At the end of the congregation’s first service in the worship center on September 28, Rich O’Brien, a leader on the building project, read Genesis 1:1-3. For the next five days, volunteers read the scriptures from the front of the worship center during 15-minute increments, averaging a little more than three chapters per reader.
“You never know what three chapters you will get, but it’s all good,” said associate pastor Roger Gilbert, who organized the event.
The event was held in the spirit of Ezra reading the Law after the walls of Jerusalem were restored (Nehemiah 8), Gilbert said. “It has been wonderful to read his word together out loud. People have been re-enlisting to read again, and almost jostling for open spots.”
The week was filled with special moments, Gilbert said. A father and his sons shared the story of Joseph’s love for his father Jacob (Genesis 48). Other members wept as they read the story of the dedication of the temple in 1 Kings 8. Some reading was done in Russian as well as Spanish.
On Thursday, six construction workers finished installing the carpet as they listened to member Marilu Nett read from the prophet Ezekiel. “Wonder what they talked about at supper that night?” quipped pastor Mike Treachler.
One week after the church began the event, it concluded during the Sunday morning worship service with the reading of Revelation 22.
