Fredericksburg Church Leads 400-Year Commemoration of the KJV

Story by Taashi Rowe

According to the King James Bible Trust, “The King James Bible is the book that changed the world … [It] was the culmination of an heroic 80 year struggle to give the English people a Bible in their own tongue.”

Some 400 years after this version of the Bible was ushered onto the world stage, Potomac Conference’s Fredericksburg (Va.) church recently led the charge in commemorating this historic anniversary in their community. The Fredericksburg church worked with 11 other area congregations, of varying denominations, to organize a series of readings that covered the entire King James Bible.

“We really wanted to honor that translation of the Bible,” shared Paul Ware, MD, who coordinated the readings. “It was a very important English translation because for hundreds of years it was everyone’s Bible.”

Ware noted that he and his wife, Susan, were inspired to coordinate the readings when he heard that the Globe Theatre in London would host readings of the King James Version of the Bible between Palm Sunday and Easter Monday.

In addition to reading the Bible out loud in various churches, several speakers presented lectures associated with the sections that were to be read out loud.

The Fredericksburg church read from Proverbs to Lamentations, starting around 4 p.m. and ending around 2:30 a.m. “Overall, we must have spent some 70 hours reading the entire Bible,” Ware said. During this time Ware also discovered that “it was enjoyable and easy to listen to what the Bible has to say without getting distracted.”

Rebekah Tremaglio, also a Fredericksburg church member said, "My husband and I didn't have a copy of the King James Version of the Bible. We are NIV folks, but this was something really special. Also, having the Bible read orally at different churches in our area felt like an exercise in unity."

The readings ended on October 2 with a reception at the Ferry Farm Baptist Church. Check out the church’s Facebook  page created for the celebration.

Photo: Becky Durichek reads the King James Version of the Bible with her daughter, Sarah.