Reading scripture

Martyn Payne

On your marks:

Most congregations have at least one Sunday a month when all the church family – adults and children – worship together for the whole time. These services should be special and a real witness to the new togetherness Christians find in Jesus. Sadly though, they often fall short of this ideal and become simply ‘children’s services’, where adults (and often even the children) feel patronised or ‘adult services’ with children merely present. How can our worship be truly for all the ages there? Each part the worship needs to be accessible and intelligible to everybody. The following are some ways of reading the scriptures as an all-age experience.

Get set:

You will need enough Bibles for everyone in the Church to be able to read from one or else the words of the passage available on a screen for all to see.

Go!

1. It is important that the Bible story being used in your all-age service is read clearly and heard by all. It is often picked up by the speaker of course as part of his or her talk. Too often preaching time is used up going over the story again as if it had not been heard. Why not make sure it is experienced and understood properly the first time! Here are some tried-and-tested ways to do this.

2. Why not read the story as a whole congregation together? Everyone needs access to a Bible for this or be able to see the words on a screen. Don't choose a lengthy passage if you take this option.

3. Divide the verses or sections of the reading up between parts of the congregation so that different groups of voices tell the story. This way they are in fact reading the story to each other and it may even help if each group stands, turns and faces the others who are listening when it is their turn to read.

4. Use the setting of the reading as found in the Dramatised Bible, which is available in most Christian bookshops. Here the passages are set out for different voices. Choose different groups of age-related people to take the different parts. Reading it together as part of a group like this helps those individuals who find reading alone in public intimidating and difficult, as well as providing a combined volume that means the story is better heard, even without a microphone.

5. Print out the reading on a sheet, acetate or via the computer for a data projector, but highlighting certain words in red. Choose words that are the key nouns or sounds of the story. Before you begin the reading, decide together – adults and children – what sound effects each red word should have. Practise these and then read the story slowly with the whole congregation adding in the appropriate, chosen sound effects.

6. Before the reader begins, ask the adults and children to listen out for particular words or aspects of the story. For example: ‘How often is the word love or grace mentioned in this story?’ ‘I wonder which bit of this story most takes you by surprise?’ ‘Which people in the story were happy with what was said and who went away angry?’

To do this, it usually helps to set the context for the reading. A picture can help with this or maybe some small, simple visual aids that could well be picked up later by the speaker. When choosing a visual aid it is often a good idea to choose something that has only a very oblique link to the story and to start with the questions, ‘I wonder what sort of story we will hear today? I wonder what clue this is to the story? Have you any ideas?’

7. If you are going to have just one person read the Bible story then choose someone who knows how to do this well and who can do so with feeling, drama and appropriate pauses. Ideally this person should have prepared the passage well enough not to have to look down at the text all the time. Eye contact for most of us – not just for the children – is so helpful in holding our attention and helping us to hear the story well.

8. Finally, before you start to read, ask the congregation to become part of the story. This is particularly helpful with well-known stories. Ask them to choose somebody or something in the story that only appears on the edge. Then they should close their eyes as you read and see the story from that person’s point of view or that object’s perspective. Read slowly and carefully to allow people to use their imaginations well. At the end give time for everyone – adults and children – to tell you what new things they saw in the story. Bring some of what is said into the talk later.

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