A new way to look at the Bible in Burnside
A Burnside church are hoping that parishioners will look at the Bible in a new light thanks to a fresh initiative.
Burnside Blairbeth are to start their Community Bible Experience in November, which minister William Wilson hopes will help inspire members of the congregation to rediscover the text.
Community Bible Experience revolves around a new format of NIV Bible, stripped of verses and chapter numbers and reading more like a book.
Groups will meet weekly, and the sessions are intended to feel more like a book group than a Bible study, with conversation, discovery and learning all springing from the flow of the text.
Already over 6000 Scots have signed up to the experience, and now Burnside Blairbeth will be added to that group.
William Wilson said: “It is for the New Testament and people will follow a reading plan, with the aim of making it read more like something you’d discover in a book club, where you are talking about what you’ve read with other people.
“It will mean reading the Bible in a different way, and hopefully discovering new things about it as you go along.
“It places the New Testament in a chronological order which provides a different experience reading it.
“It’s very accessible, and obviously the Bible is something that, to read from start to finish, can be thought of as quite daunting, but this is much more like a normal book.
“I’m hoping that this will encourage people who have never fully read the text to give it a try, and for people who have previously read the Bible then it will give the chance to discover new things about it.”
The Community Bible Experience was introduced by the Scottish Bible Society with the aim of having parishioners “see the big picture” with the Bible, rather than only certain verses, while also encouraging discussion about the text.
Anyone interested in getting involved in reading the new versions of the New Testament should contact the Church Office at Burnside Blairbeth. It will be provided free of charge. In other news concerning Burnside Blairbeth, the children’s club Jump has restarted in the Blairbeth building on Wednesday evenings for children in P1P7.
It is from 6-7:30pm.
And the Autumn Club, for retired people, has now resumed meeting in the Burnside Church Hall on Wednesday afternoons.
The programme includes talks, music and time to chat over a cup of tea, and they meet from 2pm to 4pm.
All are welcome to attend.
“The Bible can be thought of as quite daunting but this is much more like a normal book”