What began as an idea while visiting the Episcopal Parish Network Conference in 2023 turned into a parish-wide Year of the Bible supported by The Saint John’s Bible‘s beautiful illuminations and history. St. John’s is so grateful for the opportunity to house the Gospels and Acts Volume this past year. We will now send it on its way back to Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Whether on the road or at home on our church campus, The Saint John’s Bible brought beauty and inspiration to our community since September 2023.

Our dedicated docents took The Saint John’s Bible to schools, churches, community groups, book clubs, the State Capitol, and parishioner homes. Not to mention using it to read the Gospel nearly every Sunday this year. Thank you to all our docents, vergers, acolytes, church staff, and leadership for their hard work ensuring that our brothers and sisters in Christ heard about the Bible’s history and saw the beautiful illuminations up close.

Along the way, we collected several of our favorite facts about The Saint John’s Bible. Did you know…

• The SJB is the first handwritten illuminated Bible of its scale in over 500 years.
• The translation of this Bible is the Catholic Edition of New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
• The NRSV was chosen because of its wide use among Christian denominations.
• Each full page of calligraphy took approximately 8 to 12 hours
• A Jewish scribe drew the Hebrew script.
• Six artists created over 160 major illuminations.
• Six calligraphers hand wrote all 1,150 pages on approximately 300 sheets of calfskin vellum.
• While God is never depicted in the Bible, gold leaf is used to represent him in the illuminations. Since humans were made in the image of God, the gold leaf’s reflective properties add a meaningful weight to the artwork.
• In order to share The Saint John’s Bible with the world, Saint John’s asked Donald Jackson to direct the creation of the Heritage Edition.
• The Heritage Edition is the only full-scale, illuminated, fine art edition of the Bible.
• Limited to only 299 seven-volume sets, Mr. Jackson’s goal was to make the Heritage Edition “true to the artistic intent of the original.”
• No two Heritage Editions are identical because many illuminations required hand treatments by the Scriptorium’s studio manager, Sarah Harris.

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Whether on the road or at home on our church campus, The Saint John’s Bible has been bringing beauty and inspiration to our community since September 2023. The Acts and Gospels volume of The Saint John’s Bible is on loan to St. John’s until late 2024. We can’t wait to share this work of art with more groups, both in our parish and beyond, as we start this new year!

In January and February, our docents were busy sharing the Bible with schools, churches, community groups, book clubs, the State Capitol, plus a two-day visit with Tim Ternes, the Director of The Saint john’s Bible. We love that our brothers and sisters in Christ are enjoying hearing about the Bible’s history and seeing the beautiful illuminations up close.

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We continue to hold docent training sessions, so we are equipped to share The Saint John’s Bible with as many groups as possible. Requests have been coming in and connections are being made with area churches and local organizations like schools, civic groups, and more!

To reserve a date to experience The Saint John’s Bible, with your family, small group, class, or community organization, please fill out the form to “Request the Bible.”

The post Where Has the Bible Been (Jan/Feb 2024) appeared first on St. John's Episcopal Church.

Whether on the road or at home on our church campus, The Saint John’s Bible has been bringing beauty and inspiration to our community since September 2023. The Acts and Gospels volume of The Saint John’s Bible has been is on loan to St. John’s until late 2024. We can’t wait to share this work of art with more groups, both in our parish and beyond, as we start this new year!

In November and December, our docents were busy sharing the Bible with schools, churches, community groups, and even visitors to St. John’s Lively Cafe. We love that our brothers and sisters in Christ are enjoying hearing about the Bible’s history and seeing the beautiful illuminations up close.

We continue to hold docent training sessions, so we are equipped to share The Saint John’s Bible with as many groups as possible. Requests have been coming in and connections are being made with area churches and local organizations like schools, civic groups, and more! We’ve even calendared several special events inspired by The Saint John’s Bible.

To reserve a date to experience The Saint John’s Bible, with your family, small group, class, or community organization, please fill out the form to “Request the Bible.”

The post Where Has the Bible Been (Nov/Dec 2023) appeared first on St. John's Episcopal Church.

