and engagement with contemporary culture. After last year’s Big Read, which was based in the North-East, this year’s project aims for a wider outreach, going national on Twitter and Facebook and with multimedia resources available through the Big Bible blog, with a ‘blend’ of physical and digital materials.
Revd Dr Peter Phillips of CODEC (Centre for Christian Communication in a Digital Age, St John’s College, University of Durham) spotted the potential for this to go national in the year of Biblefresh:
“Researchers at Durham University have found that although three quarters of the population own at least one Bible, only one fifth of people commit to reading it week by week. BigBible offers a great opportunity to dust off your bible, share with your friends and neighbours and learn more about what God wants for your life.”
The Project is launching this year’s Big Read with Tom Wright’s Lent for Everyone: Matthew. As well as using the book, house groups can take advantage of free online study materials from a range of contributors, including week-by-week group resources, videos and audio reflections (all downloadable), and a challenge to carry that learning through the week. The Big Bible website also allows people to discuss the text with people all over the world, and from a range of different perspectives.
Dr Bex Lewis, Big Bible Project Manager, who has been pre-testing the material in her own housegroup says:
“People become really comfortable in their own house groups, staying in the same one for years. The Big Read offers another layer of conversation in the online forums, where they can engage with others and where thinking can be challenged.”
The latest statistics show that the website has more than doubled its visitors between November 2010 and February 2011: the site was launched mid-August 2010), rose to 1800 for the month of November 2010, and in February 2011, had 5000 visitors. As Professor Tom Wright invites us: JOIN THE BIGGER CONVERSATION: BIG READ 2011
Posted in News