The Acts and Gospels volume of The Saint John’s Bible has been on loan to St. John’s for just over a month now. During that time, it has been to special programs and events, small-group gatherings and home visits, and even weekly Education for Ministry (EfM) and Sunday School gatherings.

We are so pleased with how our St. John’s community has incorporated this work of art into the “Year of the Bible” at St. John’s.

When not in use, the Bible is displayed in a case right outside our church office, and the Lively Cafe, where hundreds pass by it weekly.

The Bible has become an integral part of weekly worship. It may take two vergers and a crucifer to ensure it gets down into the congregation safely, but we love reading the gospel from our volume of The Saint John’s Bible.

Brad Neary, from the Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program, spoke to parishioners and shared some lesser-known secrets about this work of art at our “Breakfast with the Bible” event (September 16)

Perusing The Saint John’s Bible during Coffee and Connection hour (September 17)

Parishioners brought hugs, prayers, and the Bible to the home of Kathy Hall, who is unable to come to church as she continues cancer treatments. (September 20)

Attendees at the fall SALT luncheon learned about how the Bible will be used for worship, fellowship, faith formation, and more this year. (September 22)

Kate Kile took the Bible to Youth Sunday School (September 24)

The new stand built special for St. John’s by Terry Schneider, so all can see the Bible during worship. (September 29)

The community got to know The Saint John’s Bible at our annual Blessing of the Animals, held once again in Tallahassee’s Cascades Park. (October 1)

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We continue to hold docent training sessions, so we are equipped to share The Saint John’s Bible with as many groups as possible in the coming year. Requests have been coming in and connections are being made with area churches and local organizations like schools, civic groups, and more! We’ve even calendared several special events inspired by The Saint John’s Bible.

To reserve a date to experience The Saint John’s Bible, with your family, small group, class, or community organization, please fill out the form to “Request the Bible.”

The post Where Has the Bible Been? (Sept/Oct 2023) appeared first on St. John's Episcopal Church.

The Year of the Bible is happening! How does that fit in with The Saint John’s Bible?

Whether it’s something you read in the eChimes, something you heard in a sermon, or just the excited chatter of your friends, it has been hard to miss the fact that The Saint John’s Bible is coming to our parish for an entire year, a year we’re calling the “Year of the Bible at St. John’s.”

It’s all very exciting! Both activities are part of our parish’s commitment to embracing the lessons of the Bible and living them out in community with each other and with our neighbors all across town. 

Here’s a quick breakdown to satisfy your curiosity…

THE SAINT JOHN’S BIBLE

The Saint John’s Bible is the first Bible to have been hand-written and hand-illuminated in 500 years. The fact that it is called “The Saint John’s Bible” is just a happy (or some may say serendipitous) coincidence. The name actually comes from Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn., the institution that commissioned the work. We will be hosting the Gospels and Acts volume of The Saint John’s Bible, Heritage Edition at our St. John’s until fall 2024.  

The Saint John’s Bible is a unique work of art, combining ancient monastic traditions with the technology and vision of today.

On our campus, we will use it in worship, study, small groups, special events, and workshops. Several of these events are already on the calendar, including a special “Breakfast with the Bible” (Sept. 16), our next SALT Luncheon (Sept. 22), and a Painting Workshop sponsored by The Front Porch (Oct. 7). Come hear all about the Bible and see it up close and personal.

We are also planning to take The Saint John’s Bible to hospitals, education groups, our area prisons, and more. There will soon be an online form where anyone in the community can request time with the Bible.

THE YEAR OF THE BIBLE

In contrast, the Year of the Bible at St. John’s is about all Bibles (not just The Saint John’s Bible mentioned above).  The Year of the Bible will be our parish theme for the next nine months of faith formation – nearly a year-long engagement with the Bible, and an exploration of God’s love story to all humanity.

Our deep dive into the Bible is for people of all ages, backgrounds, and time commitments. We kicked things off with Miqra, our 72-hour Bible reading marathon. And now, together, we will encounter afresh the ancient writings that provide the road map to a loving, life-giving, and liberating relationship with God.

So, plan to come to worship and join us for Sunday School classes. Offerings for ALL AGES begin on Sunday, September 10. There are weekly readings that you can dive into in advance of each Sunday’s sermon and our Sunday School discussion. If reading the entire Bible sounds daunting, you can get a companion guide to be a part of your studies. Here’s a list of frequently asked questions.

Every Christian—whether liberal or conservative, free-thinking or fundamentalist—has a right to holy scripture, and it is only together that we come to know it best. So, join us for this special and unique year. It is an exciting prospect to consider our whole church family reading the Bible in community – the stories we have read many times before or the complicated parts we’ve never really understood!

Special thanks to St. John’s parishioner Paula Kiger, for helping put this article together.

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Thank you to the Tallahassee Democrat for this wonderful article about Miqra, an ancient tradition of non-stop Bible reading that will kick off St. John’s “deep dive” into the Bible this coming year. We are excited to journey through the Bible in music, word, worship, and art — and by hosting a renowned work of art, The Saint John’s Bible. Join us as we explore God’s love story to all humanity!

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The Year of the Bible at St. John’s will be here before we know it! We are looking forward to kicking it off with a marathon Bible reading event called Miqra on August 24-27. Then, after Labor Day, the Bible will become our parish theme across all age groups for the rest of the year.

You can visit the “Year of the Bible” section on our website for more information. And, check your mailbox for a brochure and reading schedule that you can hang on the fridge! We’ve even included a helpful to-do list to get you prepared for our parish’s year-long engagement with the Bible.

Depending on your availability this year, you can choose to read directly from the Bible, which entails reading large portions of scripture each week, or from The Story*, an abridged version of the Bible broken down into short, easy-to-read weekly chapters. Our study guide offers weekly options for both.

Most of us at St. John’s will read from The Story. There are several versions: one for little ones, children, kids, teens, and adults. We encourage everyone to purchase a copy before fall, either online or through your favorite local bookstore. If purchasing a copy is a financial challenge, please speak to Fr. Lonnie. He will have several complimentary copies available.

LITTLE ONES (ages 2-5)

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CHILDREN (ages 3-7)

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KIDS (ages 8-12)

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TEENS (ages 13 and up)

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ADULTS

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For those wishing to read the entire Bible, any version will do as long as it’s one you feel comfortable reading. If you are looking for a good plain-spoken translation, we recommend either the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition (NRSVue) or the Common English Bible (CEB).

NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION

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COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE

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Whatever you decide to read, remember that you will get the most out of our faith formation classes if you do the reading ahead of time. If you read all the assignments from The Story, you will have read most of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation by the end of the year. If you opt for the fuller Bible readings, you will have read the entire thing.

Get ready for the Year of the Bible at St. John’s!

*Certain editorial content in The Story (introductions, footnotes, summaries) are not always entirely consistent with Episcopal interpretation or theology. Those differences, however, are part of the larger Christian conversation and do not preclude The Story from being a helpful resource for those who wish to experience the Bible but have limited time. St. John’s Episcopal Church does not receive any compensation for the sale of these books.

The post Get Your “Year of the Bible” Books appeared first on St. John's Episcopal Church.

This past week, Fr. Lonnie introduced the Year of the Bible at St. John’s, our parish’s exploration of God’s love story to all humanity. Every Christian—whether liberal or conservative, free-thinking or fundamentalist—has a right to holy scripture, and it is only together that we come to know it best.

The Year of the Bible at St. John’s begins with Miqra, our 72-hour Bible reading marathon. Enjoy this video and visit our website to learn about Miqra and all the activities that will shape our year.

Our deep-dive into the Bible is for people of all ages, backgrounds, and time commitments. Come journey with us in music, word, worship, and art. Together we will encounter afresh the ancient writings that provide the road map to a loving, life-giving, and liberating relationship with God.

The post The Year of the Bible at St. John’s appeared first on St. John's Episcopal Church.